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GIN Botanıcal Adventure A by Camper English T o see where Bombay Sapphire comes from, you would have to visit not just the distillery in England, but also Scotland (the base spirit), Spain (lemon peel, almonds), Italy (juniper berries and orris root), China (licorice), Saxony (angelica root), Morocco (coriander seeds), Indo-China (cassia bark), Java (cubeb berries), and West Africa (grains of paradise). A world tour to see all ten botanicals might be a tad bit ambitious, but THE TASTING PANEL was recently treated to a great start, learning more about this gin’s ingredients grown in Italy. At a hillside villa overlooking the city of Florence, we met Harvesting juniper berries is an arduous process, done without machinery. Ivano Tonutti, Master of Botanicals for Bombay Sapphire, who described some of the special qualities of the compo- nents used in the gin. Since he’s had the job, the provenance of the botanicals—listed right there on every bottle of Bombay Sapphire—has not changed. Tonutti assures the quality of the ingredients, actually rejecting 50 percent of the samples he receives each year. One of the ways he insures quality is by purchasing ingre- dients from growers and harvesters directly, rather than on the open market. So off we were to meet those growers and harvesters in person. TWO ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF BOMBAY SAPPHIRE WE TRAVEL TO ITALY TO DISCOVER Bombay Sapphire boasts ten rich botani- cals, sourced from around the globe.