Japanese inspired Gin

[SouthwestAl]

I am starting to put together a Japanese inspired Gin for the Cherry Blossom Festival in the town where I live next year. The Japanese Gins I have tried all have quite a unique taste, quite unlike the European/US Gins, and tend to be Gin, rather than London Dry Gin, meaning they are made from blended distillates.

I started yesterday with a distillation of Sakura Flowers (Cherry Blossom) in the vapour basket, as it's the end of the season here, and they are starting to fall. I then did a Yuzu distillation, also in the vapour basket - both came out quite nicely, and the Sakura is quite a dominant flavour and aroma, so blending will take some testing.

I am thinking of a base distillate of Juniper, Orris Root (to boost the floral profile) and Coriander Seed, and possibly a pepper - maybe Cubeb.

Other distillates for blending:
- Green Tea, for a herbal note.
- Nori Sheets - no idea what this will come out like on its own, but hopefully will give a slightly herbal, woody flavour.
- Sweet pickled Ginger - there is a type of Ginger flower here that could be interesting. Not sure what if anything the pickling will add, but I thought I would give it a go. I will pickle the Ginger in Mirim wine, and some rice vinegar, and see how it comes out.

The blend is going to be the key part, but the base alcohol could also be a major factor - I normally use GNS from a cereal base, from my supplier, but they do on occasions have GNS from a rice base, which might give a different tang.

Any thoughts on interesting botanicals that might fit with the theme? I don't want to go too over the top in the number of botanicals, but interested to hear feedback!

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