Bombay Sapphire's master distiller reveals how she became the curator of a globally-coveted gin brand.
At its most basic, gin is classified as a juniper-flavoured spirit. But behind that naïve façade is a complex blend of liquid, steam and botanical infusion created by someone with a sharp nose and a chemistry brain.
For Bombay Sapphire Master Distiller Dr Anne Brock, curating one of the world’s best-known premium gins is a role she’s honoured to have, but it wasn’t always the plan.
“I thought I wanted to become a doctor, so I studied science and got into medical school,” explains Anne, who leads a team at Bombay Sapphire’s Laverstoke Mill in rural Hampshire, south-west of London. “Within seven months I’d quit, and I found comfort in the hospitality scene.”
CHEMISTRY CALLED
Anne eventually returned to university, this time to study chemistry, a subject she was passionate about, staying on to do a PhD in organic chemistry. A friend joined the dots, suggesting, “You’re a chemist and a bartender, so perhaps a career in distilling is an option?” A move to London in 2012 proved great timing for Anne; it was the beginning of the boutique gin trend, and she was enlisted as the distiller for an emerging brand.
“I’m a self-taught distiller, but it’d be remiss of me to not say that I reached out to other distillers and asked for help along the way. That’s the beautiful thing about this industry – there’s a lot of knowledge sharing in the production side of the business.”
INTO THE BLUE
As Anne grew confident in distilling, she held classes in how to make gin and enjoyed public speaking engagements on the fundamentals and branding of gin. Her increased profile led to membership in The Gin Guild.
Then, something unexpected happened. “I logged into LinkedIn and there was a message saying that Bombay Sapphire was on the hunt for their next distiller…” Anne never expected to get the job but was encouraged to give it a go. She agreed to a chat and was offered the job. While excited to accept, she wondered whether she would feel the same ownership of the brand with the unmistakable blue bottle as she did working for a start-up gin she had made from scratch.
“Within days, I knew I’d made the right decision”, she recalls. “I quickly found a sense of ownership and pride at Bombay Sapphire. And now – five years on – I still get excited when seeing our bottles around the world. I love looking at the lot number printed on the back of a bottle – because I can tell exactly when that bottle was distilled.”
BOTANICALS & BOMBAY
Creating a world-famous gin starts with the raw ingredients – the botanicals which will go on to give the vibrant, fresh flavour that Bombay Sapphire drinkers the world over, love.
The man in charge of sourcing these botanicals is Master of Botanicals, Ivano Tonutti, who works directly with growers and harvesters across the globe to source the very best botanicals. Ivano and his team have generations-old connections to these people who are at the heart of every bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. Ivano’s commitment and passion to the very best has led the charge to ensure all botanicals used in Bombay Sapphire are certified-sustainable, with these botanicals grown in the best regions from around the world. These botanicals are listed on the side of Bombay Sapphire Original Gin for full transparency and as a nod of recognition to the growers and harvesters.
VAPOUR INFUSION
Once the botanicals are on-site at Laverstoke Mill, vapour infusion is the process used, which allows a great detail of control during distillation and adds vibrancy and depth to the end product. “We use vapour infusion to ensure all of our beautiful botanicals are represented in the most harmonious and balanced way. Each botanical is strategically layered into suspended baskets before going into the vaping chamber.” From there, the neutral grain spirit is heated to produce steam where the steam passes through these baskets picking up the delicate flavours before being cooled.
Anne says that the meticulous process is so deliberate that even changing the pace which the steam goes through the still can totally change the style of gin. “If I put more heat into the still, I’ll create more vapour and it will push through faster; whereas if I take heat away from the still it slows everything down and allows more flavour to be infused. Bombay Sapphire, for example, is a bright citrus gin, and the citrus flavours come off at the beginning of the process, so I’ll go slow for the first few hours of the distillation, and when I get those rooty botanicals I’ll speed everything up, to create a perfectly balanced gin.”
Introducing NEW Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru
“Centering on late-harvest Fino lemons, supported by mandarin and navel orange notes, Premier Cru pays homage to the botanical growers and harvesters in the Murcian region of Spain – one of the best citrus-growing areas in the world," says Anne.