Bombay Sapphire Sunset

Ten signature botanicals, and then three more. Bombay Sapphire Sunset keeps the house list intact and adds golden turmeric, Indian white cardamom and Spanish mandarin peel, which moves the whole profile toward warmth without rewriting anything underneath it. Bottled at 43%.

Citrus · Dry · Limited Edition · Spicy · Earthy

The three additions were chosen for the same shift. Mandarin peel gives a softer, rounder citrus than the lemon peel already in the recipe, bittersweet rather than sharp, and it broadens the fruit register considerably. White cardamom brings a fragrant, almost tea-like aromatic lift. Turmeric supplies a deeper golden warmth rather than heat, and no other addition moves the centre of gravity as far. Beneath them the ten remain: juniper and coriander framing everything, lemon peel, orris rootOrris rootIris rhizome dried for years, then ground. Powdery and violet-like, it mainly works as a fixative that binds and lengthens the other aromas.Glossary, angelica rootAngelicaThe root of a tall umbellifer, earthy and musky. After juniper and coriander it is the most common botanical: it binds the aromas and holds the finish.Glossary, bitter almonds, liquorice, cassia bark, cubeb berries and grains of paradise.

Vapour infusionVapour infusionBotanicals sit in a basket above the liquid, so only the alcohol vapour passes through them, for a lighter, fresher extraction.Glossary is the house method and it matters here. Instead of boiling its botanicals in the spirit, Bombay sets them in the path of the vapour at Laverstoke Mill so the aromatic oils are drawn out with a lighter touch, which is what keeps a thirteen-botanical recipe from turning muddy.

The nose opens on bittersweet mandarin, lemon peel and soft spice, cardamom lifting it and turmeric adding depth below, juniper present underneath, cubeb and grains of paradise handling the dry spice.

The palate moves from citrus brightness into warm spice, mandarin first, then cardamom and turmeric broadening the middle, then cassia and the peppers adding tension. Angelica, orris and liquorice keep the texture smooth.

A long aromatic Gin and Tonic is the natural home. Orange echoes the mandarin, star anise reinforces the spice without sweetening. Neutral Indian tonicIndian tonicThe classic tonic: sparkling water, bitter quinine and sugar. The name recalls colonial India, where quinine warded off malaria.Glossary keeps the turmeric and cardamom visible.