London, UK – 31 October 2023 – Hilton London Heathrow Airport is raising a glass to the latest addition to its bar menu – an artisan gin made with botanicals from its own secret garden.
The multi-award-winning London hotel is heavily committed to going green and has introduced a number of energy saving measures, as well as using its own chef’s garden to grow fruit and vegetables which are used in its restaurants.
And now the garden has been put to even more use – with the creation of the hotel’s very own gin.
The garden surrounding the hotel, at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4, is home not only to botanicals such as lavender, eucalyptus flowers and leaves and lemon balm, but also to four beehives.
The beehives house the 100,000 bees needed to produce sufficient honey for the hotel’s restaurants – and now for its own brand of gin.
The hotel teamed up with craft gin distillery Spirit of Hertfordshire, which used those ingredients, along with woodruff and meadowsweet foraged nearby, to create OXBO Garden Gin.
Now the juniper, coriander, angelica and citrus peel-infused spirit is on sale in the hotel’s bar where it is served with either Franklin and Sons Natural Tonic Water or as the foundation of the hotel’s signature Secret Garden cocktail.
The cocktail is a refreshing combination of OXBO Gin, St Germain elderflower liqueur, apple and lime juices and thyme and lime syrup, the cocktail is also garnished with fresh thyme from the garden.
“From the outset we wanted to grow the most amazing range of ingredients here in our own hotel garden,” said Cranio Silva, OXBO Bar Manager.
“Our distiller is only about 40 miles away, too, so not only is OXBO Gin a real team effort, but in terms of carbon footprint it is short haul.”
Along with being served in the hotel’s bar, miniature bottles of OXBO Gin will be gifted to corporate clients and VIP guests.
Hilton London Heathrow Airport recently premiered Beyond Hospitality – A Path to Sustainability; a short film which highlights the importance the hotel puts on protecting the environment.
It can be watched via the hotel’s social channels, showcasing not only the passion and commitment from the team but also how their actions support Travel with Purpose, Hilton’s ESG strategy to drive responsible travel and tourism globally.
The award-winning property was named the World’s Leading Airport Hotel for five consecutive years and Europe’s Leading Airport Hotel for the past eight years.