Roku Gin is the first of its kind, originating from Japan’s legendary Suntory – Roku Gin. This expression of gin is made using a selection of botanicals, including six Japanese botanicals that provide a whistle-stop tour of the four seasons.
These four seasons include the beautiful sakura leaf and sakura flower for spring, sencha tea and gyokuro tea for summer, sansho pepper for autumn and yuzu peel for winter.
Traditional gin botanicals also featured include the likes of juniper, orange peel, lemon peel, coriander and cinnamon, among others.
One of the most popular mixing gins, Roku Gin is bold and strikingly bitter – which makes it a rather challenging mixing gin. Although unusual in traditional applications like the Gin and Tonic, the Ramos Gin Fizz or the Gimlet, as a gin on its own, it is enjoyed by many neat and is rated as one of the best types of gin.
In the ever popular Martini, Roku Gin works well as a mixer. In fact, it is the best gin for a Martini. The bitterness almost simulates the inclusion of Vermouth. You can go super dry with Roku and still have a Martini that hits the expected notes, making Roku Gin one of the best Martini gins.
Roku Gin also makes a good Negroni and is one of the top gin brands.
You can try serving Roku Gin in a gin and tonic with a ginger garnish, which accentuates the citrus notes.
Smelling like fresh pine with a citrusy tinge, the fruity floral notes of sakura gently ebbs through Roku Gin and the whiff of Japan through the underlying green tea notes once you take a deep breath gives your palate a refreshing change.
Roku means “six” in Japanese which refers to the six local, seasonal botanicals which complement the eight traditional gin botanicals (juniper, coriander seed, angelica root & seed, cardamom, cinnamon, bitter orange, lemon peel). This gives this type of alcohol a distinctly Japanese character. Japanese botanicals are the sakura flower (cherry blossom), sakura leaf, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, sansho pepper and yuzu peel.
The complex and multi-layered taste of traditional gin in the base plus Japanese botanical notes with yuzu as the top note makes the texture smooth and silky. Take a deep breath as you inhale the first whiffs of Roku Gin and it will transport you back to spring in Japan with its sweet, floral aroma.
Drinking this gin gives you a sense of calmness and peace – like a walk in the Japanese botanical gardens.
The taste of crisp Japanese sansho pepper brings a little spiciness to the finish.
Flashback to Japan with Roku Gin and inhale all the clean and fresh smells of the country with the addition of this bottle to our shelves.