Japan is experiencing a gin boom, with domestic shipments increasing from under 1.2 million liters in 2019 to over 5.5 million liters in 2024. This growth is driven by small-scale distillers using homegrown ingredients, including local specialties, to produce craft gins. The flexibility to experiment with flavors and the quick monetization potential of gin have contributed to this trend, attracting both small and major manufacturers to the market.
by SkyInJapan
4 comments
I really love Suntory Roku gin. I’m excited to try more especially ones that are light on the juniper and weighted more toward Japanese botanicals.
I can’t speak for the third and fourth selections, but the first two are just great. Sakurao’s white herbs limited flavor in the frosted bottle is a great gin for anything with fruit, especially apple juice. It basically tastes liken Christmas as-is.
I forget the name of a relatively inexpensive one (Kage no Mori, or something like that) which is an outstanding botanical; very little alcohol burn despite providing the juniper, pepper, and greens you’re looking for.
For stuff that looks great on the shelf as well as satisfies in a glass, Tatsumi puts together a ton of odd varietals in with a relatively unique iconographic theme
“This growth is driven by small-scale distillers” maybe in spirit, sure. The reality is the vast majority of Japanese craft gin operations are tiny operations barely meeting the minimum output requirement to keep their spirits distillation license (7KL/year). To account for a 4.3 million liter increase there would need to be like over 500. I mean sure there have been a lot recently but it’s around 20-30 new spirits license issuances per year.
No, I’d say that growth is driven by Suntory, specifically them following the same playbook they used with the Kaku Highball for the Sui Highball. Get it in as many izakaya as possible, presenting it as an alternative to whisky.
This is not a new thing. This is marketing.