Bombay unveils new super-premium extension

Bacardi’s Bombay Sapphire has unveiled its most super-premium brand extension to-date, which adds two new botanicals to the gin’s original recipe.

Star of Bombay is the most super-premium offering from Bombay Sapphire gin to-date

Exclusively available in global travel retail, Star of Bombay is produced using a “slow single batch” distillation method and adds an Italian Bergamot orange peel and Ambrette Seed from Ecuador to its original list of 10 botanicals.

Said to “represent a new chapter” in the brand’s history, the expression will first launch in Sydney airport with Heinemann later this month at AUD$66.00, before rolling out to Frankfurt and Copenhagen.

“Gin is one of the hottest categories in travel retail, however there is a large opportunity to further premiumise it,” said Mike Birch, managing director of Bacardi GTR. “With Bombay Sapphire as category leader, we can unlock this potential with a super premium gin like Star of Bombay.

“Star of Bombay is a stunning innovation, a beautiful enhancement of the iconic Bombay Sapphire bottle, making it perfect for gifting and attracting new consumers into gin.”

Star of Bombay joins Bombay Dry, Bombay Amber and Bombay East in the brand’s extension portfolio and is the first addition to the range created at the recently opened Laverstoke Mill distillery, in Hampshire, UK.

Bombay Sapphire’s master distiller Nikolas Fordham worked with master of botanicals Ivano Tonutti to select the new ingredients for the expression.

“The idea with Star of Bombay was to create a gin with an increased perception of the Bombay top-note aromatics,” said Tonutti. “It is possible to simply add new botanicals to a gin and bring a note of their character over the spirit, but this is not the style of Bombay.”

“We vapour infuse our botanicals. Painstaking flavour trials had to be made to achieve the precise quantities and qualities that could interact with all the other botanicals and integrate into the heart of the gin. It is this perfect balance that we aim for.”

The variant is also bottled at the higher strength of 47.5% abv to “elevate” its aroma.

Star of Bombay’s bottle is described as the brand’s “most premium” to-date, featuring a taller, slimmer design to emphasis shelf stand-out.