Just so you know, this post contains affiliate links. We do receive a small commission when you click on our links and make a purchase (at no extra cost to you). We always give our honest opinions, and these opinions are fully our own. See our Disclaimers →
Bombay Bramble
About BOMBAY BRAMBLE
If you’ve ever been inside a bar or liquor store in recent years, you’ve probably seen the bright blue Bombay Sapphire bottle. But, after establishing their flagship London dry gin, Bombay have continued to release new products with the latest being Bombay Bramble.
Bombay Bramble is a spirit-forward, flavored gin that takes inspiration from a classic cocktail. The Bramble was created by the legendary British bartender Dick Bradsell, and originally used a drizzle blackberry liquor. Bombay adds both fresh blackberries and raspberries to their dry gin to create the vibrant flavor of Bombay Bramble. Black carrots and black currant are also added for coloring, but they don’t add any sugar.
Bottle Specs
❖ Spirit: Flavored Gin
❖ ABV: 43%
❖ Low-Moderate Price
Tasting Notes
My Tasting Notes
❖ Color: Ruby Red
❖ Nose: Tart berry, Citrus, Floral, Herbal spice
❖ Taste: Sweet berry, Juniper, It kinda reminds me of cough syrup or a cough drop. More bitter than I was expecting.
❖ Finish: Long finish, Juniper with slight berry sweetness, Slight herbal spice
Cocktail
Bombay Bramble
25 ml Fresh Lemon Juice
12.5 ml Simple Syrup
50 ml Bombay Bramble
❖ Add ingredients to a glass
❖ Top with crushed ice and garnish with lemon wedge and blackberry
The Bombay website has some recipes for other cocktails, but I thought it was more fitting to try their Bombay Bramble cocktail recipe. Bramble is one of my personal favorite cocktails, and I have enjoyed both the original version, and one using fresh berries. I usually measure ingredients using ounces, so I had to approximate the simple syrup.
I was surprised at how much I liked this cocktail. I was worried about the bitter and medicinal notes, but the lemon juice and sugar cover up everything except the fruity notes. In fact, Bombay Bramble gives the drink a pleasant fruit punch flavor thats quite refreshing and distinct from the other Bramble recipes I’ve tried. Also, this drink looks really pretty.
Bottom Line
Despite enjoying individual aspects of Bombay Bramble, the overall experience was disappointing. I usually like gin and berry drinks, but this combination of flavors felt too disjointed.
The fruit notes and vibrant color do work well in the Bombay Bramble cocktail, but this was the only thing I liked about the spirit. Neat, it tastes too much like cough syrup for my personal taste and was also a bit too bitter in a Gin and Tonic I tried.
I can really only recommend Bombay Bramble as a mixing spirit, so luckily it’s in a decent price range. I can find bottles for about $20-$25 in my area, so it’s not too much of a money commitment. I’m still going to finish this bottle experimenting with cocktails, and maybe Bombay will make some adjustments in the future.
As always, drink responsibly.
Not Quite what you're looking for?
SEE OUR OTHER GIN REVIEWS: