Bathtub Gin: a gin for lovers of flavour

Bathtub Gin uses a clever double infusion technique to separate itself from the pack. Most gins these days are infused through distillation, whereby the botanicals are added whilst the alcohol is distilled. Bathtub Gin, however, is made by a two-stage process. They begin by distilling a traditional London Dry Gin with juniper, coriander and other fragrant botanicals in a copper-pot still, then they add an additional six botanicals and allow these to infuse into the gin over the course of another week. Distillation, while effective, is also a bit of a brute when it comes to infusing flavour, using heat to enact the chemistry. Bathtub Gin’s secondary infusion process without the application of heat allows the infusion of delicate flavours that would be all but destroyed by distillation. Imagine biting into a fresh strawberry, versus strawberry jam.

This double infusion technique doesn’t just add extra flavour to the gin, it also lends a pleasant viscosity and a slight botanical hue to the resulting spirit. Bathtub Gin gives a strong sense of juniper on the nose and on the palate, but that gives way to exotic spices like cardamom, cinnamon, and a long, pleasant finish of orange peel and orange blossom.

The complex flavour profile of something like Bathtub Gin makes a wonderful gin and tonic, especially when served with lots of ice and a slice of orange (orange is used in both stages of the double infusion process), but the richness of the aromatics also makes it a fantastic all-rounder. You can enjoy it in a number of cocktails – its big flavour profile means it is able to stand up to other strong cocktail ingredients. For example, it makes an exceptionally fine negroni (try the Rosé negroni below to see what we mean).

Bathtub Gin is a rather larger operation than it was a few years ago, but there’s something very comforting about knowing that every bottle is still hand-wrapped in brown paper, dipped in wax and tied up with string in Kent, where it all started.