Bombay Sapphire’s Christmas Gin & Tonic might just be our favourite festive cocktail ever. The Christmas cocktail features a garnish that echoes holly, created with fresh raspberries and mint leaves. Adding the ingredients to a classic G&T is a strikingly easy way to impress guests at your next gathering.

Drinks Digest was introduced to the cocktail during the launch of Bombay Sapphire’s Guide to the Festive Season last week, hosted by master distiller Dr Dr Anne Brock. Dr Brock revealed she’s also a fan of classic gin cocktail the French 75, with Bacardi-Martini Australia National Advocacy Manager Georgie Mann showing attendees how to make the perfect serve.

Here’s the recipe:

French 75

30ml Bombay Sapphire

20ml fresh lemon juice

1-2 tsps caster sugar

60ml Prosecco

Garnish: lemon twist

METHOD: Add all ingredients except Prosecco into a cocktail shaker and stir to dissolve sugar. Fill with ice and shake until frosted on outside. Strain into a champagne flute and top with Prosecco. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Dr Brock said she was looking forward to relaxing with a gin and tonic in hand over Chrtistmas, after the tumult of the past 18 months. She admitted the pandemic had added an extra layer of complexity to creating the vapour infused gin. Dr Brock needed to continue working at the distillery throughout the lockdowns, as “no machine can replace a distiller’s nose”.

“Not a single batch leaves the distillery without my approval,” she said. “The first thing I do every morning when I arrive at work is check the gin that’s been created overnight.”

The distiller – who was named Master Distiller of the Year in the Icons of Gin 2021, was an engaging host, considering the sun hadn’t even risen in the UK when she joined our Zoom call.

“My role is challenging but so rewarding,” she said. “I get to work with some very talented people, it is fast paced, varied and most importantly I get to make Bombay Sapphire.”

Stylish gifts for gin lovers

Among the festive gifting options from Bombay Sapphire this year are the ‘Bombay Sapphire Goblet Cocktail Twist Gift Pack’ – priced at $65 – which is available in selected stores from November. The packs offer a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin, a delicious, dehydrated orange and peppercorn garnish and a stylish goblet to serve your Christmas cocktail.

There are also Fever-Tree Gin & Tonic Crackers. The pack – priced at $55 – contains four different crackers, which offer different G&T combinations and heroes Bombay Bramble, paired with Light Mediterranean Tonic Water. The crackers are available from David Jones from mid-November.

For on-the-go or online gifting, all Bombay Sapphire, Bombay Bramble and Bombay Sapphire Sunset bottles will be adorned with festive bows this season. Every bottle also includes a neck tag with QR code to an exclusive online Christmas Cocktail
masterclass to help gin lovers get creative and learn different ways to experiment and make festive cocktails.

Bacardi cuts plastic in its gift packs by 50%

Bacardi has announced that this holiday season its range of gift packs will contain 50% less plastic than last year.

Bacardi is removing a total of 147 tons of single-use plastic used annually in its gift packs through innovative new designs, which remove the need for plastic, and by replacing plastic inserts or trays with sustainable alternatives made from cardboard certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

This year’s 50% cut is a giant step towards Bacardi achieving its 2023 goal of removing 100% of all single-use plastic from its gift packs and point-of-sale materials, and the company’s 2030 goal of being 100% plastic free.

The range includes gift packs for many of the company’s iconic brands like BACARDÍ Reserva Ocho, GREY GOOSE vodka, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, BOMBAY BRAMBLE gin, MARTINI Fiero and DEWAR’S 12 Year Old Blended Scotch whisky.

“As a family-owned company for nearly 160 years, we have crafted exceptional drinks enjoyed by generations of consumers,” said Rodolfo Nervi, Vice President Global Safety, Quality & Sustainability for Bacardi. “We have achieved this long success by always looking to the future and doing the right thing for our consumers, our customers and our company. Today’s announcement confirms this. We want to be the most environmentally responsible global drinks company and we will only achieve this ambition by constantly exploring and investing in new innovations, like sustainable alternatives to plastic, which will help us meet our environmental goals.”

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