Suntory Roku: Six Japanese Botanicals, One Per Season

Roku means six, and the bottle is hexagonal with the six botanicals embossed on its sides.

It's a rare case of packaging that's actually a spec sheet.

The Six

Sakura flower and sakura leaf — spring. The flower is floral and faintly almond-like; the salted leaf, as used in wagashi, is savory and distinct from the blossom.

Sencha and gyokuro — two green teas, doing different jobs. Sencha is brisk and grassy. Gyokuro is shade-grown, softer and full of umami.

Yuzu peel — the citrus, sharper and more aromatic than lemon or lime.

Sansho pepper — the numbing, citrusy Japanese peppercorn.

Each is harvested at the peak of its own season rather than all at once, which is the part that takes the effort.

What Holds Them Up

The six sit on top of eight traditional gin botanicals, juniper, coriander, citrus peels and the rest of the classic London dry framework.

That's the design decision worth noticing. Roku isn't trying to replace the structure of a dry gin with Japanese ingredients; it's building the Japanese material on top of a recognizable gin. Which is why it works so well in ordinary cocktails instead of demanding special treatment.

What It Tastes Like

Floral and citrus-forward up front, with tea and sansho arriving late. The sansho in particular shows up as a faint tingle on the finish rather than as heat.

Balanced enough to disappear into a drink, distinctive enough that you'd notice if someone swapped it out.

How to Drink It

Suntory's own serve is a gin and tonic with sliced ginger, and it's a good one, the ginger picks up the sansho.

A Roku highball with soda and a twist is excellent. It also makes a very clean, slightly floral martini.

Pair It With

It's the most versatile gin on our shelf, so almost anything. Karaage, tebasaki, handrolls, or a G&T alongside spicy edamame.

Try It at Juraku

Suntory Roku is on the gin list at Izakaya Juraku, Lower East Side. If you're ordering a gin cocktail and don't want to think about it, this is the one.