Roku Gin Select Edition (70cl , 43%)

Categories: Exotic Gin, Gin Tags: Gin, Premium Gin, Premium Spirits, Unique

Description
Additional information

Roku Select Edition is a limited-run, duty-free gin from Suntory that focuses on a more prominent, delicate cherry blossom flavor compared to the standard Roku Gin. It is made with the same six Japanese botanicals—sakura flower, sakura leaf, yuzu, sencha tea, gyokuro tea, and sansho pepper—along with eight traditional gin botanicals. The distillation process uses different stills chosen for each botanical to maximize its individual flavor, resulting in a smooth, floral, and citrus-forward gin with a spicy finish from the sansho pepper.

Overview

Production: Made by Suntory in Japan, using the same base of six Japanese botanicals and eight traditional ones as the standard Roku Gin.
Distillation: Each botanical is distilled separately in a specific type of pot still to enhance its unique flavor.
Limited Edition: Originally created for the global duty-free channel, this edition is known for a more pronounced sakura (cherry blossom) top note.
Flavor Profile:
- Aroma: Floral notes of cherry blossom are prominent, with hints of citrus and herbal notes.
- Taste: A complex and harmonious blend with a smooth, silky texture. It features floral sweetness, citrus from yuzu, and a spicy touch from sansho pepper.
- Finish: Clean, medium-length, with a lingering floral and peppery warmth.
Packaging: The hexagonal bottle represents the six Japanese botanicals and is often finished with details like a washi paper label and gold touches.

Roku Gin was introduced in 2017, originally as a travel retail exclusive, and is Suntory’s first internationally-available Japanese gin of modern times. The brand was an immediate success and has been rolled out to various international markets; Roku is widely available in the UK, but today I’m tasting Roku Select Edition, which is the current travel retail version and is said to have more of an emphasis on Sakura in the botanical mix.

Which brings us to the botanicals: the name Roku means ‘six’ in Japanese, and derives from the six signature Japanese botanicals that are added to a traditional eight-botanical base recipe. The bottle, incidentally, also has six sides to reinforce this point.

The six signature botanicals have, it says here, been chosen to represent the four seasons and include Sakura leaf and Sakura flower (Spring, apparently); Sencha tea and Gyokuro tea (Summer); Sansho pepper (Autumn); and Yuzu peel (Winter). The signature botanicals are distilled separately in different pot stills according to their individual characteristics and needs and are then blended with the base gin.