Oxley Small Batch Premium Gin, Coldcraft Distilled in Sub-Zero Temperatures for Vivid Botanical Clarity, 47% ABV, 70cl / 700ml

Product Information

If you look at the list of botanicals in Bombay Sapphireyou will notice a few differences from other London dry gins. Grains of paradise, almond, and cubeb berries are not your average gin ingredients and they help this bottle stand apart from the crowd.

At the same time, William III instituted The Corn Laws in England. These decrees provided tax breaks on spirits production, resulting in what Ford calls “a distilling free-for-all.” While Cold Distillation makes the fresh, bright, smooth taste of Oxley possible, what makes it achievable is the small batch crafted production methods that ensure consistent and exceptionally high quality of spirit. Only 240 bottles can be produced each day, making Oxley a genuine rarity.

How should I drink Oxley gin?

The late 1600s were pivotal for the upswing of gin in England, and not in a good way. William III of England, a Dutchman originally known as William of Orange (“Sounds very ‘Game of Thrones,’ doesn’t it?” Ford says, rightly) became King of England, Ireland, and Scotland in 1689. The classic gin botanicals plus the rather more unusual meadowsweet, vanilla and aniseed. These are placed in the still with a high quality neutral grain spirit and allowed to macerate for up to fifteen hours. And this is when it all gets high tech. Instead of the more conventional methods of distilling botanicals in the spirit through the application of heat – think here either of straightforward ‘boiling’ or the less used ‘infusion’ methods – Oxley Gin is made by a unique Cold Distillation process at sub zero temperatures. Cordials were made to preserve the limes, and a lime cordial and gin were inevitably combined (hello, Gimlet). TL;DR: Bright and Juniper forward, Oxley Gin rounds out the nose and palate with thoughtful and restrained supporting botanicals. Oxley Gin is a London Dry Gin according to the EU definition as nothing is added after distillation. The bespoke still at the Thames Distillery in London produces only 240 bottles a day so Oxley Gin by it very nature is always going to be a limited, luxury spirit. We recommend it served straight over ice in a balloon glass with a grapefruit twist. And there are not many gins one could say that about.

Aviation American Gincame to market in 2006. It was one of the first brands to launch that made everyone rethink the definition of gin. It was at the forefront of the New Western Gin movement, featuring a softer juniper profile and gins that are often handcrafted in small batches. This gin revolution has brought the spirit's appeal to a wider audience of drinkers. Things took a turn for the weirder in 1751, hallmarked by a series of very dark etchings (read: propaganda) by William Hogarth. “Beer Street,” displayed on the left side of the top of this article, depicted the relative safety of beer drinking. Invented in 2006 with nature as our muse, and flavour as the cause, it took eight years of obsession and experimentation to perfect Oxley Gin. You can also explore the effects of aging on gin—something most gin is not subjected to—with Martin Miller's 9 Moons. This bottling rests the gin in previously used bourbon barrels for nine months to give it a fascinating sweetness of vanilla and oak.There is a beautiful gin inside this distinct green bottle with its red wax seal. Tanqueray's crisp, dry style is the benchmark for a London dry gin without any citrus in the botanicals. It is a standard to which all other gins are compared and contrasted and also sells for a reasonable price. Oxley is 'distilled' at sub-zero temperatures in a vacuum utilising the fact that that the boiling point of all liquids is reduced as pressure is decreased. Cold distillation lowers the pressure to a near vacuum so allowing distillation to take place at approximately -5ºC. Re-condensing takes place at a staggering -100°C around a probe cooled by liquid argon. The purported benefit of this process is that the natural botanicals are not cooked during distillation so reputedly giving fresher flavours to the finished gin.