2013 Gin Brand Champion: Bombay Sapphire

In 2012 Bombay Sapphire gently slipped past Beefeater to become the second best-selling international gin. With its striking blue glass bottle, it’s the most distinctive gin brand. Total gin sales may be flat and predicted to shrink slightly, but this ignores the growth in premium brands like Bombay and the buzz around boutique gins. In 2012 owners Bacardi announced plans to transfer production from G&J Greenall and give the brand a home of its own. By the end of 2013 it will be distilled in a purpose-built distillery in the south of England at Laverstoke in Hampshire.