The Nicolas Culpeper - the world’s first airport gin distillery – opened today at London Gatwick Airport.
The distillery is now open, coinciding with launch of a unique gin called ‘The Nicholas Culpeper London Dry Gin’. Named for the famous botanist, it is distilled from an exotic blend of ingredients, including Chinese Cassia Bark and Angelica root from India.
Serving both food and drink, customers of The Nicolas Culpeper are able to pop in for a pre-holiday cocktail or a bite to eat against the backdrop of the functioning gin still, which produces up to 12 liters of gin per batch.
Gatwick and The Restaurant Group teamed up to create the gin after seeing a significant jump in the sales of premium gin over the last five years. Premium gins now account for 40 per cent of all Gatwick’s gin sales, compared to 10 per cent of sales in 2011.
The bespoke London Dry Gin recipe has been specially created by The Nicholas Culpeper’s Master of Gin, Matthew Servini. An expert in 16th and 17th century gin recipes, Matthew has created a botanical recipe modelled on that of traditional London Dry Gin, made from ingredients sourced from across the globe. Each bottle is truly unique, with its own stamp including the batch number, production date and signature of the distiller that day.
