FIRST JOURNEYS - 80 GINS AROUND THE WORLD - PIN 42 OF 80
ETSU GIN, Hokkaido, Japan
AROUND THE WORLD, ONE BOTTLE AT A TIME,
PHILEAS FOGG WOULD SURELY APPROVE
A gin from the snowy north of Japan, where yuzu meets mountain water and even the bottle seems to invite you to slow down.
Etsu Gin originates from the Asahikawa Distillery in Asahikawa, on the northern island of Japan, Hokkaido. This is Japan's second-largest island and the least densely populated, with a much cooler climate than much of the country and some serious powder snow in winter.
Asahikawa is Hokkaido's second-largest city and sits amongst mountains, forests and rivers, with the Daisetsuzan mountains providing a spectacular backdrop.
Nearby you'll also find the famous lavender and flower fields around Furano, hiking trails and plenty of opportunities for skiing and snowboarding.
Asahikawa also has a strong tradition of arts and crafts, so when you look at the branding around Etsu Gin, you can start to understand the attention to detail. Etsu means "pleasure" in Japanese and this gin certainly is a pleasure to drink.
Of course, yuzu is going to feature, and quite prominently. The Original also includes bitter orange peel, juniper, liquorice root, angelica root and coriander seed, creating a fresh, floral and citrus-forward gin with a gentle peppery note.
The botanicals are macerated for 22 hours in sugar-cane alcohol before being distilled once with the botanicals in a traditional copper still.
It's then diluted with pure water from the Taisetsu Mountains, before being fine-filtered rather than chill-filtered to retain as much of the flavour as possible.
Interestingly, yuzu isn't only used for cooking and perfumes. It also features in yuzuyu, the traditional yuzu bath taken around Toji, the winter solstice, when yuzu is at its seasonal best.
Whole yuzu are floated in hot water and the fragrant oils fill the bath, making it a wonderfully aromatic winter ritual.
The bottle is one of the most beautifully presented in my collection, with a geisha peacefully sitting on a golden lotus blossom, with mountains in the background. The soft blues and golds, the traditional Japanese imagery and the calm expression all give it a wonderfully serene feel.
There's even a repeating image of the figure, creating an almost infinite reflection which ties in beautifully with the ideas of tranquillity and mindfulness.
It's one of those bottles that manages to look beautiful before you've even opened it, but thankfully the contents live up to the packaging too.
"Where Yuzu Meets Mountain Water"
Today's cocktail was inspired by Star Wars as it was originally posted on May4th.
Blue Milk of Tatooine
50ml gin
10ml blue curacao
15ml lime juice
20ml pineapple juice
10ml orgeat
10ml vanilla syrup
25ml coconut cream
Etsu means pleasure.
I think they got that bit right.
"Show me a bottle
and I'll tell you a story."