There is perhaps no better phrase to describe the traditional culture of Kyoto, where just about everything is tied to the changing seasons. The gardens, the poetry, the food, traditional clothing, the arts, and the scenery of the mountains… To that list we should add craft cocktails and, of course, international tourism marketing, in which Japan and its ‘Four Seasons’ have possibly become too much of a cliché. In approaching the arts and crafts of Japan’s old capital, however, one always gets that sense of seasonality. “KI NO BI” (“beauty of the seasons”) is therefore the perfect name for Japan’s first craft gin, distilled in Kyoto using a wide range of local botanicals, locally made rice spirits, and the famous sake-brewing water of Fushimi. 

From its frosted bottle, created by Sakai Glass, and its Edo era (1603–1867) inspired label design by Kira Karachō, to the botanicals it uses, KI NO BI tells us that it will be a Japanese gin, and specifically a Kyoto gin. These details also stress its birth as a craft beverage, one made painstakingly by hand, in small quantities, using local ingredients, and creating a taste that recalls the centuries-old culture of Kyoto. 

KI NO BI starts with pure alcohol distilled from rice. This is shōchū, fermented in the same way as Japanese sake, using kōji spores for saccharification. It is then continually distilled in a column still. The distillers at Kyoto Distillery felt that not only did that choice fit better with the image of a Japanese gin, but that the body of rice spirits produced the smoother mouthfeel they were looking for. Six different spirit “elements” are then distilled separately using combinations of eleven different botanicals. These elements are blended in the end to achieve the desired balance of flavors, and the gin is finally diluted to 45.7% ABV using well water from the Fushimi sake-brewing district. The six elements use the following eleven botanicals:

Of these, only the juniper and orris root aren’t available domestically; most of the rest are sourced entirely from Kyoto Prefecture, with a few additions from other spots in Japan. Many of these ingredients themselves are highly seasonal. Yuzu in particular ripens just once a year, in late autumn, which makes for the busiest time at the distillery because a whole year’s worth of yuzu has to be peeled, vacuum-packed, and frozen in a very short time period. 

The blending ratio of the gin varies slightly from year to year, based on differences in the harvest. The sanshō in particular apparently varied significantly in its intensity over the first few years. Kyoto Distillery endeavors to keep the product as consistent as possible from year to year as well as from batch to batch. One reason for dividing the distillation into six parts is that the different botanicals produced different heads and tails, and thus by splitting up the spirits, the heart of each could be collected without any overlap. After blending, each new batch of KI NO BI is mixed in with older batches, solera-like, in a 10,000-liter holding tank, before bottling. Thus the different batches mix and blend over time, and any variation from batch to batch is eliminated. 

The complexity of KI NO BI gin is more easily grasped when tasting these six elements separately, and seminars where participants can do this are offered at the House of KI NO BI, the tasting room in downtown Kyoto. Most shocking to me was the tea spirit, which I can only describe as something like a liquid and alcoholic matcha soft ice cream. It was creamy, smooth, and wonderfully infused with the pure essence of gyokuro, which is one of the highest grades of Japanese green tea. The original head distiller, Alex Davies, spoke to me at length of the difficulty he had in finding the perfect process of distillation–how it came out too bitter or too weak, how so many batches were discarded before it came out just right. This was made all the more stressful by the watchful eyes of Horii Shichimeien, the tea producer from Uji, just south of Kyoto City. They had made it quite clear that there would be none of their tea included in KI NO BI unless they were completely satisfied with the distillation. 

The sanshō and ginger spirits were also fascinating in a slightly strange way, as they had all the flavor of these spices yet with none of the prickliness that usually goes with them. The chemicals that prickle your tongue get left behind in the distillation. 

In the final product it is definitely the citrus that stands out the most, along with the juniper. Light notes of pine, tea, and bamboo leaves form a constant background, and the shiso, sanshō, and ginger jump out at you from time to time. There is a lot going on in this gin, but not too much that you can’t discover each individual botanical–if you try hard enough. This is definitely made easier once you also taste them separately. 

