The Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery and visitors centre opened in autumn 2014 on the site of a 300 year old paper mill in Laverstoke, just outside the village of Whitchurch Hampshire.
The site boasts a collection of original buildings, over 40 of them and some Grade II listed, they have been either lovingly restored or carefully removed should they have been a recent industrial addition. This was all carried out working alongside Government agencies English Nature & English Heritage to maintain and reveal the beauty and heritage of the site. The result is a stunning work of art, bringing the village to life, widening and revealing parts of the River Test that had been hidden by a concrete channel allowing nature to flourish.
All this before you even step inside the buildings! The visitors centre is not simply a simulation of the process, it follows the real distillation procedure including the large statuesque cooper Gin stills, one of which is over 200 years old, and the glasshouses growing the 10 particular plant species required for the Botanical Gin (they even worked out a heat exchange process between the distilling process and the glasshouse).
To learn more about the design process click here Heatherwick Studio
Bombay Sapphire Distillery is Open 7 days a week and tickets must be bought in advance online at Distillery Tickets
Opening hours:
The location of the distillery is : Laverstoke Mill, Whitchurch, Hampshire, RG28 7N, and can be reach from The Crest by taking Corhampton Lane to pick up the A34 to Whitchurch (approx. 35 minutes).
Whitchurch & Laverstoke
Funnily enough I grew up and went to school in Whitchurch – a small world isn’t it?! I would pass, what was then the Laverstoke Paper Mill at least once a week on my drive to Basingstoke to see my Dad (look out for my old house the Pink thatched house on London road towards Laverstoke – if it’s still pink that is!).
Following your visit to the Distillery in Laverstoke, I would highly recommend taking a wander around Whitchurch maybe following the River Test and hunting out the commemorative plaques of Lord Denning said to be “probably the greatest English judge of modern times” by former prime minister Baroness Thatcher and Watership Downs Author Richard Adams who resided in the Village.
5 Gin recipes
Once you get back to The Crest from your day out at the Distillery it’s time to crack open the bottle and make some drinks;
Gin Julep
- 8 to 10 fresh mint leave (just outside the back door of The Crest)
- 7ml (1/4 ounce) fresh lime juice
- 7ml (1/4 ounce) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 60ml (2 ounce) Gin
- Fresh mint sprig
Muddle the mint leaves, lime & lemon juice and sugar in the bottom of a glass, add ice and gin, stir and garnish with mint sprig
L’Amour
- 60ml (2 ounce) Gin
- Dash cherry brandy
- Dash fresh lemon juice
- 2 fresh mint sprig
- Dash grenadine
Shake all the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass – garnish with the mint sprigs
Orange Blossom
- 45ml (1.5 ounce) Gin
- 45ml (1.5 ounce) fresh orange juice
- 7ml (1/4 ounce) Cointreau
- 1 or 2 dashes orange flower water
- Orange slice
Shake all the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice and strain into a ice filled glass – garnish with the orange slice
Tom Collins
- 60ml (2 ounces) Gin
- 30ml (1 ounce) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 15ml (1/2 ounce) simple syrup
- 90ml (3 ounces) club soda
- Lemon slice
- Maraschino cherry
Pour the gin, lemon & simple syrup into an ice filled glass, top with the club soda, stir and garnish with the lemon slice and cherry.
Milano
- 45ml (1.5 ounce) Gin
- 45ml (1.5 ounce) Gallianon
- 30ml (1 ounce) fresh lemon juice
Shake the ingredients vigorously with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
The following day I would recommend some relaxing chilled out time wandering around the local villages: Tea & Cake!
Have a wonderful time
Jo
