Great Bustard Gin Flight Strength

Great Bustard Flight Strength is distilled and bottled in Downton, Wiltshire, at 57% ABV. The name refers to the great bustard, a large bird native to the county, and the release supports its conservation. Downton Distillery chose Flight Strength rather than the familiar Navy StrengthNavy StrengthGin bottled at 57% ABV or more. Royal Navy lore holds that at this strength, gunpowder soaked in gin would still ignite.GlossarySee Navy Strength gins label to make that connection clear. Each small batchSmall batchProduction in small quantities per distillation run, often in a small still. The term has no legal definition.Glossary contains 100 signed bottles; the blue label is a tribute to the RAF and the distiller's grandfather, a Battle of Britain pilot. Once extinct in Britain, the bird has been reintroduced on Salisbury Plain by the Great Bustard Group, and Downton, founded by Hugh Anderson, also runs a juniperJuniperThe one compulsory botanical: gin must taste predominantly of juniper. Its "berry" is really a small conifer cone, resinous and peppery.Glossary rewilding project on the Wiltshire Downs.

Spicy · Fruity · Herbal

The recipe builds on the original Great Bustard Gin, with rose hips added to the botanicals. The producer names yarrow, rocket and red clover alongside the rose hips, foragedForagingPlants gathered by hand in the wild (woods, heath, coastline) rather than grown or bought in.Glossary from the Wiltshire Downs. It describes the result as herbal and spicy, with a subtle sweetness from the fruit. Its tasting notes add pine, juniper and sweet Mediterranean orange, followed by a gently warming finish that lingers. Those details give a fuller sense of the gin than its high strength alone: green, savoury botanicals meet fruit and citrus, with spice carrying through the final taste.

Downton recommends serving the gin with tonic, ice and either orange or rosemary, with citrus zest along the rim. The distillery also suggests a MartiniDry MartiniGin and a little dry vermouth, stirred over ice and served in a well-chilled stemmed glass, with an olive or a twist.Glossary with dry vermouthVermouthAn aromatised, fortified wine flavoured with herbs and barks; its name comes from the German Wermut, wormwood. Dry vermouth goes into a Martini, sweet red into a Negroni.Glossary and orange bitters, or a French 75 variation with Calvados and lemon. For a long drink, measured tonic and an orange garnish let the botanical profile remain clear. The bottle is 50 cl; the distillery produces signed runs of 100 and links this release to conservation of the great bustard in Wiltshire.