The bold botanicals elevating Japanese gin

Uji, a city to the south of Kyoto, is the birthplace of Japan’s tea culture. At its height, during the Ashikaga shogunate, it had seven tea plantations. Of these, only the Okunoyama plantation remains. Growers have cultivated tea here for 600 years, making it the oldest plantation in Japan.

At an age when most of us would hope to be retired, Chotaro Horii, the current owner, still tends to his plants and serves tea to visitors in his shop. Or, if they’re lucky, a nip of Ki No Bi gin. His premium green teas are responsible for some of its flavours, much to the delight of this sixth-generation grower.