Empress 1908 Gin
Empress 1908 Gin — the Empress 1908 Indigo Gin — is a 750mL Canadian gin bottled at 42.5% ABV (85 proof), handcrafted in small batches in copper-pot stills by Victoria Distillers in British Columbia in collaboration with the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. Eight botanicals, including the hotel's signature black tea blend and butterfly pea blossom, give it its natural indigo colour — which shifts toward lavender and pink when acidic mixers like tonic or citrus hit the glass. No artificial colours are used. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 42.5% (85 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Origin: Victoria Distillers, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
- Botanicals: 8 — juniper, grapefruit peel, rose petal, coriander seed, ginger root, cinnamon bark, Fairmont Empress black tea blend, butterfly pea blossom
- Method: Small-batch, copper-pot stills
- Signature: Natural indigo colour from butterfly pea blossom; colour shifts with citrus or tonic
The Indigo Gin Born at Afternoon Tea
The Fairmont Empress has poured afternoon tea in Victoria since the hotel opened in 1908 — the year in the name — and this gin began there: butterfly pea blossom was discovered in a tea served at the hotel, and Victoria Distillers built the collaboration around it and around the hotel's signature black tea blend, a selection of teas from Assam, Kenya, South India, Ceylon and China created for the Empress by the Metropolitan Tea Company. The distillery — on Vancouver Island, in Sidney, just north of Victoria — handcrafts the gin in small batches in copper-pot stills. Per the producer, the gin took Gold at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition 2017, Best Alcohol Drink at the World Beverage Innovation Awards 2017, and Judge's Selection at the Alberta Beverage Awards 2017. Browse the maker's page on the Empress 1908 vendor page and more gin in our spirits collection.
Tasting Notes
Per Victoria Distillers: forward earthiness from the butterfly pea blossom and the Empress house tea, then grapefruit-peel citrus, rose-petal floral hints, and warm spice from ginger and cinnamon over the juniper base.
How to Enjoy
Built for the show: pour it indigo, add tonic or citrus, and watch the colour walk from indigo through lavender to pink — an Empress & Tonic or a French 75 makes the most of it. More gins are in our spirits collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Empress 1908 gin blue — and why does it change colour?
Butterfly pea blossom, one of its eight botanicals, colours the spirit a natural indigo. The pigment reacts to acidity, so tonic, lemon or lime shifts it toward lavender, violet and pink. No artificial colours are used.
What botanicals are in Empress 1908?
Eight, per the producer: juniper, grapefruit peel, rose petal, coriander seed, ginger root, cinnamon bark, the Fairmont Empress signature black tea blend, and butterfly pea blossom.
Where is Empress 1908 made?
By Victoria Distillers on Vancouver Island, British Columbia — a collaboration with the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, whose afternoon tea service (the hotel opened in 1908) inspired the gin.
Indigo in the bottle, pink in the glass — order Empress 1908 Gin online from Del Mesa Liquor, San Diego, CA.
