Tatsumi Distillery

Tatsumi Distillery is an incredibly unique distillery that was established by Shohei Tatsumi as a ‘one man’ operation in 2017.

It is located in the heart of Gifu Prefecture, in the traditional city of Gujo Hachiman, a quaint town at the foot of the Japanese Alps, on the banks of the Innaki River. From the handling of the raw materials to the distillation and bottling, it's truly a 'one-man operation'.

Brewing techniques remain true to the traditional practices and Tatsumi-san uses both a copper pot still and an ancient Kabutogama still to create his gin and absinthe.  The Kabutogama wooden still was originally developed in the Edo Period in the late 17th century, and was widely used until the late 19th century. In present-day Japan, it is only used by a handful of producers given its small production capacity and inefficiency.

Tatsumi san remains committed to reviving the ancient method of distillation and is the only Japanese producer using a Kabutogama still to make Western-style spirits.