19th November, 2015 by Amy Hopkins

The UK’s Cambridge Distillery has created what it claims is the “world’s most expensive gin” by capturing the “angel’s share” of its Japanese Gin.

Launched exclusively with Selfridges at an RRP of £2,000, Watenshi Gin has been created by capturing the evaporation, known in the industry as angel’s share, of Cambridge Distillery’s Japanese Gin.

Using a “refined technique”, William Lowe, master distiller at Cambridge Distillery, captures the “top 1%” of the award-winning Japanese Gin, yielding just 15ml per distillation.

One bottle of Watenshi, meaning “angel’s share” in Japanese, requires 50 distillations “at half the pressure found on top of Mount Everest, and at a temperature lower than the coldest ever day at the South Pole”.

The gin is presented in a decanter hand-blown in Cambridgeshire and designed by London’s Loris&Livia, also featuring silver pieces by jeweler Antoine Sandoz.

Launched in Selfridges last year, Cambridge Distillery’s Japanese Gin is created using Japanese botanicals such as yuzu peel, shiso leaf, sansho pepper, sesame seeds and cucumber, alongside juniper.

“The Cambridge Distillery has yet to produce anything short of extraordinary, but the Watenshi takes it to the next level – both in terms of the gin’s balance and complexity, and its presentation,” said Guy Hodcroft, wine and spirits buyer for Selfridges.

Just six bottles of Watenshi Gin (45% abv) have been launched through Selfridges at an RRP of £2,000.