KI NO BI to open fossil-free distillery in 2025
KI NO BI’s new fossil-free distillery is set to open in October 2025, just 15 months after a Shinto Shrine Master blessed the ground in a traditional groundbreaking ceremony on which it is being built.
The new facility, located in Kameoka city of Kyoto Prefecture just a short drive from Kyoto city – the former capital of Japan, is part of KI NO BIs ambitions to increase its production capacity eightfold to 1.8 million litres a year. Unlike the existing gas-fuelled operation, the new distillery will be powered entirely by electricity from renewable sources such as water and wind, which will reduce the carbon footprint of the production process.
However, just like the existing operation, the new facility will have multiple stills (rather than a single still many distilleries have), so it can maintain the meticulous gin-making process that defines KI NO BI gin. The distillers at KI NO BI do not simply combine all the ingredients into one still and press a button. Instead, they follow an intricate production process that begins with botanicals sourced from local farmers. These botanicals are divided into six different categories, macerated in rice spirit, and distilled individually in separate stills rather than in just one.
“We could have installed one large 5,000-litre still, but we chose not to because we believe in maintaining our meticulous distillation process. Instead, we will have several 1,000-litre pot stills working in tandem, and the previous 140 and 450-litre stills will be transferred to the new distillery,” explains Hiro Nagai, Operations Director at The Kyoto Distillery.
With solar panels on the carport and its barrel maturation warehouse, Hiro is looking forward to the distillery’s opening ceremony in October. “We have been fortunate to have worked with a humble selection of business partners from the construction company to the architectural designers to the distillery equipment supplier,” says Hiro. “They have all collaborated brilliantly to make this project happen, fulfilling our vision of the pioneering Kyoto spirit!”
We could have installed one large 5,000-litre still, but we chose to install several to maintain our meticulous distilling process.
Hiro Nagai, The Kyoto Distillery
