Sip in Style With Bombay Sapphire’s Basquiat-Inspired Cocktail Kits

A well made cocktail is a piece of art no different than a song or a painting. Bombay Sapphire Gin highlights the similarities with its Basquiat-inspired ‘Bombay For Real’ Special-Edition cocktail kits.

Created in honor of the recent opening of the Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure Exhibition in New York, Bombay Sapphire — the official spirits partner of the exhibition — has launched a trio of kits on Cocktail Courier.

As “for real” was a signature catchphrase Basquiat used to express enthusiasm, each ‘Bombay For Real’ kit will feature a cocktail recipe from a bartender, inspired by one of Basquiat’s exclusive artworks at the exhibit. The kit is accompanied by a notecard that showcases a photo of the original work and a quote from the bartender. Each kit will launch once a month until July. 

The first kit, the “Birds of Paradise” is inspired by Basquiat’s “Charles the First,” painting, and has been crafted by New York Bartender Cyllan Hicks. He was moved by the warm colors in the artwork and used apricot and orange flavors, complemented by Bombay Sapphire to create a bold, ripened stir of tart citrus and sweetened honey. This kit will be available from now through May 7.

Then, from May 7 to June 7, is the “Basque in the Moonlight” kit. Created by Andra “AJ” Johnson of Washington, D.C., this cocktail draws on the artist’s heritage, harmonizing tropical flavors with Bombay Sapphire’s botanicals for flavor to shine as bright as the moon depicts in Basquiat’s “Untitled (Moon).”

Finishing off the special collection is “Sprout in Pisces” which will be available from June 7 into July 7. This cocktail has been created by Chicago’s Nigal Vann who sought to evoke the painting’s vibrancy, reflected in his choice of herbaceous, seasonal flavors that blend with Basquiat’s work “Untitled.”