Mystery solved! Written in code in 1638, The Distiller of London protected the distilling craft's 'mysteries' practiced by the Worshipful Company of Distillers. Award-winning authors and drinks historians Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown deciphered these recipes. They offer modern-day readers glimpses of distilling's evolution as it transformed in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England from medicine to social beverage.
The new introduction to this slim volume includes 'a new understanding of the origins of gin drawing upon evidence within the original text to support the support theory that gin evolved in London from distilling knowledge that arrived from Germany in 1527'- challenging the existing historiography with new primary evidence.
Other distillation books printed in England even earlier than The Distiller of London included juniper in their recipes. However, this volume contained the distillation guidelines sanctioned by England's King Charles I for the Worshipful Company of Distillers of London: a regulatory body that oversaw the distilling trade before William and Mary ascended the English throne in 1688 and before the eighteenth-century Gin Craze brought illegitimate distillers and compounders before the public eye, soiling the budding industry's reputation for nearly a century.
Present and future distillers and rectifiers-craft distilling's new artisans-will be inspired. Lay readers catch a glimpse of a fascinating profession that continues to grow and change.
The closely woven relationship between alcohol and the five major social institutions (family, economy, religion, government, and education) has taken Anistatia Miller on a research journey that has spanned from the early origins of alcohol production in Asia to the lives of nineteenth- and twentieth-century bartenders to the French origins of Cuban rum. However, during the past five years her focus has honed in on the economic and social impact of alcohol production and alcohol consumption on life in early modern England (c.1500-1800). Her main research interests include: -the history of brewing and distilling as well as the roles these industries played in the transformation of the English economy during the Tudor, Stuart, and Georgian periods -the history of London dry gin and eighteenth-century gin production outside of the capital, particularly in Bristol -the history of domestic brewing and distilling as well as mead, cider, and perry production in southwest England As the co-director of Exposition Universelles des Vins et Spiritueux, a private museum of wines and spirits situated in Bandol, France, from 2006 through 2009, I managed the archiving of over 8,000 bottles plus alcohol-related ephemera; the establisment of the museum's web site (ww.euvs.org); and founded a free, online library of drink and spirits books (ww.euvslibrary.com). I served as the historical consultant, in 2009 and 2011, for the content and design of the Beefeater Visitor Centre in London. And in 2012, I was the archivist for the historical records of Plymouth Gin held at the Black Friars Distilery in Plymouth, Devon. She am currently working on her PhD thesis which examines the British brewing trade during the Tudor and Stuart periods (1485-1714), focussing on its development in Bristol. The discussion reviews that the impact the early modern brewing trade exerted on the local and national economies as well as four of the five essential social institutions, while it was being shaped by technological advancements and legislative restrictions.
Master distiller and co-founder of Sipsmith Limited, a London-based distillery Jared Brown along with his co-author/wife Anistatia Miller have written about the history of drinks and spirits since 1995 when they first launched their website Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini(R) which converted into a book by the same name and published by harper Collins. He has won numerous awards for both his work as a distiller and as an author including the 2011 IWSC Communicator of the year Award and the 2016 IMBIBE Personality of the Year Award: Industry Legends.
