In the times of COVID, even Her Majesty needs a side-gig. Why not in the tasty world of spirits?

In a Royal first, official Buckingham Palace gin has gone on sale to the public – and the first batch sold out online in only 8 hours!

The premium, small-batch, London dry is an initiative of the Royal Collection Trust. It is infused with citrus and herbal notes that are derived from 12 botanicals, including some collected from the Buckingham Palace garden itself, like lemon verbena, hawthorn berries, bay leaves and mulberry leaves.

Priced at £40 - about $50 USD per bottle, sales from the gin don’t go into the Queen’s already pretty well-lined pockets.

It’s an initiative of the Royal Collection Trust, a privately-funded charity. 

The Royal Collection of art, artefacts, furnishings and more is one of the largest and most important collections in the world and one of the last remaining intact royal collections in Europe. It is dispersed between over a dozen royal residences and properties, many available for visitors to see during public opening hours. The Royal Collection is not owned by the Queen as an individual. The Trust is responsible for maintaining and displaying the priceless works for the Crown’s heirs and the nation.

The charity has revealed it’s expecting a shortfall of tens of millions of British pounds without ticket sale revenues due to pandemic closures, so the tremendous success of the Buckingham Palace gin will help ensure the Trust can continue its conservation work.

Luckily, a second batch was already ordered and available just in time to stock shelves at the Royal Collection shops that re-opened July 23^rd at Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, and the Queen’s Galleries in London and Edinburgh.

North Americans will have to wait to taste Buckingham Palace gin. Online delivery is only available in the UK. Fortunately, there are lots of other items on the Royal Collection Trust’s web site to give you a taste of British royalty until you can travel to the UK again.

The Royal Collection Trust recommends enjoying Buckingham Palace gin in a classic, hot-weather thirst-quenching gin and tonic. It also says the gin will be served at official Buckingham Palace events.

But the Queen’s reported pre-lunch cocktail (you read that right, pre-lunch) isn’t a G&T, although it does feature gin, along with Dubonnet, an aperitif made from fortified wine and a special blend of botanicals including peels, spices and herbs.

Until you can visit the UK and pick up a bottle of Her Majesty’s new gin, any premium, London dry gin will do (it’s said HM traditionally drinks Gordon’s), and the recipe is easy:

·     1 part gin

·     2 parts Dubonnet Rouge

Stirred with ice, strained into a cocktail glass over cubed ice, served with a slice of lemon.