Chugoku Jozo — the company behind Sakurao Distillery — has been producing Togouchi whisky from sourced and locally matured spirit for many years, blending it in tunnels in the mountains near Hiroshima. More recently, they have expanded into gin. Togouchi Gin 999 and the Yamahoka range represent Hiroshima’s craft spirits identity expanding beyond whisky — drawing on local botanicals, the Seto Inland Sea terroir, and the same water source that defines their whisky character.
Hiroshima Botanicals
Hiroshima Prefecture is rich in agricultural produce: Seto Inland Sea oysters, lemon from Onomichi, yuzu from the mountain villages, and various local herbs and citrus that define regional cuisine. Togouchi Gin incorporates these local botanical identities, producing a gin that reads as distinctly from this specific place — not a generic London Dry, but a Hiroshima expression in spirit form.
Mika’s Perspective
At Bar Little Happiness, I focus primarily on whisky and rum — but Togouchi Gin is an exception I make for Hiroshima. Guests who come to the bar and discover that Hiroshima has its own distillery, its own whisky, and now its own gin, find that the city’s identity as a craft spirits destination is deeper than they expected. Available at Bar Little Happiness. Read the original Japanese column: https://little-happiness.jp/columns/togouchi-gin999-yamahoka-mew/
Bar Little Happiness | Hiroshima, Japan
Rum & Whisky specialists | 1,000+ bottles | English menu available
Open Mon–Sat 7PM–12:30AM, Sun 7PM–midnight
No cover charge. Walk-ins welcome.
english.little-happiness.jp