Pernod Ricard has started production at the newly-built distillery in Japan for its Ki No Bi gin brand.
The announcement, made today (29 September), comes 15 months after the brand owner broke ground on the facility in Kameoka city, near Kyoto. Financial and production capacity details were not disclosed, although when contacted by Global Drinks Intel at the time of the initial announcement, Pernod Ricard set the cost at EUR25m (then-US$26.8m) and the capacity at “at least five times” the brand’s previous distillery in Kyoto.
The facility, which will host an official opening ceremony on 7 October, will have “multiple stills (rather than a single still that many distilleries have), so it can maintain the meticulous gin-making process that defines Ki No Bi gin”.
Kin No Bi was founded in 2016, before Pernod Ricard acquired a minority stake in early 2020. The brand, positioned at the ultra-premium end of the gin category, sits alongside Beefeater, Malfy, Monkey 47 and Plymouth in Pernod Ricard’s gin portfolio.
“We could have installed one large still at the new facility, but we chose not to because we believe in maintaining our meticulous distillation process,” said the operations director at The Kyoto Distillery, Hiroyuki Nagai. “We don’t simply combine all the ingredients into one still and press a button. Our botanicals are divided into six different flavour groups and distilled separately then blended, producing a distinctive, pure and perfectly balanced gin, with a Japanese accent.”
In results from the 12 months to the end of June, reported late last month, Pernod Ricard booked a 3% decline in year-on-year sales. The performance was behind rival Diageo, which saw its top line rise by 1.7% for the same period.
