A toast to Martin Miller's gin

Gin is looming larger each day on the spirits scene -- and it wants its martinis back.

Martin Miller's, an ultra-premium, 80-proof gin, could reclaim some of the defectors to vodka with its clean, well-balanced taste and cocktail-friendly sensibility.

Distilled in batches in England (in a 100-year-old still affectionately known as Angela) and blended in Iceland, it's a proper gin, definitely Martin, not Marty. The flavors are sophisticated, with the requisite juniper beautifully balanced with other botanicals, cassisa bark, coriander and Florentine orris. There's also the subtle influence of Seville citrus peel, cinnamon bark, ground nutmeg and an undisclosed ingredient the company is keeping secret.

The makers take the distillate on a 3,000-mile trip, off to Iceland where it is blended with glacial water, touted as the purest, softest elixir on earth. The result: a gin that leads with a hint of citrus, followed by a spicy burst of juniper, then glides in for a pillowy landing.

Packaged in a tall, sleek bottle with sparkling, angled corners, Martin Miller's is further embellished with a cool map plotting the sea route between Iceland and England. Expect to pay about $25 for a 750 ml bottle.