We like a spirited G&T at Muddy, so we’re totally bewitched by this newly launched quirky local gin, in perfect timing for Halloween.

Witch In A Bottle is a citrusy dry gin created to honour a tiny silver bottle on display at Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum that’s said to contain, well, a witch. The bottle was obtained at the turn of the 20th Century by folklorist and archaeologist Margaret Murray in Sussex, with the instruction from the mysterious old lady she bought it from never to uncork it.

They were said to protect the holder from bewitching. The bottle has captivated visitors for decades and caught the eye of artist Marina Abramović, who featured it in her 2021 video artwork, Presence and Absence.

Mercifully its namesake is very much there to be opened, whether you make it an autumnal treat for yourself or gift it to a friend. Created and distilled by Buckinghamshire-based distillers, Foxdenton, for the museum, it’s available in 5cl and 70cl sizes for £6.50 or £42 on the Pitt Rivers/Ashmolean website or in the museum store.

Gin for the witching hour

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