The global demand for Japanese whiskey has caused a shortage of the most restricted and sought-after spirits. This has led to a surge in demand from eager collectors. Lacking the luxury of time, smaller whiskey companies have experimented with new flavours and techniques to create the most intriguing and unique tipples. Even though Japanese distillers and brewers have begun exploring the wine, rum, and vodka markets, the most recent and exciting move by Japanese distilling enterprises is into the realm of craft gin.
Famous Japanese gin producers have expanded into the Western market with innovative new products that use Japanese botanicals, proving once again that they are always one step ahead of the game. Introducing unique botanicals from across Japan’s vast pickings has created a special flavour profile that fans worldwide have grown to love.
What’s the Hype?
Gin is a type of spirit made from juniper berries and various botanicals, including herbs, spices, and fruit. It has a distinct, aromatic flavour and is often used in cocktails such as the martini and gin and tonic. In recent years, Japanese gin has gained recognition for its unique flavours and production methods.
Although juniper is at the core of gin making, Japanese gin makers have pushed the boundaries of its definition to create unique flavours. Botanicals such as green tea, yuzu, shiso, sansho, bamboo, tankan, hebesu, mikan, goya, and shekwasha give the spirit a distinctly Japanese taste. Furthermore, the base distillate is not limited to grain, with rice and sweet potato being popular choices.
Japanese gin is unique because of the botanicals that are used. Each botanical is carefully selected, harvested and macerated. Then, they are separately distilled before a final blend is created to produce the end product.
This process is similar to how Japanese whiskey is made, in the sense that the master blender is the most respected position at a distillery. A lot of emphasis is put on blending to create a harmonious balance of flavours where no botanical is overwhelming the other.
Sake is also used to make Yokitsuki gin, a 200-year-old tradition from Nagasaki, and Okinawa’s Masahiro Distillery uses its native spirit, awamori. With its versatile nature, gin is ideally situated to be part of the craft spirit boom, conveying its provenance and terroir.
The Early History of Gin in Japan
Essential to any description of gin is the presence of juniper as the primary botanical ingredient. This is because gin’s origins can be traced back to the early days of European distillation when it was employed as a medical aqua vita prepared by distilling wine flavoured with juniper berries. When the plague swept across medieval Europe, which happened quite often, juniper was much sought after for its diuretic properties.
Gin has been a part of the English culture since the early 1600s with the introduction of genever – a medicinal liquor hailing from the Low Countries. King William III relaxed regulations, which led to a gin industry boom in the 1700s – even outselling beer! However, attempts to control the market in the 1730s caused riots, and it wasn’t until the 1850s that gin’s image was transformed with the introduction of gin palaces.
But did you know Japan was the first Eastern country to produce its own gin? It all started in the Edo Period (1603-1867) when gin was brought to the Dutch trading enclave on Dejima island in Nagasaki Bay.
When the Dutch could not supply gin in 1812, Shige Dennoshin, the Dutch enclave commissioner in Nagasaki, tried to distil his own – although it was a bit sweet due to the juniper berry resin.
The next phase of Japanese gin happened in the 1930s, largely due to the influence of Suntory founder Shinjiro Torii. A quintessential Japanese business man, Torii had made a name for taking risks in the alcohol industry since the early days of his drinks company. In fact, the brand that would become known as Suntory started off by selling imported Spanish wine called Akadama port wine in 1899.
In 1936, Torii repeated this stunt of experimenting with a new kind of Western drink. He brought out a London-style dry gin called Hermes Dry Gin. Only it failed to take off and it would be decades before Japanese gin had its moment in the spotlight.
Today, gin is having a significant moment in Japan, with an unprecedented boom in production and sales. So what’s driving the rise of Japanese gin?
How did it Grow in Popularity?
There are several reasons why Japanese gin has gained recognition in recent years. One reason is the rise of Japanese craft gin. In the 2000s, there was a resurgence of interest in small-batch, artisanal spirits, and Japanese distilleries began experimenting with different ingredients and production methods to create unique and flavourful gins.
Another reason is the increasing popularity of Japanese culture and cuisine worldwide. As more people become interested in Japan and its traditions, they are also interested in Japanese-made products, including gin.
Additionally, the quality of Japanese gin has improved immensely in recent years, with many Japanese distilleries producing gins that are on par with some of the best gins in the world. As a result, Japanese gin has gained recognition and respect from gin enthusiasts and industry experts.
Notable Japanese Gin Brands
Many notable Japanese gin brands have gained international recognition. Arguably, the brand that started the modern boom was KI NO BI (which has nothing to do with Obi-Wan Kenobi, in case you were wondering).
KI NO BI is the brainchild of two Western whisky men called David Kroll and Marcin Miller. Prior to 2016, Kroll, his wife Noriko and Miller had been introducing single malt whiskies to the Japanese market for over 20 years and they saw a new opportunity in gin.
Setting up the Kyoto Distillery, the trio created a gin with 11 botanicals: juniper berry, orris, akatmatsu, yuzu, lemon, sansho, kinome, ginger, green tea, shiso and bamboo leaves. All were arranged into 6 elements of base, citrus, herbal, spice, green tea and fruity/floral. This heady combination became KI NO BI, which translates into ‘beauty of the seasons.’
