Hakutsuru Sake Brewery, headquartered in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, is launching a new craft gin called Lab. SeeD GIN_01 on April 21, 2026 (Tuesday). The release is limited to 200 bottles and will go on sale at the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and the brewery's official online shop.
The Lab. SeeD Series
The Lab. SeeD series is a new brand from Hakutsuru Sake Brewery's in-house research laboratory. The concept revolves around turning small "seeds" — ideas and recipes that haven't yet made it to market — into tangible products. For the Lab. SeeD GIN lineup, the brewery's theme is expressing scenes from Kobe, the city at the heart of Hakutsuru's roots, through the aroma of gin.
With the first release, the team drew inspiration from Kobe's cityscape, where an exotic, international atmosphere coexists with a modern sensibility. The key botanical chosen to capture that image is coffee, a part of Kobe's Western-influenced culture that has been embedded in daily city life since the port opened. Blending ratios, coffee varieties, and roast levels were each carefully considered to bring out a rich, pleasing coffee aroma within the gin. Combined with five other botanicals, the result is a smooth, settled gin with a gentle sweetness that calls to mind Western-style confectionery.
Product Details
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Name | Lab. SeeD GIN_01 |
| Category | Spirits |
| Volume | 200ml |
| Suggested Retail Price | ¥1,650 (tax included) |
| Botanicals | Coffee beans, juniper berries, vanilla essence, cocoa powder, cinnamon, fermented coffee beans* |
| Alcohol Content | 45% |
| Flavor Profile | Roasted coffee and sweet cinnamon on the nose; a gentle sweetness like Western pastries with a settled, smooth character; a pleasant lingering finish of cocoa and coffee |
| Release Date | April 21, 2026 (Tuesday) |
| Units Available | 200 bottles |
| Distillery | Kobe Mikage Distillery (on the brewery's main premises) |
* The fermented coffee beans are produced by fermenting raw coffee beans with tempeh culture before roasting — a rare ingredient that yields a more aromatic roast and a mellower flavor than unfermented beans. In this gin, they are used specifically to enhance the coffee fragrance.
The gin will be sold at the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum (4-5-5 Sumiyoshi Minamicho, Higashinada-ku, Kobe) and through the Hakutsuru official online shop, with the online listing going live on April 21, 2026.
About the Kobe Mikage Distillery
The Kobe Mikage Distillery is located within the brewing facility on Hakutsuru's main premises. The brewery obtained its spirits manufacturing license in 2021, and in December 2024 released its first craft gins — KOBE HERBAL GIN Shirokaze #01 and #02. Lab. SeeD GIN_01 represents the next step in the distillery's craft spirits journey, blending the brewery's longstanding dedication to careful craftsmanship with an experimental, playful spirit unique to the lab setting.
