Full of Hokkaido botanicals,
Craft gin from Shakotan finally released!
<Part 2>

Shakotan Gin features botanicals typical of Hokkaido.The company grows the same species that grow wild around Cape Kamui on its own farm.In the second part of this article, we will introduce Shakotan Spirit's botanical project.

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi

A vast area of idle farmland (a whopping 90 hectares!)), a one-hectare nasary where trees are grown from seedlings, is located on the company's own 5.7-hectare farm in theThe rare species of yachiyanagi (Hokkaido wild yam), which is key to the recipe for Fire sail KIBOU, is grown stably from seedlings using tissue culture technology.

The first distillation of Shakotan Spirit began in May this year.
The first release, which went on sale in June, quickly sold out, especially among gin fans in Japan.
At the time of the interview, bottling of the third release, which will be available for pre-order on 1 July, was just underway.
President Hirofumi Iwai, who spent five years preparing for this occasion, looks back on the steps he has taken so far.


'Of course there was a lot of trial and error in terms of production, but the hardest thing of all was raising the funds.
We started this business with the idea of creating the next generation of Hokkaido's agricultural industry, so we first went around to all the farmers in the region and asked them to invest."

Plant manager Hidetake Iwasaki, who oversees the farming operations, graduated from an agricultural department and was involved in large-scale strawberry cultivation before moving to Shakotan Spirit.'I thought it would be interesting to grow the ingredients for making spirits'.The pink flowers are rosehips, a botanical that is difficult to make into an ingredient.Various varieties are grown to explore recipe possibilities.

Farmers' endorsement of the project was a boost.

'It may have seemed absurd that a complete amateur would obtain a brewing licence and try to make sake in Shakotan.
But some people found it interesting (laughs).
Because of our past relationships, 13 farmers have given their support to this project.


With the support of the farmers, we were able to utilise local bank investments and agricultural funds, and we were also able to secure support from non-farm managers and businesses in and outside the province.


Finally, crowdfunding was also utilised to raise the originally planned funds.
This paved the way for the 'Distillery Shakotan Blue', a citizen-funded distillery with no major capital."

The space named 'Garden' (top row, left) and 'Nasari' (bottom row, right), where yachi willow is cultivated.The grounds of the farm also include the Laboratory Shakotan Green, where botanicals are dried and made into specimens (upper right, lower left).

In order to have a place for interaction for everyone who supports Shakotan Spirit, events entitled 'One Night BAR' have been held on an irregular basis since 2018.


The idea is to invite bartenders from inside and outside of Hokkaido to open a real bar in Shakotan and serve gin cocktails in order to introduce gin to local townspeople and those who support the business.
The aim is to promote the Shakotan spirit of gin-making not only to local residents but also to those who have invested in the project.


The One Night Bar will continue to be held in the future, and the distillery is also planning a number of other initiatives.


'In the future, we plan to organise a botanical tour in which Takashi Hamada of Vegetation Environment Research, who helped us select the botanicals, will guide us through the Shakotan forest.
'We will have visitors actually walk through the forests of the peninsula to get a feel for the vegetation here, and also experience harvesting at the farm.
You will be able to experience the rich nature of Shakotan, which is blessed with forests, rivers and the sea, and the fascination of the gin nurtured by this nature."

The view of the Sea of Japan stretches immediately behind the distillery.When the weather is good, you can enjoy a spectacular view of the Shakotan blue colour.Cape Kamui can be seen in the centre.

The aim is to create a library of botanical spirits and open source analytical data.

Now, the future Shakotan Spirit that Mr Iwai has in mind is more than just a gin distillery.
So far, 20 botanicals have been carefully selected from over 100 botanicals and distilled as single products, which have been blended to create recipes, and the analysis of these single botanical spirits will be made into data, charted and open-sourced.


There are still many botanicals in Hokkaido.
They plan to distill them and increase their stock of single botanical spirits, which will be made into a library that can be used by bars and distillers.


Eventually, they hope to hold blending workshops using single botanical spirits, and they are even thinking of trying their hand at making their own gin by freely blending their favourite botanicals.


'Well, rather than a gin distillery, our vision is of a "botanical lab with a distiller", where the data on botanical spirits can be freely used.


This library will be a direct representation of the climate of Shakotan, which encompasses forests, mountains and the sea, and the vegetation of Hokkaido.
Above all, this kind of trial makes the farms, agriculture and forestry of the whole region come alive as valuable resources.
This is the significance of our operations.


We hope we can develop not only by manufacturing, but also by working hand in hand with Hokkaido's agriculture, nature and producers."

Upcoming botanical tours.Hokkaido's vegetation master, Takashi Hamada (pictured left, left), will lead the tour.Botanical tours, shop space and distillery tours are currently in preparation.Check Shakotan Spirit's website and SNS for the latest information.

Shakotan Spirit started pre-ordering the third edition of Fire Sail KIBOU on 1 July.


In the second phase, a set of chocolates that locked in the flavour of the botanicals used in the gin was sold, but this time the gin and curry spice set 'Future Hokkaido Curry & Gin & Tonic', which sees juniper berries as the spice of choice.LOVERS set" (a combination of Ishikari curry Ishikari, tonic water KIZASHI and Fire sail KIBOU).


This is another project that reflects President Iwai's wish to make gin drinking an everyday occurrence.


"Gin and tonic with curry!"Expect the matching of the Shakotan spirit of "Curry and gin and tonic!