Suntory Roku | Japanese Craft Gin

Roku Gin has an ethereal top note of cherry blossom. Notes of green tea citron and pepper briefly emerge as it quickly quiets. The delicate aroma quickly passes and dissipates.
Smooth and oily, the spirit has a rich character as it coats the tongue. There’s a fleeting glimpse of cherry blossom and traditional gin notes before the tea and tannic notes take over. Heavy, leafy hints of green and early grey tea. A vivid note of bitter citrus and smokey leaves, with a palate drying and striking bitterness closer to something like Suze. The bitter note becomes evocative of gentian root and wormwood on the Finish of Roku Gin.
Roku Gin’s palate is clinical in terms of the unfolding mouthfeel and flavor; however, it’s perhaps quite unusual and unexpected. Sipped neat, I believe Roku Gin approximates the experience of an amaro more than it does the platonic ideal of gin. That being said, it’s intriguing from a botanical perspective.