Spirits · Hioki, Kagoshima
Komasa Jyozo
Kagoshima shochu house making citrus and tea gins on a rice shochu base.
- Founded
- 1883
- Based in
- Hioki, Kagoshima
Making it since
1883
Their story
Komasa Jyozo has been distilling in Kagoshima, at the southern tip of Kyushu, since 1883. It began making spirits for local shrines, became a shochu producer, added fruit liqueurs in the 1950s and opened a gin distillery in 2018.
Its best-known gin features the Sakurajima komikan, a tiny mandarin grown on the active volcano across the bay from Kagoshima city. Volcanic ash settles on the fruit year round and has to be brushed off by hand, and the harvest lasts only about a month.
How it's made
Komasa builds its gins on its own rice shochu and keeps the botanical list short. Each botanical is distilled separately and then blended, in versions featuring komikan with cypress, roasted hojicha tea, or strawberry with basil.
Why we carry them
We love Komasa's komikan gin for a bright, gentle citrus note; try it with soda and nothing else.
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