The head of marketing at KI NO BI, Adrien Timpano, recently said in an interview with The Absolut Group “the Kyoto embodiment of KI NO BI has always been central, so we actually prefer to talk about Kyoto Dry Gin rather than simply Japanese gin. In fact, the Kyoto Distillery was the first gin-only distillery in Japan. Because it’s made in Kyoto, we can make use of the world-famous Fushimi water and the various fruits, spices, and teas of the region. It also allows us to collaborate with local artisans whose families have perfected their craft over 10 generations or more.”
Another well-known brand is Nikka Gin, made by the Nikka Whiskey Distilling Co. Ltd. It’s made with a blend of Japanese and foreign botanicals and has a crisp, citrusy flavour. It’s made using a continuous distillation method, which allows for a consistent and high-quality product.
With this gin, Nikka Whiskey combines its many years of expertise in distilling white spirits and blending whiskies. This gin’s velvety smoothness and full body result from the “Coffey Still,” a classic continuous still used to make Nikka’s distinctive grain whiskies. Aromatic richness is achieved by carefully balancing many botanicals, including Japanese citrus ingredients like yuzu, kabosu, and amanatsu, followed by a delightful spiciness of the Japanese sansho pepper.
The final botanical, apple, has a special connection to the whiskey giant. The fruit is a nod to Nikka’s early days, when founder Masataka Taketsuru took a crack at selling apple juice, with mixed results.
Rival Suntory were always bound to come up with another gin of their own to compete with Nikka. That is Roku gin, a spirit whose creation has a deeper meaning. The combination of all its botanicals creates an expression that is reminiscent of each of the four seasons. They are the sakura leaf and sakura flower in the spring, sencha tea and gyokuro tea in the summertime, sansho pepper in the fall, and yuzu peel in the winter. Juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander, and cinnamon are some other classic gin botanicals used.
Roku’s UK brand ambassador James Bower has spoken at length about Suntory’s dedication to honouring Japanese traditions with gin. In an interview with TT London, he said:
“Suntory has been making gin since the ’30s, but it’s only in the last five years we’ve released Roku because, in Japan, it’s so important to perfect something before you make it public and before you say, “Look, this is the international representation of our country.” Because, actually, Roku is saying, “This is not just our gin. This is the gin of Japan. And so if we don’t do a good enough job, that’s deeply shameful and deeply dishonourable.”
So it was all about really going, “Okay. How can we simultaneously cover those traditional flavour camps but also discover something that’s right for the Japanese sensibilities and the palate?”
And when you think about the food of London, if we’re talking about London Dry, compared to the food of Japan, we’re thinking, “Okay. Well, we’ve got fry-ups and fish and chips compared to sushi and ramen.” So you’ve got a much more delicate Japanese palate to get across. And what we’ve tried to do, therefore, with Roku is capture those traditional flavour camps whilst making it a more delicate and more complex spirit in line with the Japanese palate.”
Other notable brands include Haku Gin, which is made with Japanese white rice and has a smooth, creamy texture. Then there’s Etsu gin, from the Asahikawa distillery in Hokkaido.
A review from Yamato Magazine explains the story of Etsu in depth:
“Translating to ‘pleasure,’ Etsu lives up to its name by having a robust, floral flavour….When brewing the gin, the distillery uses green bitter orange peel, liquorice, coriander and angelica root as botanicals. The ingredients are left to macerate for over 24 hours and then diluted down from 83% volume to 43% with water sourced from the Taisetsu Mountains. This process demonstrates wonderful attention to detail that can be felt in every aspect of the product.
The excellent craftsmanship applies to the presentation of the gin as well. The bottle features a geisha sitting peacefully on a lotus blossom. On her head, there is a Shinto shrine to reflect Japan’s religion. The geisha looks to be mediating, invoking an image of tranquility. This sense of serenity is heightened further by the soft blues and golds in the image.”
The Future Looks Bright for Japanese Gin
In conclusion, the history of Japanese gin dates back to the late 1800s, when it was first introduced to Japan through trade with Western countries. However, it was not initially popular and remained a niche product until the 2000s, when the Japanese craft gin industry began to experience considerable growth.
Artisanal breweries are also opening in major cities like Okinawa, Osaka, Sendai, Miyazaki, and most recently, Hiroshima as a direct result of the popularity of these gins, leaving customers with an overwhelming number of options when shopping for bottles of Japanese gin. This results in gins with excellent flavour profiles and allows Japanese bartenders to create cocktails that can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Japanese gin has a promising future as more and more people across the globe discover it. You only need to look at these recent stats to see the evidence:
- Between 2016 and 2021 Japanese gin exports have soared to 4248 kilolitres, with 90% of exports coming from the Kansai region. This is spurred by the popularity of Roku. – Japan News
- The total consumption of Japanese gin in Japan grew by 3% CAGR from 2014 to 2019. In the same period it grew by 20% CAGR outside of the country. – IWSR
- The total retail sales value for Japanese gin in Japan is predicted to reach $327 million by 2026 – Statistia
It really is thrilling to think of the possibilities for incorporating elements of Japanese culture and tradition into all your favourite alcoholic drinks; you can almost taste Japan before you ever set foot in the country.