Davies, together with founding partner and original CEO, David Croll, were quite emphatic in saying that a gin and tonic was not the best way to appreciate KI NO BI. The quinine flavor of the tonic, they claimed, would overpower the botanicals. I have tried KI NO BI in gin and tonics, and it is clear that they were right. The tonic water with its bitter sweetness dulls the more subtle aromas of the gin. If you must have a gin and tonic, they recommend using KI NO BI SEI, the 54.5% ABV “Navy Strength” version. This definitely stands up to the tonic much more persuasively. 

I found that KI NO BI on the rocks with just a touch of water was my favorite way to fully enjoy the gin’s botanicals. Its creators also recommend a Japanese-style o-yu-wari, mixing it with hot water. KI NO BI is also great in a martini. At the House of KI NO BI, they simply rinse the ice with dry vermouth before stirring the gin, serving the vermouth separately with a dashi-pickled olive in it. It is up to the drinker to add it back to taste. Even better, in my opinion, is a Saketini: five parts KI NO BI with one part Japanese sake. This emphasizes the Japanese character of the botanicals. The light sweetness of the sake also helped round off the bite of the gin. A floral, fruity ginjō or daiginō works best here. 

This symbol is partly an ode to the original parent company of the Kyoto Distillery, Number One Drinks, through which founding partners David Croll, Noriko Kakuda Croll, and Marcin Miller exported Japanese whisky to the world. They were best known for bottling and selling the remaining stocks of Karuizawa and Hanyū distilleries after each was shuttered. The single bar in the top of the circle is the Japanese kanji for “one”. The bent line below that resembles a mountain can be seen as representing the Higashiyama mountain range, which is everywhere visible in central Kyoto. Rotate the emblem ninety degrees counterclockwise and you have a K for Kyoto.

In March 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Japan for the first time, Pernod-Ricard announced a new partnership with KI NO BI, including a significant investment in order to build a new distillery. Kyoto Distillery remains a separate company, though now, under Pernod-Ricard’s umbrella, it’s able to use their worldwide distribution network. 

For KI NO BI fans, this partnership with Pernod-Ricard perhaps put something of a damper on the local, craft spirit of the distillery. From the point of view of the workers, however, the influx of investment from France could not have come at a better time, as Japan announced its first COVID lockdown within days after the partnership was sealed, a lockdown which weighed heavily on the alcohol service industry. This also coincided with the completion of the House of KI NO BI in central Kyoto, which was unable to open for most of 2020. The partnership enabled the company to keep its staff working full-time, and even increase its number of workers, which was a rare blessing in the craft drinks world at the time, replete as it was with layoffs and furloughs.   

The House of KI NO BI, meant to be the distillery’s showcase shop and bar in an accessible area of central Kyoto, held its grand opening under strict restrictions in June 2020. Installed in a traditional, pre-modern Japanese building, which underwent wholesale interior refurbishment, the House is a work of art that matches the craftsmanship going into KI NO BI gins. 

Wallpaper, lacquerware, gold plating, wooden bar and chairs, even the staff’s uniforms, all have been made in collaboration with traditional Kyoto craftspeople. The greatest part of the House is its 19th century-style Gin Palace. Made up of period British furniture and décor, it overlooks a traditional Kyoto-style tsuboniwa (“inner garden”), which were designed to bring light and soothing natural scenery into the crowded city’s houses and shops. While definitely a unique hybrid of cultures, the Japanese garden and British interior blend seamlessly, letting visitors imagine they are entering a lost world of 19th century Japonisme. 

Use of the Gin Palace is restricted to members of the House of KI NO BI Elements Club, which is limited to 1500 members, and there is a modest fee to join. Entry into the club also gets you access to the online shop (Japan-only), plus a 10% discount on both web purchases and all purchases at the House of KI NO BI, among other benefits. 

A new bar in the same building is nearing completion as I write. This will carry on the project of using local, traditional craftsmanship in the design of the building. An area for private parties, a garden where gin botanicals can be grown experimentally, and a second bar are planned. While the main bar’s central purpose is to allow customers to sample the various KI NO BI products in classic and recommended cocktails, the new bar will be more improvisational, with a focus on sustainability, mixology, and even more of a seasonal character.