I didn’t realize that the Queen of England was in the liquor business…

Lonely Planet reports that, “Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth II’s residence in London, has released a gin that’s infused with 12 botanicals hand-picked straight from the palace’s gardens.”

No, the Queen isn’t running her own distillery but sales of the Buckingham Palace Gin will help the Royal Collection Trust take care of the artifacts they’re responsible for. The collection includes over 7,000 priceless paintings and antique furniture.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal Collection Trust predicts losses of around £30 million over the year. The losses come from sites being closed and less visitors.

I can’t imagine that gin sales will greatly help with the loss in revenue but the first batch did sell out in eight hours! The next batch is expected to be available in October.

The  70cl bottles each cost £40.

I can’t say that I’m a gin connoisseur but I am curious to find out how this royal variety tastes. The problem is that it’s only available for delivery to addresses in the United Kingdom.

Buckingham Palace and other royal residences like Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse reopened to visitors a couple of days back, on July 23.

Find out more from Lonely Planet here.