It isn’t often The Imbiber comes across a spirit so remarkable, I’m willing to anoint it the best of its kind – mainly for fear of pissing off the other guys and getting shut out of cool events. Alas, I must risk being blackballed by Bombay, Tanqueray and the other fine “ays” out there who produce gin because it appears I have discovered THE CHOSEN ONE. Martin Miller’s London Dry Gin is the eponymous creation of an English antiques expert who, having grown frustrated over a perceived dearth of quality gins, decided to whip up an ultra premium of his own. After much trial and error, Miller concocted an 80-proof wonder that has the potential to revolutionize and re-popularize gin in much the same way the likes of Grey Goose and Ketel One did for vodka.
Miller seeks out the best botanicals – juniper, and other stuff like cassia bark and Florentine Iris – and distills it in hundred-year-old copper still dubbed Grandma. Once the heart of the single batch distillation is extracted it gets shipped from the UK to Iceland, where it’s married with lava-filtered glacial water and bottled. I’m telling you, people, ole’ Marty should have called the stuff Baby’s Ass instead, cuz it’s THAT smooth (and drinking enough of it will get you pretty, uh, crappy). Is it the water? The still? Magic? I dunno, but I can tell you that Miller’s gin is so good it was just awarded double gold at the 2006 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Price is $27.99, which is roughly the cost of two Ricky Martin cds. And if you look at it that way – Ricky Martin versus Martin Miller – it’s kind of a no-brainer. What, you ask, is up with the random Ricky Martin reference? That’s easy – I’m high on gin and tonic, and livin’ la vida loca. Anybody wanna join me?
