Empress 1908 Indigo
Victoria, British Columbia
Made by Victoria Distillers with tea from the Fairmont Empress Hotel. The indigo colour comes from butterfly pea blossom and shifts with pH. Bottled at 42.5%. Sources disagree on whether coriander, cinnamon and ginger are also in the recipe, so only the botanicals every source agrees on are listed.
- Ingredients / botanicals
- juniper, grapefruit peel, rose petals, black tea, butterfly pea blossom
In its favor
- ✓Colour comes from a flower, not dye
- ✓No added sugar reported
What to watch
- !Tea and floral botanicals add polyphenols
- !42.5% is above the 40% of most gins
- !Base spirit not stated
Factor by factor
Congeners Low ▾
Byproducts of fermentation (methanol, acetaldehyde, fusel alcohols). Strongly linked to hangover severity; darker, less-distilled spirits carry more.
Histamines Low ▾
Produced by bacteria during fermentation/aging. Trigger flushing, headaches, congestion in sensitive drinkers. High in red wine, beer, aged spirits.
Polyphenols Moderate ▾
Plant compounds with antioxidant activity. Slightly protective at low doses but at high concentrations may worsen hangover via tannin/quercetin reactions.
Sulfites Very Low ▾
Preservatives (SO₂) added to wine and some beers. Common trigger of headaches, asthma, and allergic-type reactions.
Tannins Low ▾
Astringent polyphenols from skins, seeds, barrels. Bind proteins, slow alcohol clearance, and aggravate dehydration-style symptoms.
Sugar Very Low ▾
Residual sugar amplifies hangover via blood-sugar swings and dehydration. Liqueurs and cocktails are the main offenders.
Additives Low ▾
Colorants, flavorings, glycerin, propylene glycol, sorbates. Cheap spirits and ready-to-drinks often hide these in trade-secret formulas.
Empress 1908 is a gin coloured naturally by butterfly pea blossom, which turns pink or lavender when citrus or tonic lowers the pH. It is made in Victoria, British Columbia with the black tea blend served at the Fairmont Empress Hotel.
The tea and flowers add more botanical compounds than a plain London Dry, and at 42.5% a 1.5oz pour carries slightly more ethanol than a 40% gin.
Empress 1908 Indigo questions
What proof is Empress 1908 Indigo? ▾
Empress 1908 Indigo is 85 proof, which is 42.5% alcohol by volume.
Does Empress 1908 Indigo give you a bad hangover? ▾
Empress 1908 Indigo scores 3/10 on the SpiritFacts Hangover Index, against 3/10 for gin overall. It is low on every hangover factor we track, so most of the morning after comes down to how much ethanol you drink.
Is Empress 1908 Indigo vegan? ▾
Yes. Empress 1908 Indigo is listed as vegan, with no animal-derived ingredients or fining agents.