Kyoto Distillery granted production licence to produce Japan's first gin

By Erin Smith

Published: 19 August, 2016

Japan's first artisan gin producer, The Kyoto Distillery, has been granted a production licence, to begin producing its inaugural release KI NO BI Dry Gin.

The distillery was founded in 2015 by industry veterans Marcin Miller and David Croll.

"We have worked hard to make a delicious dry gin, from local botanicals where possible, which does justice to the culture of craftsmanship for which Kyoto has been famed for over a thousand years. If we succeed in this objective, I am confident gin enthusiasts around the world will enjoy KI NO BI," said Croll.

The Kyoto Distillery Still The Kyoto Distillery Still

The first KI NO BI Kyoto Dry Gin will be released in Japan in October 2016. While most modern gins use a grain, corn or molasses neutral spirit, The Kyoto Distillery uses a rice based spirit for its production of their gin.

The rice based spirit provides distinct flavours and aroma characteristics which they believe is unique. The other botanicals used are being sourced locally when possible like Yuzu ( a citrus fruit).

Yuzu Yuzu

"To create our gin, we will be mastering not only the science of distillation as others have done before, but also the age-old art of blending. We will break down the botanicals in our gin into six different categories: base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice and floral and will then distil these separately before blending them back together again," said Alex Davies, the head distiller. Japanese spirits industry legend, Masami Onishi, has been on hand as well.