Yomeishu Kanomori Craft Gin (700 ml)

Editor Choice: Japan's famous medicinal liqueur maker, Yomeishu, jumps into the Japanese craft gin scene with an herb-lover's dream of a gin. It uses kuromoji, an aromatic shrub native to Japan, as the prime botanical.

Head-first into a forest rich with herbs, greenery, and a hint of spicy wood. Take juniper and mash it together with black licorice and you may be getting close to the palate of kuromoji. I also get anise, allspice, and some citrus. At 47% abv it's also got some great heat! Short but spicy, leaving me with plenty of that sharpness of freshly cut wood.

Critical: 2019 International Wine & Spirit Competition (IWSC), Silver