Bitters producer launches Old Tom Gin

The founder of Dr Adam Elmegirab Bitters has launched House of Botanicals Old Tom Gin, marking his foray into a new spirit category.

The design of House of Botanicals Old Tom Gin pays homage to Aberdeen and London

Founded by former bartender Adam Elan-Elmegirab, the gin is the first product to launch as part of The House of Botanicals range.

The first element of production takes place in London with a distillation of juniper berries, angelica root, orris root, coriander seed, cassia bark, almond, orange peel and lemon peel, before the gin is shipped to Aberdeen and compounded with saffron and chamomile flowers from Morocco.

It is then sweetened with a hint of muscovado sugar and bottled at 47% abv.

The bottle design pays homage to Aberdeen and London with a coat of arms branding, featuring a black leopard and dragon.

Due to the “high level of initial interest”, the gin will be available in a limited number of European cities: Dublin, Aberdeen, Stockholm, London, Lisbon, Rome, Lisbon, Berlin and Paris. It will then be made available to partners in the Middle East and Far East.

House of Botanicals Old Tom Gin is recommended served in a Martinez.

The expression will make its debut at the Gin Experience Dublin this weekend (6-7 April 2018).

The gin will launch in the UK through a month-long partnership with Speciality Drinks, with the Old Tom rolled out across wholesalers and retailers thereafter.

Elan-Elmegirab has had international success with his bitters line, which debuted in 2009 with his reformulation of the classic Boker’s Bitters. Subsequent launches include Dandelion & Burdock Bitters, Aphrodite Bitters and Teapot Bitters. He has also created a duo of beard oils for bartenders, which launched in 2016.