This month we take a trip to the land of the rising sun for what must surely be the only gin in the world to use the ancient Japanese seasoning of the sansho berry. There’s quite a story behind the creation of this intriguing spirit, much more than we have space for here, but it’s worth visiting Kokoro Gin’s website (see below) to find out about a mountain named after a dragon, Uncle Nic’s adventures and the Afan woodland walk that was the inspiration behind this exotic combination of British tradition and Japanese history.
Back to the sansho berry. Growing wild in the Japanese mountains, it’s been used as a flavour enhancer for over 3,000 years, bringing tastes of citrus and pepper along with a zingy, tongue tingling sensation that stimulates the taste receptors and makes everything taste better. It was James Nicol, nephew of the aforementioned Uncle Nic, who realised the potential of this unique ingredient and went about putting it at the heart of what would be Kokoro Gin.
After much painstaking experimentation he settled on juniper, lemon peel, sweet orange, almond, angelica root, liquorice, savoury and coriander seed to complement the sansho berry, with a resulting gin that starts off sweet on the palate, then becomes more peppery and complex before finishing with a little spicy heat along with broader citrus notes.
We thought that matching our botanicals with a gin of such complexity would be a touch tricky, but we found that our Tropical blend, with its smooth hibiscus and mild white peppercorns, was the perfect foil for the flavours of Kokoro Gin. Or as an alternative try our Rose blend if you like floral tastes as the enhancing power of sansho really lifts the flowery notes.
Kokoro means the soul or essence of a place and this gin is certainly full of soul. ‘An exceptional British gin with a distinctive Japanese heart’ is what it says on the bottle. We think that sums it up perfectly.
There’s a lot more to discover (and you can buy Kokoro Gin) at www.kokorogin.com
