Toyko Riverside Distillery is making a craft style gin in the heart of Tokyo. It is only a few minutes walk from the famous Asakusa temple. You could hardly notice the spot if you have not known there is a distillery because it fits into a scenery of mundane office buildings.
The idea behind this distillery is exciting. It is not only making craft gin from hybrid stills placed here, but they try to make use of rice waste, that is to say, recycling the residues from sake making, which often go wasting, to a resource for making their craft gin.
Here, you can buy their bottles in all kinds of experience styles at the counter and try tasting at the bar counter, if you like, on the second floor of the building. They mainly focus on reusing wasted materials into their liquid, bringing a new life again.
The manufacturing process seems no secret. You can observe inside where a hybrid-style distilling machine is running and making the liquid. Staff at the counter can give a friendly answer to your inquiries. It feels young, vigorous, and forward-looking, as if trying to bring a new culture to this corner of Tokyo.
You may also enjoy their crafted gin in one of their company’s running bars. One in Shibuya is probably the most intriguing, as you can just drop by to taste the drinks, including all kinds of interesting Japanese sake drinks from all over Japan. And you can also buy a bottle and bring it as a souvenir home.
