Matsui The Hakuto Premium Gin

A spicy yet sweet Gin, inspired by Japan’s first love story.

The Matsui Shuzou Distillery was founded in 1910 northwest of Kyoto the facing the Sea of Japan in Tottori Prefecture. Importantly, the Kurayoshi distillery is within sight of Mount Daisen — a volcanic peak rising more than a mile above the surrounding fertile plains. The spring water used to distill their Sake, Shōchū, Whisky, and Gin and bring it to proof has filtered through volcanic stone for eons — resulting in significant purity and a unique, soft mineral composition.

Hakuto means ‘white rabbit’ in Japanese and it’s connected to the legend from the Tottori Prefecture. In Japan’s first love story, the White Rabbit of Inaba played a matchmaker for King Ookuni and Princess Hachigami. Today, you can visit the Hakuto Shrine, which is said to be 'holy ground for lovers'.

Matsui Gin The Hakuto Premium Gin is blended with 14 carefully selected botanicals, including orange peel, yuzu peel, gyokuro, sakura or cherry blossom, coriander seeds, juniper, black pepper, and nashi pears - a speciality of Tottori Prefecture. Like its brothers and sisters from the Kurayoshi range, The Hakuto is finished with spring water from Mt. Diasen. The final result is a spicy, sweet yet refreshingly complex Gin that clocks in at an impressive 94 proof and excels in all Gin-forward concoctions.