Distillery Spotlight: Iseya Distillery

Region: Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan

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Tatsuya Motonaga, an Osaka native, had just toured more than 70 distilleries across Europe and completed stints at some of the most prestigious and lauded bars - Shibuya's Bar Caol Ila, Shinjuku's Bar Benfiddich (48th on the World's Best Bars list and 5th on the Asia's Best Bars list) and Taiwan's Wa-Shu.

And yet, here he was at Pontarlier, a little nondescript commune cusping the border of France and Switzerland. Specifically the little town of Travers had particularly fascinated Motonaga. The town so small that it was combined with eight other neighbouring towns to be known as Val-de-Travers, had left an indelible impact on Motonaga, with its nature and personality, that it led to his starting of an equally small liqueur distillery, the Iseya Distillery.

Despite having only been purveying liqueurs since November 2021, the Iseya Distillery has been quite the sensation with its two primary products - a Scarlet Bitter Liqueur and a Verde Amaro.  

To understand why Motonaga has caused quite the buzz, we first need to take a look at the origins of liqueurs and understand perhaps more curiously, why it is that Asia doesn't produce them. 

Motonaga has brought to Japan a bitter liqueur that might just make it big. (Image Source: POPEYE)

The 2 Minute History of Liqueurs

Liqueurs have their history rooted centuries ago, first popular from between the brimstone walls of monasteries in Italy. These monks sure knew how to have a good time. And yet at the time, these weren't even considered drinking alcohol. Right...

Well, the reality was that without things like refrigeration, ascetic monks had to find a way to preserve precious herbs and spices that weren't able to be grown during the harsh winters. Alcohol and sugar (two of the three primary ingredients for a liqueur) was touted as a way to store and even enhance these herbs and spices, which eventually became tinctures and medication for all sorts of ailments. As they say, where there's a will, there's a way. It wouldn't be surprising if the baseline treatment option started out with a good dose of liqueur.

Liqueurs started out in monasteries being curative and then became restorative and today it's just refreshing. (Image Source: FT)

And so liqueurs grew in popularity and mainstream use and were amongst the first categories of spirits, after all the rules around what constitutes liqueurs are pretty much non-existent. Most simply involved marinating some form of herb, spice or botanical in alcohol for some period of time. It was in fact so easy to make, that eventually many households and taverns across Europe would have some sort of house concoction and recipe. Clearly not FDA approved.

These medicinal potions eventually moved from curative to restorative, and then simply an enjoyable digestif, but perhaps what really made sure it took off was it being popularised as a cocktail ingredient. Today, Campari, known for its Italian bitters is one of the world's largest alcohol companies. Other popular liqueur companies include Fernet, Angostura and Luxardo.

Who knew that just sneaking your way into cocktails would hold the recipe for success?

Regardless, their might and influence in the drinks world cannot be understated. 

Superstition Is Why Your Cocktails Aren't Better

And yet, despite their ease of production, long history and widespread use, liqueurs aren't really produced in Asia.

Some countries in Asia have their own local concoctions - as mentioned, it's not difficult to qualify as liqueur. Funnily a good number of them involve some form of snake as part of the concoction. A close (and serious) contender would be Japan's Umeshu, which is based off the tart ume plum.  

Umeshu, a popular liqueur made in Japan using the tart ume plum fruit has largely stayed a category of its own. (Image Source: Sonoma Wine Garden)

Expanding the search query to include liqueurs that stubbornly cling on to their medicinal classification then that adds a few more participants, including one Yomeishu Health Tonic. Japanese-spirits publication, Nomunication, highlights that the perks of such a branding means that legally it remains considered a pharmaceutical - which is to say much like cold medication, even children can purchase it, and that it is still primarily touted for its health benefits. It's even recommended that the appropriate dosage dictates 20ml three times daily consumption.

Yomeishu, a herbal liqueur would fit the bill but would much rather prefer to stay medicinal than take part in the cocktail scene, and for good reason - the market for alternative supplements in Asia far outnumbers the cocktail scene by multiples. (Image Source: Yomeishu)

So why is it that few popular liqueurs exist in Asia? Reasons abound, but perhaps most crucially, unlike Europe, where many liqueur makers have heeded the call for greater profits in the cocktail scene vis-a-vis the medical one where modern medicine takes the cake, the Asian market for restorative traditional medicine remains fairly large. In fact, the market for ayurvedic products significantly outsizes that for cocktails in Asia - lack of education, superstition and traditionalism all play a role in that.

Introducing Japan To Its Own Bitters

"The environment in the Obara area, rich in nature and close to agriculture, is similar to the brewing environment in Europe."   

