Queen guitarist Sir Brian May has teamed up with Portobello Road Distillery to create a new gin inspired by his iconic Red Special guitar. The Red Special Gin was developed with May’s direct involvement and features botanicals including juniper, liquorice root, sage and calamansi orange grown in his own home greenhouse.
Pre-orders open in the UK on 28 September 2026 through Portobello Road Distillery, ahead of the gin’s official release on 8 October.
Brian May helped create the gin
The collaboration brings together two parts of May’s creative life: music and hands-on craftsmanship.
May famously built the original Red Special with his father, Harold, using reclaimed and household materials. The homemade instrument went on to become one of the defining elements of Queen’s sound.
For the gin, May took a similarly involved approach, working alongside Portobello Road Distillery’s master distillers at The Ginstitute in Notting Hill to develop the recipe.
The final botanical blend combines traditional juniper with warming liquorice root, aromatic sage and calamansi orange grown by May himself.
The distillery describes the finished spirit as clean, dry and refreshing, with the botanical combination designed to create a modern take on a classic London Dry gin.
There’s a sixpence inside every bottle
The most recognisable Queen reference is hidden in the bottle cap.
May has famously used a sixpence coin instead of a conventional guitar pick for decades, helping him achieve the distinctive attack associated with his playing.
Each bottle of Red Special Gin contains a genuine sixpence set into the cap as a tribute to that unusual piece of May’s guitar setup.
The bottles are also individually numbered, with editions beginning at bottle 000003. May is keeping bottle 000001 for his personal archive.
That makes the release particularly relevant to Queen fans and collectors, with the packaging designed to connect the spirit directly to the history of the Red Special.
Fans can visit The Ginstitute
The partnership also extends beyond the bottle.
Fans visiting Portobello Road Distillery’s Notting Hill venue can book a masterclass at The Ginstitute, where they can create their own botanical blend in the same space where May developed his Red Special Gin recipe.
The gin is initially being made available for pre-order in the UK, with a wider US launch planned.
With its recipe, packaging and production process all tied directly to May’s creative history, Red Special Gin is a collaboration that goes beyond simply putting a musician’s name on a bottle.
