BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® gin, the world’s number one premium gin by value1, unveils plans for its distillery in Laverstoke Mill, Hampshire. The project is a multi-million pound restoration of the historic buildings which housed one of England’s most significant bank note paper making facilities. The design imagined for the site is headed by acclaimed London designer Thomas Heatherwick and the Heatherwick Studio. The site will be completely renovated from a derelict mill into a state of the art premium gin distillery and visitor centre encompassing the highest standards in design, functionality and sustainability.
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The distillery will be built on a two hectare brown-field site, near the grounds of Laverstoke Park, just 60 miles from London. For 200 years, the site produced high quality paper for the bank notes for India and the British Empire. The site is steeped in natural beauty, astride the crystal clear River Test – and historically associated with producing the finest quality product through the care and skill of those who owned it and worked there. The newly renovated site will be the first opportunity the public has to discover the home of this iconic spirits brand.
The ambition for the project restores the buildings, grounds and its heritage, while introducing a new structure that will complement the existing buildings, as a showcase of the brand’s intrinsic quality that reflects the aspirations of the Bombay Sapphire brand. The highlight of the complex build is the glass house for Bombay Sapphire gin’s 10 botanicals. As a major feature of Laverstoke Mill, the glass house is a symbol of the brand’s careful, skillful and imaginative approach to gin making.
Heatherwick comments on the design: “As the particular flavours of Bombay Sapphire gin are derived from ten botanicals, the centrepiece of the site is a glass house, within which visitors will experience the specific horticultural specimens infused in the spirit. The glass house, influenced by Britain’s rich heritage of glass house structures, will be two separate structures providing both a humid environment for spices that originate from the tropics, as well as a dry temperate zone for Mediterranean plants. We are thrilled to have the chance to take this historic site, and turn it from its current derelict state into a new industrial facility with national significance.”
The 10 year relationship between the brand and Thomas Heatherwick started when he was crowned the inaugural winner of the Bombay Sapphire Prize – an international award for excellence and innovation in glass. He then joined the Bombay Sapphire Foundation, which encourages and rewards the best in contemporary design and glass design in particular. In 2010, he was approached by the Bombay Sapphire team to design the brand home in Laverstoke.
Bombay Sapphire Global Category Director John Burke adds: “It’s a very exciting time for the Bombay Sapphire team, especially now that we’re seeing our plan for Laverstoke Mill come into fruition. With tradition, quality and craftsmanship at the heart of the site’s heritage, we can finally look forward to opening our doors to consumers worldwide and share with them the care, skill and imagination that is infused in the spirit we produce. Bombay Sapphire gin has experienced great success and growth over the last 10 years and with the opening of the brand’s home and consumer experience, we are very optimistic for next decade.”
In February 2012, planning permission was granted and the build process is now underway and managed by Meller Ltd, with a goal the distillery will open its doors in autumn 2013.
Meller Managing Director, Graham Cartledge adds: “Meller is proud to be leading the development of Laverstoke Mill into a world class production facility and unique visitors centre.”
www.laverstokemill.co.uk
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1 Data sourced from International Wine and Spirit Research (IWSR), for the 12 months to the end of December 2010
