Alight, followed example of Gradfly and decided to see what is available locally since at this moment likely better a chance getting date with Jennifer Lopez than a chance of traveling to Japan and buy Japanese gin in Japan.

These are Japanese gin I found locally.


Etsu Gin, it only says "Product of Japan" and "Distilled in Hokkaido." There is no information regarding distiller on the label on the bottle, label only says "Imported by Misa Imports, Inc. Dallas, TX" nothing else, that is little strange.

The second gin is bv Nikka. Little background of Nikka. The first commercial whisky distilled in Japan is Suntory founded by Shinjiro Torii. Shinjiro Torii started wine company in Osaka on 1899, then started whisky distillery at outskirt of Kyoto at Yamazaki in 1923. 1929 first whiskey distilled in Japan, Suntory Whiskey White Label was sold.

First and original whiskey distillery master at Suntory Yamazaki distillery was Masataka Taketsuru who was a son of Sake (Japanese rice wine) maker from Hiroshima who got hooked on Whiskey making. 1918 Masataka Taketsuru have accepted at the University of Glasgow for Applied Chemistry program. However, at Scotland story has it that Masataka Taketsuru pretty much went around whiskey distillery to learn whiskey making. 1920 Masataka Taketsuru returned to Japan along with his wife, Jessie Roberta Cowan, the only female medical student at the University of Glasgow at that time.

Masatake Taketsuru met Shinjiro Torii and became first whiskey distillery master at Suntory Whiskey. 1934 Masatake Taketsuru left Suntory Whiskey in good term. Went to Yoichi, Hokkaido to start his own Whiskey distillery which became of Nikka Whiskey. Masatake Taketsuru stated that he chose Yoichi because climate of Yoichi was similar to Scotland where he studied whiskey making. Masatake Taketsuru and his wife Jessie Roberta Cowan lived at Yoichi for rest of their life.

Story of Jessie Roberta Cowan is very interesting on it's own. Scottish woman living in Japan back in that era, initially both Cowan and Taketsuru families did not approve of their marriage.

Anyway, it is gin made by that company Nikka using the distillation coffey which was used for whiskey making.

On the separate note, I wanted to buy Japanese curry powder but I made a mistake at a store and picked up Japanese mustard powder.



Now I have two cans of Japanese mustard powder. I have to find the way to use Japanese mustard.