Navy Strength gin demands a certain confidence from its distiller. At 57% ABV, there is nowhere to hide — every botanical decision is amplified, every flaw exposed. Bordeaux Distilling's Transatlantic Navy Strength Gin enters this unforgiving category with a name that speaks to the historic maritime connection between France and the wider world, a nod to the naval tradition from which this style takes its name.
A Transatlantic Proposition
What strikes me about this gin is its ambition. The Transatlantic name suggests a deliberate bridging of distilling traditions — the refinement one associates with French craft spirits meeting the robust, juniper-forward character that defines authentic Navy Strength. At 57% ABV, it sits precisely at the proof historically required by the Royal Navy, the threshold at which gunpowder would still ignite if doused with the spirit. That is not merely trivia; it is the standard by which every Navy Strength gin must be measured.
Bordeaux Distilling have positioned this bottle at £44.50, which places it in the mid-premium bracket for the category — a fair proposition if the liquid delivers the depth and intensity that this style requires. Navy Strength gins must balance their considerable alcoholic weight with botanical complexity, and the best examples manage to be both powerful and poised.
Best Served
A gin of this strength deserves respect in the glass. I would reach for a classic Navy Strength G&T — a generous measure over plenty of ice, topped with Fever-Tree Indian Tonic and finished with a thick wedge of pink grapefruit to complement the intensity. It also makes a formidable Martini, where the higher proof carries botanical character through the vermouth with real conviction.
At 8.1 out of 10, this is a gin that earns its place in the Navy Strength conversation — a category that tolerates no half measures.
