Best Japanese artisanal and craft gin

Kyoya Distillery has captured the sunniness of Miyazaki prefecture (in Kyushu, the most southwesterly of Japan’s four main islands) with a warm, citrus-forward arrangement of botanicals: local hyuganatsu (a citrus that’s like a cross between a grapefruit and lemon), the lime-like fruit hebesu, and golden kumquats. Kyushu is traditionally known for its shochu and Kyoya Distillery is, in fact, a revered shochu producer founded in 1834. For Hinata, the company naturally uses shochu as the base spirit, with botanicals added for the second distillation.

On the nose, you’ll notice the refreshing character of juniper. The gin is softly aromatic, with warmth coming not just from the citrus but from cardamom and camomile as well. The finish, on the other hand, is a gentle spicy twist derived from a varied mix of other botanicals including fennel, black sesame, cedar, ginger and cinnamon. Skip the tonic and add a splash of soda water to appreciate the full, delicate spectrum of this alluring gin.

A global success story and probably Japan’s best-known gin, Roku, which means ‘six’ in Japanese, is named after the spirit’s six botanicals: sakura flower and leaf, green tea, gyokuro (premium green tea), sansho pepper and yuzu peel. These quintessential Japanese flavours are also showcased prominently on the hexagonal bottle design.

It’s a beautifully aromatic and harmonious gin, perfect for those who prefer a more subdued juniper flavour. The initial sweet, floral aroma is a crowd-pleaser, which is then rounded off with a crisp spicy-citrusy finish – but it’s the smooth, buttery texture that will have you continue sipping.

For those of you who like your gin on the woody, earthy side of things – or are simply up for trying something new – Kozue could be the one for you. Nakano BC in Wakayama prefecture, which has expertise in producing sake and umeshu (plum liquor), has selected koyamaki (Japanese umbrella pine) as Kozue’s predominant aromatic informant, making it the first gin to use these endemic pine needles as a botanical. Added to this are the pepper pungency of sansho, bursts of berries, mandarin and lemon peels, and juniper berries. The juniper aroma is somewhat muted by the pine needles, meaning this is not a traditional dry gin. From start to finish, Kozue drives a green, forest-fresh agenda, with subtle hints of citrus, mint and spice in between. 

A highly regarded Kagoshima shochu producer since 1883, Komasa Jyozo’s first foray into craft gin last year produced a bright, citrus-centric spirit featuring the world’s smallest mandarin, the Sakurajima komikan, grown on the eponymous volcanic island. Its second gin, created from a base of rice shochu, champions another quintessential Japanese ingredient – hojicha, or roasted green tea – and it is sensational.

While tea is a common botanical in Japanese gin, roasted green tea is an ingenious twist, as the heating process eliminates the caffeine bitterness to create a tea that’s deeply aromatic, more mellow and less astringent. This is a perfect foil for the sharp juniper berries while the addition of Japanese cypress enhances the forest aroma of hojicha. Add a little bit of tonic water to really open up the warm, uniquely Japanese bouquet.

This dry spirit from a dedicated gin distillery in Kyoto is arguably the first Japanese gin to get the world’s attention, with lots of hype surrounding its launch back in 2016. The flagship Ki No Bi is made using the famous water from the sakebrewing district of Fushimi and is built on a base of rice spirit. The 11 featured botanicals are divided into six categories – base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice and floral – with each distilled separately before blending. So while the zesty yuzu dominates, you’ll still get a sense of the other ingredients in this perfectly balanced bottle: there’s an underscore of gyokuro tea and spicy sansho pepper, followed by a warm ginger finish.

Since then, The Kyoto Distillery has been taking inspiration from the tradition and heritage of Japan when creating various expressions of dry gin, including the Old Tom-style gin Ki No Tou that’s sweetened with Okinawan black sugar.

Transport yourself to Hokkaido with a nip of Benizakura Distillery’s 9148 gin. Its bounty of local botanicals includes kombu, shiitake mushroom and dried daikon, which imbue the flavour with a distinct umami quality, balanced by the strong presence of juniper.

There’s a total of 15 to 20 botanicals, with other interesting local additions including horseradish, lavender, red shiso and soba (buckwheat). Benizakura doesn’t stick to just one recipe, but rather releases small batches of around 500 bottles, with each displaying the recipe number to which it belongs. These releases are tweaked to match the seasons; for example, spring’s batch 3892 used sakura petals collected from the distillery’s grounds.

The name is a homage to George Orwell’s seminal ‘1984’, but, conversely, was also chosen to express support for freedom of thought and ideas in society, which are reflected in this unconventional, free-spirited approach.

Established in 1918, Chugoku Jozo in Hiroshima has a diverse portfolio of alcohol: sake, shochu, sparkling fruit wines, cider, whisky and craft gin. The company’s gin, under the brand Sakurao, made its debut on the Japanese craft gin scene in 2018, quickly gaining popularity and even snapping up a gold at IWSC in 2018. 

Sakurao is a rich bounty of Hiroshima botanicals such as yuzu, oyster shells, cypress and red shiso and is made through a combination of steeping and vapour infusion methods to maximise flavour. Sakurao Original, the brand’s standard gin, boasts a total of 23 aromatics, has a vegetal freshness, solid citrus tones, and a crisp sea-spray edge, rounded off by a hint of sweetness.

Niigata is regarded as one of the best regions for sake in Japan, with its pristine water, crisp air and cold winters, so it’s hardly surprising that craft gin from the region is also excellent. Yaso103 is an elegant gin made from 103 different Niigata botanicals, such as Japanese carrot leaves, cloves and ginseng berries as well as the requisite juniper. Most often, gins in Japan are made by sake breweries or shochu distilleries, but the company behind Yaso103, Echigo Yakuso, specialises in health foods using local plants – we guess that explains the gin’s dizzying number of ingredients.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, but when a pandemic gives you excess sake and beer, make gin – that’s the thinking of craft distiller Ethical Spirits Co. On the back of the company’s first gin release in March 2020, which used surplus sake lees as a base, Ethical Spirits Co released Revive in September, made from around 20,000 litres of surplus Budweiser beer. 

To produce the gin, the beer is distilled with beech tree chips, juniper and lemon peel, resulting in a gin with aromatic complexity and a hint of sweetness. The company recommends pairing Revive with salty and spicy foods.

Citrus has long been a staple aromatic for gin, and Yuzu Gin, distilled by Kyoya Shuzo in Miyazaki prefecture, puts local Japanese citrus at the forefront of a distinctive, spirited gin. Yuzu, along with two native Miyazaki citruses – hyuganatsu and hebess – are the core aromatics, bringing their signature brightness to the gin. 

Other local flavours like sansho pepper, ginger and Japanese elderberry help build character and complexity, as does the base of Kyoya Shuzo's coveted shochu, which is made with purple sweet potatoes and fermented in terracotta pots.

Not to be confused with Roku Gin, Rokumoji began with a successful crowdfunding campaign and released its first gin in 2020. It’s made on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, using six different botanicals, including dry apple, tea from the city of Murakami, and the island’s own unique variety of cypress, atebi.

There’s juniper in the mix, too, of course, but Rokumoji is less about traditional gin flavours – it’s meant to taste refreshing, like a walk in the woods on a cool morning. Its distinctive blend of woody and citrusy flavours has earned Rokumoji a lot of fans, including the judges at the Tokyo Whisky and Spirits Competition, who awarded it a silver medal for 2021.