Carrot cake in a bottle: a spiced gin from Tokyo

Spice Resonare Co., Ltd., based in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, launched “CARROT CAKE SPICE GIN” on its official online store on 15 September 2026, as the first release from its own brand, “SPICE RESONARE”. The concept is “carrot cake you can drink”. The bottle holds 500 ml, the strength is 43% ABV, and the price in Japan is 8,800 yen including tax. The company was only founded in May 2026, making it a new addition to the makers of Japanese craft gin.

From a sweet aroma to layered spices

The gin uses 16 botanicals (the plant materials used to flavour gin), including carrot and cinnamon. Poured into a glass, it first gives off a sweet aroma reminiscent of carrot cake. On the palate, the aromas and warmth of several spices arrive in layers, and the gin is designed to finish with a spicy aftertaste. According to the company, the aim is not to reproduce the taste of the cake exactly. Instead, it breaks down the “combination of sweetness and spice” that makes carrot cake appealing and rebuilds it as a gin. Bringing the opposing elements of sweetness and sharpness together in a single glass is the core of the product.

A developer who explored 300 cakes and 250 gins

The gin was developed by the founder, Ram, who is in their twenties. Ram has eaten more than 300 kinds of carrot cake and baked it more than 100 times at home. Ram has also tried more than 250 gins from Japan and abroad. What linked two seemingly unrelated things, cake and gin, was that both owe much of their character to spices. The depth of spices, whose expression changes with ingredients and blend, became the backbone of the development. According to the press release, Ram has hesitated since childhood to show what they like. The hope behind this bottle is that it becomes a doorway for drinkers to discover something new to love.

How to enjoy it in Europe, and what to watch

For now, the gin is sold only through the official online store in Japan, and the release says nothing about overseas shipping or availability in Europe. Future developments can be followed on the brand’s Instagram (@spice_resonare). Drinking it neat or with a little water, to follow the shift from sweet aroma to spice, seems to match the brand’s intent. Pairing it with carrot cake or other baked goods made with cinnamon may make that intent easier to appreciate. For European readers, especially in the Netherlands with its genever (the distilled spirit regarded as the forerunner of gin) and across a continent with a long gin tradition, a Japanese gin designed by working backwards from a dessert should make an interesting point of comparison.