100 Mill Street Gin

The Schtick: *Notice: 100 Mill Street sent this bottle to me. My policy is to never accept samples or product from whiskey distillers, and to disclose all other provided spirits. If you’ve never seen this banner before, it’s because this is the first time it is being used. This product is the first to mark proper candidacy. This gin is limited run, seasonal allocation and sold in a market I don’t have access to, so it is not a candidate I would have the ability to run out and buy myself. This, including the producers request for an honest take, meets my personal criteria for an acceptance I feel good about. If you have questions about my review ethics policies, never be afraid to ask.*+ + This is a pretty special gin, and there is so little of it out there. It’s allocation only gin distributed to a tiny slice of the United States. Annually, only 3,000 bottles of 100 Mill St is produced and distributed around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Peter, the distiller, produces 100 Mill St from maple sap, grown in Northern Wisconsin. Starting with 30,000 gallons of sap – no grain is involved in production which is something I find unique. This is certainly a first for me. + + In addition to enjoying neat, there are two favorite cocktails that Peter prefers to use 100 Mill St in. I gave one a shot, in addition to my typical cocktails I whip up as I like to do with all gins that I try. The first is “The World’s Best Martini”. The second is a Grapefruit Mint Sorbet, but I’m trying to keep the carbs down.. Whew, no pressure there on the martini, though. Not shockingly, both depend on some grapefruit 🙂 + + Since I have had a month or two to work through this bottle, I think that I’ve really gotten a good grasp on it, so let’s dive on in.

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Review #1230 | Gin Review #20

Distiller: 100 Mill Street

Bottler: 100 Mill Street

Brand: 100 Mill Street

Selection:

ABV: 42% ABV

Age: NA

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Nose: Powerful sap, vanilla bean, honey, leather, bright corn and some nice cracked pepper, light lime citrus. A hint of ethanol, but its mild and fleeting. This may be the sweetest gin I’ve smelled since Bar Hill, but unlike that one, this has no sugar added.

Taste: Medium mouth feel. Slight ethanol hit, but nothing wild. Fades quickly. Here is where things get wild. Honey, toffee, vanilla bean. Creamy qualities. Light berry – strawberry. Some lime. Then the faint juniper, cassia, light cardamom and some cracked pepper strikes in. Really nice transition. OVerall, the essence is mostly sweet, but naturally slow, with a quick kick into a spicier back palate.

Finish: Medium in length, loaded with creamy notes once again. Honey, vanilla, cassia, light nuttiness and some pepper to close us out. Great body in the finish that wisps away cleanly.

Overall: Wow, this is pretty wild stuff. I can’t say I’ve ever had a gin as naturally sweet as this one, and so creamy. The pepper, light juniper and faint cassia blend really well, and the berry on the palate was really unique. I’m a real big fan of this, but I wouldn’t stock it as my only gin. Some days you need that super typical London dry profile, and some days you want to let your hair down a little and have something a notch better, but with more going on. Even if its stranger. This is that gin. While it won’t stop me from keeping my usuals on hand, I would keep one around to consistently mix things up. In a martini it plays well with citrus, but I found it to play even better with some briny olive paired with the citrus to offset the sweet. Grapefruit is a great pair, but some lemon and lime zest twisted in made this a rollercoaster of fun. This gin is what I was hoping Gustaf would be like from Far North Spirits, but this nailed the profile in ways Gustaf couldn’t come close.

Thanks for reading!

Rank: 8

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