The.historical.Dakin.Stills.used.in.the.unique.Vapour.Infusion.process.at.Laverstoke.Mill

Two of Bombay Sapphire’s stills are historical and based on those bought by Mary Dakin – Thomas Dakin’s daughter – in 1836, who adapted them to make steam-infused gin.

The two heritage stills, named Thomas and Mary Dakin, have a capacity of 3,400l each.

However, two more modern stills are used for the site’s primary production and each have a capacity of 12,000l. They are named Henry and Victoria.

Bombay’s distillation process relies on a vapour infusion method, which means the botanicals are not boiled in the spirit, but kept in copper baskets above it to be steam-infused.

Laverstoke Mill technically has an output of 3.5M nine-litre cases a year but, by commissioning a further two stills, capacity could be increased by 33%, Bombay Sapphire claimed.

After distillation, the spirit is then diluted once to bottling strength before being trucked out to a bottling plant in Warrington.