It's bottoms up in BA First class

First thing we do on a long-haul flight? Order a G&T, of course. And we’re in good company: British Airways serves three million of them to its passengers a year. So it was probably only a matter of time before the airline started producing its own brand of herbaceous gin. The new gin, launched late last year, has been ‘tailored’ by Cambridge Distillery using basil, rosemary and thyme grown in the distillery gardens and each bottle is labelled with the British Airways Speedmarque and wax-sealed by hand. Unfortunately, we probably won’t be sampling it: British Airways Tailored Gin is available exclusively to First-class passengers in the Concorde Room at Heathrow’s Terminal 5.Luckily for G&T-loving travellers like us, it isn’t just airlines who make their own gin – hotels are at it too: The Dorchester, for example, has been serving its Old Tom brand since 2014 when bar manager Giuliano Morandin adapted an 18th-century gin recipe. Old Tom is described as ‘slightly sweeter than London Dry and slightly drier than Dutch Jenever’ and served exclusively in The Bar at The Dorchester, where you’ll also find its creator and his award-winning team of mixologists.  At the overlooking the castle, guests can order a G&T made with One Square Gin, produced exclusively for the hotel by the city’s Summerhall Distillery. The hotel even has a gin-based package which includes an in-room gin amenity and a guided tour of the distillery. Not all hotels commission their own brands from a commercial distillery – some make it themselves. In Guernsey, the divine Bella Luce Hotel, set in a Norman manor house, distills its house gins in traditional copper stills. The gin is produced in small, seasonal batches from the finest botanicals, including rock samphire foraged from the nearby cliffs which is what gives the gin its delicate, slightly mineral, flavour. The owners of The Plough Hotel & Restaurant in Oxfordshire set up The Cotswolds Gin Pantry in 2011 which, as well as housing hundreds of gins from around the world, produces its own Gin In A Tin, blended by Martin Agius (known locally as the Gin Man). Hotel guests and non-residents can sign up for a wide selection of tasting packages, including a blend-your-own session. 

BY MAGGIE O’SULLIVAN