Chugoku Jozo’s Sakurao Distillery has been on point this year. Their first gin releases were good. Really good — read my review here. So good, in fact, that the Sakurao Gin Original took home the Best of Gin award at this year’s Los Angeles International […]

Hiroshima’s Sakurao Distillery has announced a new Japanese craft gin called Sakurao Gin Hamagou. It’s a limited run of 5000 bottles, and is slated to launch on September 3. There are no details about the new gin yet available, but Hamagou is Japanese for roundleaf […]

Two new awards to add to the mantle! Sakurao Gin Original has won “Best of Gin” at the Los Angeles International Spirits Competition, a first for any Japanese gin. Read my recent review of Sakurao Original here! Right behind that, Asahi has announced that Nikka […]

Tonight we’re drinking the very first products to come out of Chugoku Jozo’s new Sakurao Distillery: Sakurao Gin Original and Sakurao Gin Limited. Founded in 1918, Chugoku Jozo is already fairly well known for the Togouchi brand of Japanese whisky. But again I have to […]

Late last year we talked about Chugoku Jozo’s first foray into distillation of spirits at the newly opened Sakurao Distillery. It looks like that distillery is now fully armed and operational as the company announced March 5 as the release date for their first spirits, Sakurao […]

It looks like sake maker Chugoku Jozo is yearning to become a more legitimate player in the Japanese whisky and craft gin scene, with the new Sakurao Distillery. Around since 1918, you may already be familiar Chugoku Jozo from the Togouchi brand of whisky. Many […]