Bombay Sapphire Distillery Self-discovery Experience Review
Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Self-discovery Experience
www.distillery.bombaysapphire.com
Reviewed by Cheryl Wesley
When the opportunity to visit The Bombay Sapphire Gin Distillery came up I jumped at the chance to do the review knowing that gin was my husband’s favourite spirit.
We broke the first golden rule of visiting somewhere, we did not check the website for directions before starting our journey, which clearly informs you of the postcode to use for your satnav. We decided to head for the town and then look out for signs for the distillery which we either didn’t see or were not there. We had to stop and check the website for directions, which once read were very clear and took us straight to the distillery.
Upon arriving at the mill you see the impressive buildings from the car park. When walking to the entrance you enter a room with lots of interesting information of the history of Laverstoke Mill, how it was a paper mill producing bank notes for the British Empire.
Once you are past this room you hit the reception where you are handed a personal interactive guide. This contains a microchip which allows you to tap away at certain points throughout your tour to hear information about the mill, its history, how the rooms are now used, how the mill has been brought back into life and how the mill has been designed to be energy efficient and to reduce waste. My husband and I were quite childish at the point and would rush to the points to swipe our guide first! What’s nice about this is you can take the tour at your own pace and not feel rushed. There are no set directions to follow allowing you to explore at your own pace.
Some of the information is repeated along the tour, which can be helpful as you are given so much to take in.
Once through the entrance we came to a courtyard which had a most impressive view. Straight in front was India House, where the two massive vapour infusion stills are based and there are big windows so you can have a look in and see how large they actually are.
To the right, sitting in the River Test which runs through the mill, there are two glass houses where you can see how the botanicals used in gin look like in their natural state. These rooms are rather toasty, heated from the processes in the distillery, so we spent a while in them warming up reading the masses of information available about the different botanicals.
Further on we went into the gallery where you can read up on the history of Bombay Sapphire and gin in general, and this was very interesting. Also in the room there are a collection of different gin glasses that have been designed all over the world and entered into design competitions held by Bombay Sapphire. Some of the glass looked like you needed a manual to use them and others where very stylish.
Once we left there we entered the botanical dry room and Dakin still house. This is where you can taste test/smell the different botanicals in their raw state used in gin. In addition, the scent of each of the botanicals is in a jar for you to smell. Your interactive guide map has a page at the back where you can record your favourite smells. It is suggested you record your 4 or 5 favourite smells and from this, your free cocktail tailored to you can be made at the end of the tour.
At first we did not spend long in the botanical room as a guided tour of the Dakin still house was about to start. These run regularly and you can just join them as they start, rather than having a set tour time. This is the only part of the tour you are not allowed to take any photos and all electrical equipment is required to be turned off due to the risks of sparks igniting fumes. The guide lasted for about 30 minutes and the host was very animated and popped questions out for us to guess at. The tour group we joined had about 15 people in all and at every stop you could hear and see very well. On the tour you get to smell the gin before it’s watered down and it brings tears to your eyes! You are also up close and can see the two smaller vapour infusion stills. ‘Mary’ was hard at work when we walked around and the process of making Bombay Sapphire kept the audience captivated.
After our tour we headed back to the botanical dry room where we were encouraged to taste test some of them. We would thoroughly recommend talking to any of the several guides available in this room about the botanicals as they have a wealth of knowledge and some of the combinations of botanicals they suggest you taste were amazing. I was told to hold my nose and dip my finger in one powder (Cubeb Root) and was asked if I could taste anything and I could not. I was then told to let go of my nose and my mouth literally flooded with flavour. We were quite amazed by this. We were then ‘treated’ to 3 other flavours and I must admit I did not like any of them and the assistant in the room asked us to bear with him for one more taste test where he mixed the four flavours we had already tried and hated, and wow the four together had a whole new flavour and was warming and yummy.
The last thing to do was to look back at our interactive guide map and work out the cocktail which would suit us in the bar. My husband liked a range of the flavours so ended up with a Laverstoke which he very much enjoyed.
I on the other hand was a designated driver so I enjoyed a peach blush which was a very refreshing mock tail. The bar had two levels and we opted to sit upstairs, there is also a side room which had more of a bar feel to it. The toilets were also allocated in the bar area and these were cleaned to a good standard.
If you drive, don’t fear, you will not miss out on your gin. You are given a takeaway gin and tonic, which I have very much enjoyed whilst writing this review.
Throughout the tour you learn about the different types of Bombay Sapphire, which are available in the gift shop, along with books, engraving for bottles of gin and gin and tonic making sets.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Bombay Sapphire Distillery. In total we spent just over 2 hours looking around and could have quite easily stayed for longer but needed to get back home and relieve the babysitters. The staff were super helpful, taking your photo outside the glass house, advising on reception, engaging the guests in the dry room and giving an entertaining tour. All were cheerful and certainly improved our visit. We would very much like to go back and will be recommending this to friends and family as the entrance price includes a free cocktail at the end of your tour and feel it was very good value for money. We give it 5 out of 5 for a most enjoyable afternoon out.
The following day my husband mentioned it at work to several people who all said they were unaware of it, but would all certainly make the visit. It appears at the moment it is a best kept secret hidden away but we are certainly recommending it to our friends and family.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost: Adults £15, Children (6-17) £10, Concessions £13.50
For more information or to book tickets visit www.distillery.bombaysapphire.com.
Bombay Sapphire Distillery
Laverstoke Mill, London Road, Laverstoke, Whitchurch, Hampshire, RG28 7NR
