While rooftop beer gardens with cold glasses of one's favorite suds are the popular way among many in Japan to cool off during the hot summer and early weeks of autumn, gin, whether served neat with a bit of water, over the rocks, mixed in a tonic, or as one part of an endless variety of exotic cocktails is the other widely preferred spirit.

Until recently, getting a gin-based drink in Japan meant watching as the bartender reached behind, or under, the counter to pull out a bottle of one of perhaps five major internationally known labels typically based in the United Kingdom. Refreshing, yes, but not exactly a "uniquely Japan" experience along the lines of drinking sake, plum wine or shōchū (distilled liquor).

Over the past couple of years, however, craft gin distilleries have been popping up, producing low-volume, high-quality gin that sources Japanese, and often very local, ingredients to create gins that are, by turns, fruity, peppery, smooth and packed with complex flavors. While Tokyo is the biggest market in terms of sales, some of the more prominent distilleries in operation — about 20 as of June — are based in the western part of Japan.