Experience Craft Gin at a Kanazawa Distillery and Delight in a Gourmet Dinner at a Renowned Restaurant

Supporting Kanazawa’s Culinary Culture: Ono, Soy Sauce Town

Kanazawa’s port town of Ono is one of Japan’s five major soy sauce producing areas. Blessed with abundant groundwater from nearby Mount Haku and strategically situated on a major shipping hub, the production here began to flourish near the beginning of the 17th Century. Even today, historic soy sauce breweries continue to dot the area, a cornerstone of the gourmet culinary culture of Kanazawa.

Ono is Kanazawa’s thriving gateway to the sea

Beyond its four century history as a soy sauce town, Ono is also appealing for its quaint townscape. Feel the rhythm of a slower life in city streets lined with traditional wood houses far from the bustle of the city, with the city’s history and culture attested to by the faint fragrance of soy sauce in the sea breeze. Here in this tranquil setting is the Alembic Distillery, whose red door serves as a local landmark and distinguishes it from the surrounding neighborhood, with which it otherwise blends seamlessly.

Alembic Distillery’s red door, sourced from Wisconsin, USA

Craft Gin: Drawing the World’s Attention to Kanazawa

Driven by his passion for gastronomy, Alembic Ono Distillery founder and head Toshihiko Nakagawa left a career at a trading company to start anew in beer brewing. On a world tour of craft breweries, he stumbled into the world of craft gin. Impressed by its strong regionalism, Nakagawa also felt that gin had a great potential as an accompaniment to food. This spurred him on to found Alembic Distillery in 2019. In his words: “I wanted to create a gin that would go well with a meal.”

As the son of a chef, Nakagawa was interested in food from a very young age

Nakagawa chose Ono as his distillery’s home base because of the town's gorgeous scenery and rich culinary culture. Its history of soy sauce production also made it ideal for Nakagawa’s love of food. The groundwater was also a boon: perfectly suited to soy sauce production, yes, but also ideal for making gin. Alembic’s first gin was completed in 2022 after much trial and error, with a final recipe selected from among 25 trial candidate recipes. This flagship spirit took its name from that process: Alembic Gin Hachiban, literally meaning “No. 8.”

Nakagawa sought to create “a gin I myself would want to drink”

Hachiban is intended as a smooth tipple even for those new to gin, with a taste that leaves you wanting more. It quickly gained a following, winning the top award of gold and the high honor of a trophy at the 2023 International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), the world's leading liquor competition. In 2024, it was nominated for the International Gin Producer Trophy, awarded to outstanding distilleries. Within just two years of beginning production, Alembic Ono Distillery managed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the world’s preeminent distilleries – drawing ever increasing attention to Kanazawa’s quality craft gin.

World-class praise from the IWSC

Touring a World-class Gin Distillery

This plan offers a tour of the distillery – normally off-limits to the public – guided by Nakagawa himself. The facility is clean and well-maintained, with its gleaming brassy still ensconced deep within. The still, whose copper construction provides excellent thermal conductivity, holds about 400 liters and uses groundwater supplied by melt from Mount Haku for both distillation and dilution.

Alembic’s semi-custom still

Botanicals are distilled using two methods. In steeping, they are directly soaked in a base spirit. In steam distillation the flavor is extracted using steam. Nakagawa varies his methods according to the ingredients to maximize the delicate complexity of the aromas.

The pursuit of flavor with all five senses

Alembic gin is aged in oak Madeira wine casks imported from Portugal. Nakagawa’s experimentation with barrel-aged gin is a rarity in Japan, pushing the frontiers of Kanazawa’s craft gin. His passion is evident in every tool and piece of equipment in the distillery, speaking volumes about the flavor of the craft gin produced here.

Six months of barrel aging imbues the gin with a sweet oak aroma

The Heady Aroma of Botanicals in a Distillation Experience

After the tour, move to a miniature still for the gin distillation experience. This scaled-down setup provides an excellent bird’s-eye view of the process, so you can deepen your understanding of distillation over the hour of the process, all the while wafting in the botanical aroma of the primary, secondary, and final distillates to experience firsthand how it develops. 

A miniature still, used for prototyping

During the process, enjoy a detailed explanation of the botanicals used at Alembic Ono distillery. Juniper berries are an essential ingredient, imparting a subtle sweetness, spice, and mild bitterness that unfolds in complexity while drinking. Nakagawa also uses kuromoji – a fragrant wood endemic to Japan, sometimes known as spicebush or black willow in English – along with cacao nibs to impart umami. Take in the aromas at your own pace.

The delicate art of blending botanicals

Follow your distillation experience with a tasting at the distillery’s bar, partaking of Nakagawa’s carefully curated craft gin lineup served on the rocks or with soda – including the award-winning Alembic Gin Hachiban. Drinking snacks include traditional Kanazawa fermented delicacies and soy sauce nuts, offering an authentic experience of the prefecture’s rich culinary culture.

Citrus notes from an orange garnish complement the gin nicely

Savor Craft Gin and Seasonal Delicacies in a Special Paired Dinner at Zeniya

After the tour, travel by taxi to local Japanese restaurant Zeniya – awarded two stars by the Michelin Guide – for a special course meal exclusive to Wabunka, built entirely around pairing with the gin of Alembic Ono Distillery. Zeniya is an elegant restaurant perched on the banks of the Sai river, dripping with classic Kanazawa atmosphere.

Zeniya is a Japanese restaurant rich in traditional Kanazawa seasonality and classic Japanese service

Zeniya serves dishes of local ingredients perfectly matched to the aroma, finish, and other qualities of Alembic gin. Its dishes burst with seasonal flavors, prepared with the restaurant’s unique culinary sensibilities. The restaurant itself is permeated with a tranquil, soothing atmosphere. The upgraded menu features premium ingredients meticulously selected by the head chef for the very best seasonal dishes of the day. During Kanazawa's famed crab season, this includes a special dish of fresh-caught local crab, for a chance to luxuriate in the region's seasonal delicacies nonpareil. 

Craft gin and seasonal ingredients come together for a truly once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience
*Photo is for illustration purposes only

This is the perfect place for a moment of culinary bliss where Kanazawa’s historic culture and the chef’s innovative creativity meld with craft gin and traditional Japanese sensibility.

A Unique Gastronomical Experience where the Sensibilities of Distiller and Chef Intertwine

Nakagawa’s ultimate goal for Alembic Ono Distillery is “gin that complements food,” and this plan is the perfect way to experience the fruits of that vision paired with a meal at the eminent local restaurant Zeniya. After the experience, take home a 200 ml souvenir bottle of Alembic Gin Hachiban. These are sure to heighten your eating and drinking enjoyment and harken back to memories of your time in Kanazawa long after your trip is over.

Savor the flavor and subtle aroma of craft gin

Kanazawa and its Ono district are stronghold of Japanese culinary culture. The craft gin born here, with roots deeply entwined in these traditions, opens a new window to the joy of gathering at the table for food and drink. This special experience brings all this together with the feel of the local climate, the passion of the distiller, and the opportunity for new drinking and dining memories. Lose yourself to Nakagawa’s pride and joy – and delight in Alembic’s delicate craft gin.