The Kyoto Distillery

The Kyoto Distillery is Japan’s first distillery dedicated exclusively to gin, founded in 2016, using a rice spirit base and locally sourced Kyoto botanicals — yuzu, hinoki wood, bamboo, shiso, sansho pepper, and gyokuro green tea. Range: Ki No Bi Kyoto Dry Gin (the flagship, distinctly Japanese), Ki No Bi Sei (navy strength 54.5% ABV, more intense botanicals), Ki No Tea (gyokuro tea-forward), and limited seasonal expressions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a rice spirit base produce a different gin character than the grain or neutral spirit bases used in Western gins?

Almost all Western gin — London Dry, New Western, Old Tom, contemporary styles — starts from a neutral grain spirit base, typically wheat or corn distilled to very high proof (95%+ ABV) to remove virtually all base spirit character. The theory is that the botanicals should do all the flavor work; the spirit base should be neutral. Japanese gin distilleries, including The Kyoto Distillery, start from a rice spirit base that retains more of the rice’s natural character — a subtle sweetness, a slight floral and grain quality, and a different mouthfeel from wheat or corn neutral spirit. The rice base is not as forward as, say, shochu or sake, but it is detectably different from the absolute neutrality of grain neutral spirit. The practical effect on Ki No Bi is a slight sweetness and roundness in the body that supports the Japanese botanical profile — particularly the yuzu’s citrus brightness and the shiso’s herbal depth — in a way that a completely neutral Western-style base might not. It is also a deliberate expression of Japanese distilling heritage: rice spirits are deeply embedded in Japanese fermentation culture, and using a rice base connects the gin to that tradition rather than importing a purely Western production approach.

What do the specifically Japanese botanicals in Ki No Bi produce that Western gin botanicals don’t?

Ki No Bi uses six botanical categories, of which several have no Western gin equivalent. Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that produces a flavor unlike lemon, lime, or grapefruit — more complex, slightly floral, with grapefruit elements but also a distinctive aromatic quality associated specifically with Japanese cuisine. Hinoki is a Japanese cypress wood used in traditional architecture and bathing culture — its aromatic oils produce a distinctive fresh, slightly resinous, pine-cedar character that no Western gin botanical replicates. Sansho pepper is a Japanese species of prickly ash producing a citrus-forward, numbing spice completely unlike black pepper or white pepper. Gyokuro is one of Japan’s highest-grade green teas, shade-grown to increase chlorophyll and L-theanine content, producing a deep umami, seaweed-adjacent, and intensely aromatic character that differs from lighter Japanese green teas and from any tea used in Western spirits. Shiso (perilla leaf) contributes an herbal quality that has no close Western equivalent — slightly mint-adjacent but more complex and anise-like. Bamboo adds a delicate, almost neutral structural note. Together these botanicals produce a flavor profile that is immediately recognizable as different from any Western gin style.