World’s most expensive gin arrives at Selfridges
THE world’s most expensive gin has gone on sale at a Birmingham department gin – with a single shot likely to set you back more than £70.
A bottle of Watenshi – ‘The Japanese Angel’ gin, is now available at Selfridges in the Bullring with a price tag of £2,000.
The bottle is one of just 36 that are produced each year in the world, and one of only a handful available in the UK.
The super-luxury, limited edition Angel Share spirit 70cl bottle is the result of a combination of distillation, innovation, craftsmanship and design.
The world-famous Cambridge Distillery creates the spirit drop by drop with a unique distillation technique. Using air pressure less than half that found at the summit of Everest and a temperature colder than the South Pole, it retains the finest 1% of each distillation which would otherwise evaporate away – what distillers term the ‘Angel’s Share’.
Watenshi is essentially the best 1% of The Cambridge Distillery’s Japanese Gin, which itself was crowned Gin of the Year 2015 by the China & Hong Kong Wine and Spirits Awards.
The painstaking process means that only 36 bottles can be produced each year, of which only six will be released to any one country.
To create the bottle for Watenshi, The Cambridge Distillery collaborated with Swiss designers Loris & Livia and jeweller Antoine Sandoz, whose previous clients include Tom Ford, Chanel and De Beers.
Each bottle is hand blown in Cambridgeshire, the stoppers turned in Switzerland, and the silver features which adorn each bottle were designed, cast, polished, engraved and plated in London. The final touch comes from hand-brushed Japanese characters painted by a Master Calligrapher.
Guy Hodcroft, Selfridges Wine and Spirits buyer said: “After years of distilling gins to suit individual’s palates, it became obvious that for many people gin is more than just a crisp, refreshing drink with tonic water. The vast majority of our clients drink their gins neat, or over ice, and that requires something beyond a hit of juniper and zing of citrus.”
“With Watenshi we have been able to explore the upper limits of what the gin category is capable of. We sought to make a gin of unparalleled intensity and complexity, with a finish which goes on and on. It’s a superb expression of refined elegance which have previously been the preserve of the finest single malts and significantly aged cognacs.”
The Watenshi gin is part of this year’s Destination Christmas Journey to the Stars theme at Selfridges Birmingham.
