Thinned-apple gin, made to sit beside Japanese food

Tokyo start-up tekaro Inc. has developed “tekaro GIN First Harvest”, a craft gin made with “first-picked apples” from Nagano Prefecture. On 17 September 2026 it opened pre-sales on Makuake, a Japanese supporter-purchase (crowdfunding) service. According to the company, pledges reached 1 million yen on the first day. The aim was a “food gin” that can be enjoyed for its aroma yet does not get in the way of the meal.

A new role for the green apples that get thinned out

Nagano is a mountainous prefecture in central Honshu, known as one of Japan’s leading apple-growing regions. Apple growers carry out “tekka” (fruit thinning) from spring to early summer, removing young fruit so that the ones left grow larger and tastier. The small fruit that are picked off are very sour and have until now had almost no use. What caught tekaro’s attention was the fresh, green fragrance found only in fruit at this stage. The brand name “tekaro” combines “teka” from tekka with the kanji 路 (ro), meaning “road”, and carries the meaning of a road that leads overlooked fruit to the table.

Kuromoji adds a Japanese freshness

For the botanicals, the first-picked apples are combined with kuromoji, a shrub of the laurel family long enjoyed in Japan as an aromatic wood, and with chamomile, among others. Poured into a glass, it first gives off a fresh scent like green apple, followed by the clear, cooling note of kuromoji. Sweetness is restrained, and the taste is dry, crisp and light. The alcohol content is 43%. It is designed to follow the flow of a meal, from sashimi, sushi and carpaccio to tempura, pork dishes and richly savoury dishes made with dashi, soy sauce and miso. Those involved in its development include Ayumu Yamaguchi, CTO of Ethical Spirits Co., Ltd., who was in charge of distillation and the recipe; Sosho Onodera, owner-bartender of Bar Soutsu and head of the gin research group Gin Lab Japan, who advised on how to drink it and on its flavour; and Torachiyo Tokunaga, representative of Furupro Co., Ltd., who supplied the apples.

How to enjoy it in Europe

It comes in two sizes, 500 mL and 200 mL, with planned retail prices in Japan of 5,940 yen for 500 mL and 2,860 yen for 200 mL (tax included). A jam made from the same apples will also be released. Pre-sales on Makuake run until 30 October, and no overseas sales have been announced at present. Even so, the idea behind this gin is easy to try at European tables too. The makers recommend serving it with soda at one part gin to three or four parts soda, or with elderflower tonic at one to three. Combining elderflower, familiar in Europe, with Japanese botanicals looks like an easy match for sushi and tempura as well. When looking for Japanese craft gin, it helps to check whether the botanicals listed on the label include kuromoji or Japanese fruit. As an effort to make use of unused farm produce, its future overseas expansion is worth watching.