Gin is a distilled liquor made by adding flavors of botanicals such as herbs, peels, and spices to a base spirit. In this issue of MICHISHIRUBE, I interviewed with Takashi Yamaguchi, the head of Kamisuru Project, which makes gin from locally grown botanicals.

He had originally been involved in various activities to enliven the community with his fellow members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Youth Club.

In Higashi-Hiroshima City, which is famous for its sake, he thought it would be interesting to enjoy other drinks besides sake, so he decided to create Kamisuru, a gin ingredient.

Kamisuru is a packing of botanicals. By pouring the base spirit and Kamisuru into a bottle, you can easily make gin at home. It looks beautiful pickled like an herbarium, and you can also enjoy the change in taste by adding different ingredients to flavor it.

The lemons of Osaki Kamishima have a big influence on the taste of Kamisuru.

He met a lemon farmer who introduced him through the Commerce and Industry Association's youth club, and thought it would be interesting to add the tangerine and olive leaves produced at the farm, which led to the creation of the current original pack.

"Because it sounds fun."

This is what motivates Mr. Yamaguchi when he tries something new with friends.

"I have to do something fun."

"Even if it's not related to my main business, I can learn a lot by taking on challenges and making connections that will come back to my main business in various ways."

Connections between people are formed from things that are fun.

Kamisuru is also a drink that was created through connections with people and things in the region.

"In the future, I'd like to make gin that is unique to each region," Yamaguchi said.

I have a feeling that he'll be making even more connections with new people and things in the future.