First Impressions
In 2013, Diageo launched Show Your Spirit — a competition pitting European bartenders against each other to design a spirit worthy of joining their Reserve Brands portfolio. English bartender Dee Davies won with a concept that married Scottish gin with Japanese sake. Jinzu launched in November 2014, named after the Jinzu River in Japan, which is lined with a thousand cherry trees. The bottle carries a discreet cherry blossom branch imprint tracing the course of the river.
Tasting
The base gin is distilled in a copper pot still with juniper, coriander and angelica. Yuzu and Japanese cherry blossom are added immediately before distillation begins. Post-distillation, junmai sake is blended in — the key innovation that gives Jinzu its signature creamy mouthfeel. The nose is pine and eucalyptus juniper with lime zest, floral cherry and honeysuckle blossom. On the palate, sweet and crisp with an incredibly delicate mouthfeel — florals arrive first, then citrus and savoury sake undertones, yuzu adding exotic Japanese citrus before juniper reasserts itself. The sake provides a silky texture that no botanical alone could achieve.
The Bottom Line
Jinzu earns a 7 for a genuinely innovative concept executed with restraint. The sake blend is not a gimmick — it fundamentally changes the mouthfeel and makes this one of the smoothest gins available. Dee Davies understood something from her years behind the bar: drinkers want texture as much as flavour. Best with a premium tonic and a twist of yuzu or grapefruit. A bartender won a competition, and the prize was getting her gin made by Diageo. That is a story worth drinking to.