For Motonaga, Obara represents an opportunity to realise what inspired him about Pontarlier - locality infused with spirits. (Image Source: Aichi Now)

Japan's drinks culture is fast moving forward, the past decade saw perhaps the biggest acceleration in innovation - over 1,000 brewing/distilling licenses have been issued in the last 5 years, with 260 licenses issued in 2021 alone; a significant jump from just 2014 which saw 71 licenses issued.

Of course, a huge motivation for the trend has to do with the broad global insatiable hunger for anything and everything Japan-produced, the country being a marker of high quality and craftsmanship.

This saw many more craft brewers and distillers trying their hand at creating something special, and in the case of Motonaga, that would move the scene a step forward.

The 100 year old traditional house that has become home to Motonaga's Iseya Distillery. (Image Source: Sagamiko / 相模湖観光協会)

And yet, Motonaga was not one for flashy breweries or distilleries. Far from that, Iseya Distillery finds itself in a 100-year old traditional house in Obara town off the Koshu Highway. The house in fact belonged to Kobayashi-san, whom Motonaga had worked for for over a decade in his Shibuya bar. The house had been vacant for three decades and while Motonaga was helping out with repairs and cleaning, his time in the small town had reminded him of Pontarlier, where he had drawn much inspiration. It was then that he decided that his brewery should be located in Obara with a focus on crafting a local bitter liqueur known as Amaro (which means "bitter" in Italian) or simply, bitters.

Locality Will Set Iseya Apart 

Motonaga harvesting select herbs grown in the area. (Image Source: Rudder)

"I want to work more closely with the local community to revitalize the town. I want people to think that Lake Sagami is a great place."

To realise what he had experienced in Pontarlier, Motonaga decided that he had wanted to work with local cooperatives and residents in the sourcing of the botanicals used for Iseya's liqueurs. He not only consigns agricultural products from the town's residents, grown in the brewery's vicinity, but also rents out three parcels of abandoned farmland in the area to cultivate specific desired botanicals.

Motonaga focuses on using local ingredients by working with local farmers to bottle locality into every expression of Scarlet. (Image Source: Rudder)

Motonaga works with local farmers to buy select seeds and seedlings which are grown on the rented out farmland alongside local specialty herbs and vegetables. The range of local medicinal herbs used include wormwood, which forms the base of the Iseya's bitters' taste and aroma; fennel, lemon balm, and sage, which is used in varying proportions depending on the season. The idea of locality allows Iseya a point of uniqueness, "European mugwort has a strong bitterness, but Obara's has a sweeter taste", mentions Motonaga. He tries to weave in harmoniously ingredients that reflects the local terroir and seasonality, such is the case with Mulberry leaves native to the Tsukui area.

Each botanical is treated individually to bring out the best flavors. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

"It's better not to fertilize too much and to let it fight with weeds. As for the fertilizer, they are giving the lees of medicinal herbs,...We are not conscious of SDGs or ecology, but as a result of pursuing good taste and good smell, it is natural," Motonaga explains.

Blood orange peels being readied for use in Scarlet. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

These botanicals are then pickled, with both fresh and dried variations used, depending on the specific herb. It is then immersed in domestically produced vodka as the alcohol base, and then subsequently aged in whisky barrels sourced locally. In these wooden casks, Iseya's bitters will mature and mellow out for at least three months.

Scarlet's Cask Marriage features 3 months aged Amaro from Japanese whisky barrels. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

The Aperitivo expression is the result of 1 year of trial and error and is Iseya's first regular product. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

When the liqueur is ready, Motonaga enlists the help of a family that like him, made the move from native Osaka to Sagamihara, to help with the bottling and labelling; each bottle is filled and labelled by hand, one bottle at a time.

Bottling Scarlet Bitter Liqueur

Despite actually having started work on the distillery in 2020, Motonaga was only able to start retailing his liqueurs in November the year after due to the delays in acquiring a distilling license and other preparations necessary to retrofit the 100 year old house. Given the limited manpower, Motonaga is only able to produce anywhere from 1,000 to 1,500 bottles per month, which he then distributes via wholesalers, whom he believes would better embrace his product given their discernment. Japan's first bitters has since touched ground in countries across Europe, Asia and Australia.

The name Scarlet comes from a color pigment that once set the world off in search for it. It is derived from crushing a bug known as the cochineal, native to Mexico. (Image Source: Smithsonian)

Iseya's first bottle, "Scarlet" Bitter Liqueur was named after a color pigment that was once so sought after that royalty the world over coveted it. Its popularity was bar none, with artists, pirates and scientists doing whatever it took to obtain it, in some instances even risking their lives. The red pigment was first discovered by Mesoamericans who found that crushing an insect known as the cochineal, which inhabited the prickly pear cacti, would produce a deeply intense carmine stain.

Royalty, painters, pirates and scientists were obsessed with the pigment's radiance and intensity. Renoir's 1883 portrait of Madame Leon Clapisson makes use of the pigment on the right hand side. (Image Source: Smithsonian)

Eventually cochineals were bred and harvested to produce the red pigment which was used to produce vibrant dyes. This was eventually discovered by the Western European world when the Spanish conquistadors landed in Mexico, setting off a worldwide hunt for the commodity.

