5 Gins to Try and Why: Martin Miller’s Gin
The 5 Gins to Try and Why series highlights 5 unique and highly recommended craft gin brands available on Tipxy.com. Martin Miller’s Gin, known as the world's first “super premium” gin, involves two separate distillations and a trip to Iceland; the product of an inspired 1990s no-budget project during the vodka era in Europe.
Sooo… Who Was Martin Miller?
And how did he end up with a gin named after him?
Martin Miller was a “flamboyant and socially gregarious” Englishman born in 1946 with an eccentric and creative entrepreneurial spirit. He dabbled in all sorts of businesses, not allowing his dyslexia to get in his way, and his quest to create the finest gin was just one of the many projects he worked on in his lifetime of 67 years.
Miller tested out his business capabilities at 14, selling hamsters, and soon began writing mail order dating advice pamphlets for men, titled “Success With the Fairer Sex.” Over his lifetime, Miller accomplished quite a bit, owning hotels and properties, writing antique guides, founding the Lyle Official Antiques Review in 1970, working in the publishing industry, organized concerts, working as a photographer, opening Miller's Academy of Arts and Sciences and of course, starting his very own Martin Miller's Gin among others ventures.
Martin Miller's Gin Story
As Miller himself said, "After drinking a rubbish gin and tonic in a pub in the mid-1990s, I got the germ of an idea to launch a super-premium smooth gin made with extra-pure Icelandic water — crazy, perhaps, as it was the era of vodka." Miller and two friends, David Bromige and Andreas Versteegh, went out to lunch one day, in Notting Hill, and ordered some gin despite the overwhelming popularity of vodka at the time. They were disturbed by the lack of quality, inspiring motivation to create what England appeared to be lacking: a really good premium gin. Together, the three put together a plan for their launching gin business. However, as Bromige says, it was never really about the business. They just wanted to create a great product, with irrelevant sales numbers. Bromige says they felt that "worst came to the worst, we would end up with a large container of gin we liked to get us through the rest of our lives." Miller, as a “self-described dabbler,” knew as little about gin as he did about the publishing and antiques industry before he entered them, but lack of expertise never stopped this entrepreneur from starting something new, his philosophy being: “you can always buy expertise.” And so Martin Miller’s Gin was born.
Martin Miller’s Gin
Martin Miller’s Gin is a three time winner of the gold medal at the International Wines and Spirits Challenge, and just since 2020 has won 15 awards for all the Martin Miller gins combined. The gin is not especially quirky or different (if that’s what you’re looking for, check out 5 Gins to Try and Why: X-Gin), but it's a solid, high quality, classic gin created during a time when that quality gin was a novelty.
Distillation and Botanicals
Miller aimed for a traditional, high quality super premium gin, and that is exactly what Martin Miller’s Gin is. The gin is distilled in an antique copper pot still, after separate distillations of the earth botanicals and citrus botanicals that balance the juniper and citrus flavors. Botanicals include juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, cassia, angelica, orris root, and licorice. As Jacob Ehrenkrona, current CEO of Martin Miller’s Gin, puts it: “We didn’t have to be weird or strange to attract attention because there were no new premium gins around. So ours is a classic gin recipe. The unique thing we add is a little bit of cucumber essence, and we use the old maceration method. We cook the ingredients separately and then blend them together at the end.”
Iceland’s Contribution
The most unique addition to the gin is the distillate’s trip to Iceland, where it is blended to bottling strength with fresh Icelandic spring water. Miller felt that while it was inconvenient and likely costly to ship their gin beginnings to Iceland to complete it, it was an entirely necessary step of the process, and a big part of what makes Martin Miller’s Gin so exceptional. Miller claims there is “something about the surface tension" in the Icelandic spring water used that creates “the soft mouth feel of the gin.”
Where to Buy Martin Miller’s Gin Online in the US
The most efficient and well-priced option for buying Martin Miller’s Gin online is Tipxy.com, known for its broad online supply of craft, artisanal, and just regular alcoholic beverages. Tipxy.com has a wide variety of wine and spirits, and allows for small businesses across the world to reach Americans in almost every corner of the country. Traveling from England, to Iceland, to your home, a 750 ml bottle of Martin Miller’s is just $33.99, with shipping and delivery free for any order over $99. Martin Miller’s is not gimmicky or exotic, rather it is a super premium, solid, smooth gin that won’t disappoint even the most traditional gin lovers.
Don't forget to check out the rest of TIPXY's craft gins here!
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