FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 69 OF 80
SACRED GIN, London, UK
(Inspired by ancient Silk Roads)
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
Frankincense is one of those ingredients that seems to belong to another time. Long before gin existed, this fragrant resin was being traded across the ancient world, travelling from the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa along the great trading routes that connected East and West.
The Silk Roads weren't actually one road, but a vast network of land and maritime routes linking Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Silk was obviously one of the most valuable commodities, but it travelled alongside spices, precious stones, tea, perfumes and incense. Frankincense was particularly prized and was transported northwards from Arabia towards the Mediterranean, where it was worth considerably more than its humble appearance might suggest.
The resin comes from the Boswellia tree. The bark is carefully cut and the tree exudes a sticky resin which hardens into the little "tears" that we recognise as frankincense. It has been burned as incense for thousands of years and remains an important part of religious ceremonies today.
Oman has a particularly strong connection to this story. The Land of Frankincense, centred around Dhofar, was once one of the world's major sources and trading centres for the resin. The archaeological sites, ancient ports and frankincense-growing areas are now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The particular variety used by Sacred is Boswellia sacra, sourced from the Sultanate of Oman. The resin itself can vary in colour from almost white through cream and amber to much darker shades, with the quality influenced by the tree, its growing conditions and the resin's stage of development.
It is a wonderful example of how an ingredient can carry a history with it. Frankincense travelled the ancient world as a luxury commodity, found its way into temples, churches and traditional medicine, and eventually found another home in a gin bottle.
My gin for this stop is Sacred Cardamom Gin, which feels rather appropriate given cardamom's own journey along the ancient trading routes. I love cardamom, so this is the bottle I've chosen for my G&T, although my real focus is on another botanical that sits at the heart of the Sacred story.
Sacred Gin contains 12 botanicals, including cardamom, nutmeg and frankincense. It was the inclusion of frankincense – Boswellia sacra, sourced from the Sultanate of Oman – that actually gave the brand its name. Sacra is the Latin name for the species and means "sacred", so the connection is rather beautifully literal.
Sacred was founded by Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney, with Ian developing the vacuum-distillation process used across the range.
Each botanical is macerated separately before being distilled under vacuum, allowing the individual distillates to be blended to create the finished spirit. This approach has allowed Sacred to build a range of single-botanical gins alongside the original, including Cardamom, Coriander, Orris and Juniper.
Frankincense is described as woody, peppery, spicy, resinous and citrussy – characteristics that make it an interesting companion to juniper. The resin has been used for thousands of years in incense, perfume and traditional practices, and its colour can range from pale cream through amber to darker shades depending on the resin and where it has grown.
So whilst my Cardamom Gin is the one in the glass today, it's the frankincense that brings us neatly back to the Silk Road – an ancient ingredient from Oman whose very name now lives on in a gin distilled in Highgate.
"Frankincense & The Silk Road"
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."