How is everyone doing?
This is Yamada, in charge of this month's diary.
The hot weather continues, and it's time for an after-work drink to taste even better.

Now, the key botanical for this month's Limited Edition 08 is "mint".
The 150 originally contained Japanese hacca and spearmint have been increased and apple mint has been added to finish the product.
It has a sultry menthol feel, but also a fruity minty sweetness.
I think it is ideal for a relaxing drink, or as a topping off a meal of yakiniku (barbecued meat) or other hearty food.

It was decided to distill mint and many trials were made.
However, the mintiness of the 150 base was too minty, so it was difficult to get the minty feeling to come through.
After much trial and error, we filled the basket with spearmint and apple mint in abundance,
This took the form of a distillation of Japanese Hakka soaked in YASO spirits for 24 hours.
Apple mint is as fruity as its name suggests.
Compared to spearmint and peppermint, it seemed to be more commonly used in drinks and cooking, and was a fruity mint with less menthol and more sweetness.
By using these two types, the menthol sensation of the Japanese peppermint is harmonized with the menthol sensation of the Japanese peppermint, resulting in just the right aroma.

We actually visited Mr. Maehata's place, who has been helping us with Yoneyama spruce and other products, to collect the Japanese peppermint.
I was embarrassed to admit that this was the first time I used a sickle to cut plants and enter the river.
It was a very enjoyable and valuable experience.

As soon as I got close to the hackberry, I could smell the sudsy goodness of the hackberry.
I had an image that the smell of peppermint was strongly mentholated, but it was not only mentholated, but also had a very nice aroma with a hint of sweetness.
After all, there are many things you can't understand unless you actually hold the product in your hands. I learned a lot.

He also said that he would like to dry and sell the leaves after harvesting them. We did not have time to visit this time, but a café nearby actually served a mixture of hojicha and hacca that was very tasty and well received.
It looks delicious just by imagining it...I want to drink it too^^Next time I want to go into the mountains and look for various plants!

The collected hackberries were washed and immediately soaked in spirits, and after they were removed, they were combined with the base spirit that is normally used for distillation and distillation was started.
Thanks to the abundance of hackberry and mint, it was already hackberry and mint when the original brew started.... There was a menthol feeling that came to my eyes.
Over time, other botanicals and spices gradually peeked out and the mint flavor and aroma changed. I'm a big fan of chocolate mint, and after smelling it for the past few days, I couldn't help but inoculate myself daily with chocolate mint.
At the beginning, I got the impression of a bitter mint with a strong menthol flavor, but gradually sweetness and fruity flavors appeared, with a slight coumarin-like flavor in the latter half of the bottle. I could taste a bit of coumarin in the latter half of the bottle.
Is this hacker...? I am just curious.

Finished with an abundance of mint and peppermint, limited edition 08 is a refreshing finish that is perfect for the coming season.
Rather than the menthol being at the forefront of the aroma, the fruity flavor and sweetness of the mint, combined with the spices and botanicals originally included in the product, make it a very approachable product.
It is a great drink to relieve fatigue, to refresh your mind, or to finish off your day with a drink.

This limited edition product will go on sale on Monday, August 8, just in time for the Obon season.
Please be careful not to make a mistake.

Thank you for reading at length.
I believe that from next month we will be working at the new distillery, so I hope you can get a feel for the scenery in the photos.
See you soon ^^.