Bathtub Gin Explorer's Edition (1000ml)
  • 94
  • Reduced

Bathtub Gin Explorer's Edition (1000ml)

London, UNITED KINGDOM
Reduced from $119.99
$74. 99
Bottle
$899.88 Dozen
ABV: 50.2%

Readers will remember a near half price reduction on Bathtub Gin from earlier this year. Now the importers up the ante with an even better deal: A special batch in a one litre bottle with a potent ABV – perfect if you're off on an expedition! Our understanding is that this was created for the Travel Retail market - hence the sub-title "Explorer's Edition". Essentially it's a high strength, large format of the standard 43.3% bottling that won World's Best Compound Gin at the World Gin Awards in 2020 and retails for around AU$90. What we have here then is an absolute steal.

The name "Bathtub Gin" originally referred to any style of homemade spirit made in amateur conditions. It was first used in 1920 during the prohibition-era in the United States, with reference to the poor quality alcohol that was being made in home bath tubs and mixed into cocktails to disguise its coarse flavour. Obviously, this contemporary version is not that sort of gin. Launched in 2011, it was the very first product from Atom Brands, the innovative team responsible for That Boutique-y Whisky Company and Drinks by the Dram, amongst others. 

The gin is created using the traditional method of ''cold compounding''. High quality copper pot-still spirit is twice infused with juniper, orange peel, coriander, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. This double-infusion process allows fresh botanical flavours that might be too delicate to survive the distillation process to shine through the finished drink. Production is restricted to ultra-small batches of just 30-60 bottles at a time and the length of the compounding period is controlled entirely by periodic sampling. Our tasting found a pale gold-coloured spirit with a complex bouquet of crushed pine buds, lemon cough drops, sweet oregano plus hints of pepper, cinnamon and cardamom. The generous ABV adds depth without adding heat or prickle. In fact, you barely notice the alcohol in the creamy, medium-bodied delivery that slowly crescendos into woodsy-juniper-like flavours. Glowing white pepper, citrus zest, pine and Fisherman's Friend build through the finish. When it comes to mixing, this is strong stuff, so go easy. Its creators also recommend keeping things simple - premium tonic or lots of ice and a slice of orange to garnish. Bar-gazers will appreciate the eye catching bespoke presentation which sees the bottle wrapped in brown paper and completed with string and wax to resemble a Victorian apothecary. 130 units only. 50.2% Alc./Vol.