Cocktail Competition: Martin Miller’s Gin

This blog post has been a long time coming. Partially because I couldn’t find my notes on it, and then because I couldn’t actually read them and, whilst I was a judge at this particular competition, I couldn’t even blame drunkenness. The ones I couldn’t read were from the first competitor. 

I have dreadful handwriting.

I have finally, I think, been able to decipher my own notes and so, we shall quietly rewind to the end of January, which saw the Northern heat of the Martin Miller’s Gin cocktail competition. Thirteen contenders, one bar, four judges. It was going to be a long Wednesday afternoon.

First up was a bartender from our host venue Epernay, Lewis. And he had gotten creative. Martin Miller’s gin was blended with an infusion of cooked ants in cassis (specifically to obtain their formic acid), Cloud Catcher tea and honey syrup, and a lactic acid solution which was shaken and poured into an absinthe rinsed glass, before being topped with Champagne. Tea with Martin Miller was a very well balanced cocktail, warm berry flavours mingled with a light yoghurty acidity, and a gentle dry fizz. Despite the layers, the gin was still the biggest feature of the drink. 

We were off to a very good start.

Our next competitor was Alex from Elixir, who taking inspiration from the name of the still used by Martin Miller’s, had created a Night in With Angela. 

Gin was mixed with citrus, a cucumber shrub, fish oil, egg white, and a Martin Miller syrup featuring juniper, sage, lemon and coriander. Despite the unusual combination of flavours – and I think we all had concerns about the fish oil, the drink was delicious, featuring a light acidity from the shrub, creaminess from the egg and freshness from the cucumber.

Our third contender was Coop from Dusk til Pawn, who had a cocktail based loosely around a Sazerac. The glass was rinsed with lavender bitters, whilst lavender sugar, Peychaud’s bitters and a thin strip of grapefruit peel were muddled together, before a measure of Belsazar Vermouth Rose was added, along with Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength. 

It was easy to taste the Sazerac influences in A Kiss from a Rose – the lavender offered a deep herbal note, rather than it being floral, mimicking the absinthe notes in the Sazerac. 

Our fourth contender was Davide from Cane & Grain with the Riley Blue. Taking inspiration from the series Sens8, he added Martin Miller’s to a shaker, along with lime, egg white, orgeat, dry Curacao and a rainbow pepper infused rhubarb liqueur, before shaking. The cocktail was created with classical music as an accompaniment, adding a new element to the experience – and one I’ve not come across before. The cocktail was pretty and gently drying, but we were still able to pick up the gin, an important element in the competition.

Rebecca from The Washhouse also took inspiration from the still with Angela’s GnT. Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength was added to Roots Mastic liqueur, a scoop of lemon sorbet infused with microbasil, and blended with crushed ice, before being topped with 1724 tonic water. The result was lightly herbal, balanced sweetness with a sour finish from the citrus sorbet – and the first blended cocktail I’ve come across in a competition for some time.

Roberto from Gino di Campo went for something rather pretty with the Martin’s Fragrance. Martin Miller’s gin was mixed with Solerno liqueur, fresh basil leaves and pink grapefruit syrup, before being topped with lavender soda and garnished with Angostura Bitters. The cocktail was fresh, fruity, floral, lightly sweet and refreshing. 

Liz from The Laundrette took her influences from a trip to Iceland with her cocktail the Hoppipolla, the home of the water in Martin Miller’s Gin. Gin was added to Brenevin Icelandic aquavit, cold infused dill cordial and a citric acid solution, and served alongside a Pedro Ximinez plum sorbet. I was impressed with the balance of this cocktail, herbal, but not overly so, nor overly sweet, it was one of my favourites in the competition.

Stevan from Mojo took a distinctly Greek theme for his drink the Wayward Bard. Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength was mixed with Ouzo, olive syrup, saline solution and lemon, before being topped with soda. The result was sweet and salty, with a good aniseed bite, but unfortunately the gin wasn’t detectable beneath the layers of flavour. 

Returning to Iceland with his Huldufólk cocktail (Icelandic elfen, or hidden people), Zack from Cloud 23 created a cocktail with a fruity feel. Martin Millers was added to blueberry and fig puree, violette liqueur, cumin, lemon juice, egg white and a little sugar solution, before being shaken and strained. Though you can barely see it in my image, a little dry ice provided a gentle cloud of smoke across the bar top.

Penny from Cottonopolis created the Cotton Trade, a twist on a negroni with a Manchester bee theme. Honey syrup with fennel pollen was mixed with Martin Miller’s gin, a little Kamm & Sons, Belsazar White, and two dashes of Bitter Bastards orange bitters. The honey gave the drink floral top notes, while still maintaining the distinctive bitter sweet flavours of a classic negroni. 

The Silk Road from Dermot from the Blue Brick Club saw the East as his muse. Gin was added to fig liqueur, pink grapefruit juice, date nectar and Earl Grey tea, all served warm like a hot toddy and garnished with pomegranate. This was one that I felt needed a gentle tweak, cold glasses took heat from the drink and changed the flavour. A warm glass was needed to keep this toasty and tasty.

Chloe from Hawksmoor chose a literary lilt to her drink, with the John Rylands, based around a Corpse Reviver. Westbourne Strength was added to lemon, Cocchi Americano, dry sherry, celery bitters and homemade pear syrup. The result was a herbal and citrus led drink that unfortunately lost the pear syrup, which was such a disappointment as the syrup on it’s own was delicious. A little tweaking and this could have been perfect. 

Jack from Harvey Nichols had a little twist up his sleeve. Mixing gin with rhubarb and dill cordial, apricot, ginger bitters, and lemon, he garnished the cocktail with dill, before spritzing the glass with Ardbeg. The smoky whisky deliciously teased the senses as we sipped, a background hint rather than a dominant flavour, allowing the herbal and fruit flavours to shine. 

Robert from Cane & Grain garnished his drink with aplomb. For the Love of Gin was a homage to his passionate and romantic relationship with the spirit. The drink itself featured gin mixed with lemon, rosewater and violet syrup, apricot brandy infused with lavender and vanilla, and egg white. The creamy lightly drying cocktail was filled with charming floral notes, but perhaps somewhat outshone by the garnish.

Our final cocktail was from David of Mr Cooper’s (a variation of which now appears on their spring cocktail menu). Martin millers was added to Dolin Blanc vermouth infused with borage, and served with a tonic ice shell filled with absinthe. As the shell melted, both tonic and absinthe flavours filled the glass, changing the cocktail from something softly herbal, to a drink with more complexity. Probably my favourite cocktail of the event.

As we judges debated and chatted, it was clear that some drinks split us completely and others we were much more in tune on. I was also thrilled to see so many ladies entering – more than I’ve ever seen at any competition before. Ladies, please, more – your work is excellent, you just have to enter. 

However, there can only be one winner, and for this, we went all the way back to the beginning. Though his novel use of formic acid and lactic acid were intriguing, in fact the drink he created was balanced and delicious, and so Lewis was our winner.