Beefeater Gin Seville oranges, whole juniper berries and other natural botanicals for a full 24 hours prior to distillation. This long process allows for a full extraction of flavour from the botanicals, capturing a wide range of volatile oils. The distillation itself takes around eight hours to complete, overseen by master distiller Desmond Payne – with the spirit then taken to Scotland where it is blended and bottled at 40% ABV. 47% ABV is common in the USA. A super premium version of Beefeater was launched in Syon House on 30 October 2009. Beefeater '24' with its additional botanicals of Chinese Green
Gin mixed drinks, including the martini. Secretly produced "bathtub gin" was available in the speakeasies and "blind pigs" of Prohibition-era America as a result of the relative simple production. Sloe gin is traditionally described as a liqueur made by infusing sloes (the fruit of the blackthorn) in gin, although modern versions are almost always compounded from neutral spirits and flavourings. Similar infusions are possible with other fruits, such as damsons or beach plums. Another popular gin-based liqueur with a longstanding history is Pimm's No.1 Cup (25 per cent alcohol by volume), which is a fruit cup flavoured with citrus and spices.