Spring, 2023.
Recently, we have begun to feel the arrival of spring in Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, where the distillery is located.
Flowers are blooming in the fields where the snow has melted, trees are budding, and the sun is shining longer.

Now, the 2023 Limited Edition is the fourth in the series.
My guess this time is strawberry.
I had wanted to use it for a long time, but the months passed without success.
But this time, we wanted to somehow commercialize the product, so we were prepared to tackle the task.

The strawberry used this time was "Echigohime", which is probably the most representative variety of Niigata Prefecture.
Stop by the sales floor and you will be enveloped by its sweet aroma.
The taste is characterized by sweetness, moderate acidity, and above all, the fruit is soft and fresh.
We have been trying to figure out how to incorporate this freshness into our gin ...... through trial and error.

It is a blend of decompression distillation and normal distillation of strawberries at low temperatures, respectively, distillation of herbs, and distillation of juniper berries as the main ingredient.

Juniper berries are also cut in a different position than usual to match the strawberry flavor.
The alcohol content was also adjusted to make the aroma feel softer.

I believe that by distilling the strawberries under reduced pressure, we were able to retain some flavor in the latter half of the flavor.

If you want to enjoy the aroma, you can drink it straight, and if you add sugar to it, it will mellow the taste, so that is also recommended.
Of course, it is also good to drink it with tonic water to match the strawberry flavor and sweetness.
How about a chance to taste Echigohime with gin?
The release date is Saturday, April 15.