Christmas Gift Guide 2019: Ki No Tea Kyoto Dry Gin
Ki No Tea Gin
Gin and tea have always had a close affinity and from Kyoto Distillery in Japan’s comes Ki No Bi gin (‘The Beauty of the Seasons’). The gin makes use of locally-grown ingredients where the botanicals are separated into six different categories (base, citrus, tea, herbal, spice and floral), steeped in rice spirit before being distilled individually then blended and left to marry to harmonise the flavours.
The Ki No Tea expression (45.1% ABV) was created in collaboration with tea-grower and blender, Horii-Shichimeien, whose estate was founded in 1879 in Kyoto. A number of super-premium Gyokuru and Tencha teas have been specially selected to form the heart of Ki No Tea. A delicate, sweet nose is echoed on the palate with notes of white chocolate followed by juniper, leading to a long, clean finish of green tea.
