Setting Sail with Bombay Sapphire

For the past few weeks, my Monday nights have consisted of ordering UberEats and watching Bachelor in Paradise with my fiancé. But last Monday, I had the privilege of setting sail with Bombay Sapphire Gin and being one of the first people to sample their new gin blend, Star of Bombay, along with an intimate group of about 100 other people (including my fellow blogger friends, The Curious Creature, Simply Teee, EatNMingle, and Hypebelly).

For a couple hours, we were ‘gone with the gin’ (haha, get it?!), as we cruised around the Toronto harbour on the Tall Ship Kajama. Bombay Sapphire spared no detail, as sapphire blue Star of Bombay bottles and white Star of Bombay pillows were carefully placed throughout, there was a wall of Star of Bombay buoys, and there was a beautiful display of the gin bottles and botanicals used to create the blend in the middle of the ship. Not to mention the fact that we got to witness the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen, as house music played on in the background. I tell no lie when I say the sky was the colour of cotton candy and it made us all fall in love with the Toronto skyline even more! We were also treated to yummy, little bites, including oysters and beef risotto inside of cheese frico nests (which was my personal fave). My only complaint was that I wish there was more food, since I didn’t get to sample each appie and everything disappeared within seconds from the servers’ trays as they went around.

But, the star of the evening was really the Star of Bombay gin, and during the cruise 4 different cocktails were brought out in what seemed like strategically timed intervals: Star of Bombay & Tonic, Constellation, 50/50 Martini, and Galaxy Espresso Negroni (recipes to all 4 can be found by scrolling to the bottom of this post). Showcasing elderflower liqueur, which seems to be one of the biggest cocktail trends of the year, the Constellation prosecco cocktail was a crowd-pleaser.

Ivano Tonutti, Bombay Sapphire’s Master of Botanicals, joined us all the way from Europe. He gave a lengthy explanation behind the process of creating Star of Bombay. What makes it different than Bombay Sapphire is that it features 2 new botanicals, Bergamot orange peel from Calabria and Ambrette seed from Ecuador, and it’s bottled at a higher 47.5% alcohol by volume (ABV). So, it’s probably not the waves on Lake Ontario that had everyone feeling tipsy!

Overall, it was another great Pomp and Circumstance PR event! Thanks also to Bombay Sapphire for the experience and for the bottles of Star of Bombay that each of us got as we disembarked!

Star of Bombay Recipes

If you’re looking to buy Star of Bombay, it’s available at the LCBO for $49.95 per 750 mL bottle (compared to $28.95 for a 750 mL bottle of Bombay Sapphire London Dry). Here are some GIN-spirational cocktail recipes you can try at home:

Star of Bombay & Tonic

• 1 part Star of Bombay
• 2 parts tonic water
• orange peel
• ice

Constellation

• 1 part Star of Bombay
• 0.5 parts fresh lemon juice
• 0.5 parts Earl Grey tea syrup (or any other tea-infused syrup)
• 1 tsp. St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
• 2 parts Prosecco
• lavender garnish

50/50 Martini

• 1.5 parts Star of Bombay
• 1.5 parts Martini Dry Vermouth
• 2 dashes of orange bitters
• orange peel

Galaxy Espresso Negroni

• 1 part Star of Bombay
• 1 part Martini Rosso
• 1 part Campari
• 0.5 parts coffee
• orange wheel and coffee bean garnish