The Kyoto Distillery, Japan’s first dedicated gin distillery, was created by whisky exporters David Croll and Marcin Miller. Croll initially began importing casks of whisky into Japan from the Arran distillery in Scotland, gradually adding other small distilleries to his portfolio before he teamed up with Miller to establish Number One Drinks Co. in 2006, exporting Japanese whiskies such as Chichibu, Hanyu and Karuizawa. In 2014, with stocks of Karuizawa nearly depleted, the duo decided to expand into production and create a spirit that would reflect Japanese culture and traditions using local ingredients. The Kyoto Distillery was born.
The Japanese gin distillery separates its botanicals into six distinct categories (base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice and floral). Each is macerated in rice spirit before being distilled individually, before being blended together and left to marry together. The distillery has two copper stills, a 140-litre still with an integrated botanical basket in the helmet and a 450-litre still with a swan neck and side-mounted botanical basket, made to order by German manufacturer Christian Carl. Fushimi water is used to reduce the gin to bottling strength.
The packaging design is an Edo pattern, made by the oldest karakami (a traditional technique of decorative papermaking using woodblock print) atelier in Japan, Kira Karacho, which was founded in Kyoto in 1624. The glass bottle was made by Sakai Glass, a family company founded in 1906, and each expression is bottled by hand at The Kyoto Distillery.