Now we know what tonic the Queen puts in her royal gin
Royal warrants have been issued since the 15th century to supply the royal court and royal personages with swag. The Queen has granted 686 Royal Warrants, the Prince of Wales 159, and The Duke of Edinburgh 38.
This week Devon’s Luscombe’s Drinks became the official supplier of mixers. Buckingham Palace already has its own gin (£40), sloe gin (£30), Palace of Holyroodhouse Highland malt whiskies (£75), Buckingham Palace port (£30), Buckingham Palace Tokaji (£60), vintage Champagne (£40), and Pauillac (£40). You can also buy Buckingham Palace corkscrews (£12.95) and Windsor castle glass tumblers (also £12.95).
The royal family has its preferred supplier of Kent cobnuts (Aliens Farm), baths (About Baths), hairbrushes (Kent), broomsticks (A. Nash), horse feed (Allen & Page Ltd), luxury automobiles (Jaguar Land Rover Co), performance activewear (Musto), dog food (Judge’s Choice Petfood) and mattresses (Sleepeezee Ltd). I have no idea what they use to shine their boots, however, given the Wren’s Super Shoe Polish warrant has lapsed.
And now you and the Royal family can add St Clements juice, Rhubarb Crush, Wild Elderflower or Damascene Rose Bubbly to your champers or Prosecco, Devon tonic to your gin, or Sicilian lemonade to your whisky.
Luscombe founder Gabriel David says: “After many years of having the pleasure of selling our drinks to the Royal family and pressing the apples from the Highgrove Estate, this is an enormously prestigious accolade. Our drinks have been enjoyed by the Royal family at home, served at palace events and Buckingham Palace tea parties for many years, so it is fantastic to now gain this formal recognition.”
Luscombe Drinks in the Dartmoor Valley has been producing “beautifully crafted drinks” on their Devon farm since 1975.
“The awarding of this Royal Warrant could not have come at a better time,’ adds David. ”It has been an incredibly tough year for our industry and our business but this feels like a flag of positivity amongst all of the challenges, a sign that things are changing and better times are to come. As the hospitality industry starts to fully reopen we are optimistic that this marks the start of a fantastic post-lockdown future.”
All of Luscombe’s 30 products are made onsite, blending organic fruits sourced from the best producers in the world, with the addition of Dartmoor spring water.