Bombay Sapphire will celebrate its 250th anniversary by participating in the Milan Design Week 2011 with the installation Vapor Infusion, created by Moritz Waldemeye.

He created a stunning and highly imaginative visualisation of the special distillation process used in the production of the premium gin in the iconic blue bottle.

The Bombay Sapphire Vapour Infusion Piece combines the most advanced lighting technology with hand-crafted skills, juxtaposing the contemporary and traditional attributes of Bombay Sapphire in an intriguing and beautiful way.

In this project for Bombay Sapphire, Moritz has experimented and pushed the boundaries of LED lighting technology to the absolute limit to create a first-of-its-kind interactive sculpture.

The Vapour Infusion Piece is a 2.4m high sculpture with a footprint that mimics the Bombay Sapphire bottle.

The sculpture incorporates a unique, curved centre screen that features more than 2,000 LED lights and is only a mere 10mm thick.

Each light has been hand applied and wired one by one to the screen to create a highly contemporary visual and artistic display.

The lighting technology demonstrates in an avant-garde and visually stunning way, the special distillation method used to create the tantalising, smooth and complex taste of Bombay Sapphire.

By programming each individual light with its own lighting system and then combining with the other lights through an intricate and technical communication program, Moritz has simulated rising vapour with a beautiful display of different shades of blue flowing across the screen.

The rising vapour moves up through a perforated copper ring containing the ten botanical ingredients as it does during the unique distillation process, called Vapour Infusion.

The copper ring of the Vapour Infusion Piece has been made by the same English craftspeople who create copper parts for exclusive, high-end luxury vehicles, like Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Bentley.

The copper ring was handmade using a traditional English metal working skill, called ‘wheeling’.

This process involves rolling the copper to curve and mould it into the bespoke shape.

Once shaped, small holes were drilled into the surface of the copper ring in a similar way to the perforated copper basket used to house the botanical ingredients during the production of Bombay Sapphire.

Each of the 10 botanicals, such as juniper berries from Tuscany, cubeb berries from Java and Grains of Paradise from West Africa, are housed in the ring in separate compartments allowing you to touch and smell each ingredient used in the creation of Bombay Sapphire.

In the distillation of Bombay Sapphire gin the 10 botanicals used to create Bombay Sapphire are placed by hand into a copper basket. Spirit is heated in the still before turning to vapour.

The vapour moves up through the basket containing the botanicals, in a process called Vapour Infusion, delicately capturing the aromas of each botanical.

To heighten the sensory experience of the Vapour Infusion Piece, Moritz has created 10 hand-sized compartments in a copper ring to house each of the botanicals.

When the botanicals are interacted with, their aroma is released from the top of the sculpture in a light mist.

As the mist moves through the air, the air is filled with the delicate aroma of the botanicals.

The Vapour Infusion Piece is dramatic and inspiring. Contemporary lighting counterbalanced by traditional crafted copper creates a contradictory aesthetic that is highly relevant in the design world today.

“The Vapour Infusion Piece imaginatively brings to life the unique production process of Bombay Sapphire, through highly innovative design combined with an element of surprise,” comments Bombay Sapphire Global Marketing Manager Thomas Sandoz.

Designer Moritz Waldemeyer adds, “I’m very excited about the technical innovation used, which I believe has delivered really beautiful aesthetics.

I have taken the very essence of Bombay Sapphire and delivered innovation, elegance and an intriguing
multi-sensory experience.”