At the peak of its popularity, the gin market reached an incredible 50 per cent growth. After such a remarkable, sustained boom, it was inevitable for sales to stabilise, so Bombay Sapphire’s challenge for 2020 is to maintain momentum. It’s a challenge the brand is optimistic about meeting and, as more drinkers enter the market, Bombay Sapphire remains buoyantly optimistic. After all, by value, Bombay Sapphire remains the number one premium gin in the world.
Bombay Sapphire’s tantalising, complex taste is based on a 1761 recipe that combines ten botanicals, from Moroccan cubeb berries to West African Gains of Paradise. Though gloriously exotic, every drop of Bombay Sapphire gin is made in the brand’s home distillery at Laverstoke Mill in Hampshire.
While ordinary gins boil their botanicals directly in the spirit, Bombay Sapphire uses the Vapour Infusion process via its refurbished 1830s Carterhead stills, Tom and Mary, alongside Henry and Victoria, two state-of-the- art 12,000 litre copper pot stills.
In April 2019, the beautiful, rural Hampshire setting was the inspiration behind English Estate, the first of a series of Bombay Sapphire Limited Editions to be introduced over the coming years. Ivano Tonutti, Master of Botanicals, added three new botanicals, pennyroyal mint, rosehip and toasted hazelnuts, to give a subtle edge, redolent of the surrounding hills and hedgerows, to the familiar flavours that gin aficionados know and love Bombay Sapphire for. The result was a bright, sunny, summer-inspired gin, which was greeted with enthusiasm by gin drinkers and bartenders alike.
Bombay Sapphire remains the number one premium gin in the world
In August 2019 Bombay Sapphire launched its Discover The Possibilities Within campaign, representing the brand’s global mission to encourage everyone to unlock their artistic and creative potential. It was inspired by the insight that everyone is born creative but that, all too often, everyday life chips away at our artistic instincts.
The brand collaborated with Russell Tovey and Robert Diament on their podcast Talk Art, inviting people to explore Edinburgh’s cultural hotspots over the summer. In October it partnered with artist Yinka Ilori to set up its Stir Creativity lounge at Frieze London. Here images by Yinka and Bombay Sapphire were fed into an AI algorithm to create original works of art, pushing boundaries with a new creative medium. Bombay Sapphire also commissioned a partnership between Global Street Art (GSA) and HYPEBEAST to produce four vibrant murals across London, Manchester, Brighton and Edinburgh, intended to brighten up their cityscapes and inspire creativity in the everyday lives of passersby. Throughout 2020 Bombay Sapphire will continue to provide a global platform for creative activity.
‘From day one, the brand has always done things differently, working with artists, architects and designers,’ says Victoria Morris, Global VP, ‘but you don’t have to be an artist to be creative. That’s why we are on a mission to Stir Creativity. We want to inspire more people than ever to tap into their own creative spirit: it can be something as simple as adding your own touch to a gin and tonic or creating a bold new artwork – it’s up to you!’ There are no creative limits with Bombay Sapphire.