Perhaps that tells us something about the aspirations Motonaga has for Japan's sole Amaro (meaning "bitter" in Italian).

(Image Source: Bar Times)

The first launch of Scarlet made use of over 20 types of botanicals, and mirrored Amaro recipes from the 1800s, pulling together herbs that Motonaga classifies into four categories: Grass (Lemon Balm, Goldenberry Sprouts, Sage), Root (Eleuthero, Pampas Grass, Sorrel, Angelica), Wood (Cinnamon), and Peel (Yuzu, Blood Orange). This was not the exhaustive list of course, as any good craftsman knows that to keep the magic alive, some things must remain proprietary.

While the first release was unaged, subsequent batches were aged in the same traditional folk house for 3 months before bottling.

The first release was immediately well-embraced, having sold out pretty quickly.

Scarlet Bitter Liqueur - The First

(Image Source: Rudder)

Official Tasting Notes

"Fresh, mustard, coffee beans, orange bitter, etc. are firmly felt, and the sweetness and bitterness are well-balanced. Excellent compatibility with highball style and classic cocktails."

“Scarlett (red), simply put, it is bitter and sweet, but it has a taste that makes you want to drink it again. It has a flavor similar to craft cola.” say Motonaga.

Since its inaugural release, Scarlet has seen several more batches of its bitters, with subsequent releases tailored for cocktail use under the "Scarlet Aperitivo" label, and a cask aged version under the label "Scarlet Cask Marriage".

Scarlet Bitter Liqueur - Aperitivo

After a year since Scarlet The First's release and several batches of trial and error, Iseya has created the Aperitivo expression as its first regular product with 25 types of botanicals including orange peel, jasmine, wormwood, marjoram, passionfruit flowers, licorice and hops. It is crafted to balance bitterness and sweetness and be a versatile ingredient in cocktails. The Aperitivo expression is unaged.

(Image Source: Rudder)

(Image Source: Rudder)

Official Tasting Note

"There is a strong medicinal herb claim, and it is somewhat floral and nostalgic. As you continue to drink, you will be addicted to another sip and a bitter feeling that will linger. The aftertaste is moderately long and spicy."

Scarlet Bitter Liqueur - Cask Marriage

The Cask Marriage expression features Scarlet Bitter Liqueur that contains the same botanicals used in The First, and has left to age for 3 months in Japanese whisky wooden barrels. This is said to create a well-balanced expression of the botanical with sweetness of an old liqueur and complexity from barrel aging.

(Image Source: Rudder)

(Image Source: Rudder)

Official Tasting Note

"An amber color that combines cochineal and oak. Bitter chocolate and vanilla, a little menthol and tobacco, bitter orange. Rich oak feeling in the aftertaste. Amaro with a gentle flavor."

Special Editions

Since its launch, Scarlet has been very popular with bars across Japan. Iseya has thus ventured to create special editions for private buyers and bars, working with them to perfect the best expression tailored for the bar.

One such edition is the Scarlet for Bar Cherokee 15th Anniversary Edition.

Working with Sakamoto-san and Uehara-san of Bar Cherokee in Fukuoka, Iseya utilises 25 variations of botanicals, which were subsequently sampled and adjusted several times to create the final expression. It was then aged in a refill whisky cask to give the Amaro more depth while retaining its fresh botanical taste.

Fukuoka's Bar Cherokee listed on the World's 50 Best Discovery List. (Image Source: The World's 50 Best)

(Image Source: Rudder)

Official Tasting Notes 

"Sweet and spicy scent of orange and white pepper. When you drink it, the scent of coumarin spreads in your nasal passages, giving you a nostalgic yet new and fascinating taste. If you drink it slightly chilled, you can feel the medicinal herb that spreads even more."

Scarlet Verde Amaro

Not long after Scarlet's debut, Iseya begin collaborating with Echigo Yakuso to produce a Green Amaro, named Verde Amaro. 

Echigo Yakuso is a company specialising in producing fermented foods and more recently started their own distillery in Niigata that produces Yaso Gin and their own Absinthe.

As such the company is known for its deep research into fermentation using naturally occurring herbs with over 40 years of experience. This led to the creation of a Verde Amaro which draws on Echigo Yakuso's experience and focuses on the use of 30 types of wild medicinal herbs including those used in the original Scarlet, but also rhubarb, pine leaves, mulberry leaves, dandelion roots, rice bran and wormwood.

(Image Source: PR Times)

(Image Source: PR Times)

Official Tasting Note

"Refreshing meadow scent. very fresh. Irresistible sweetness and bitterness. The aftertaste lasts for a long time, and finally the wormwood is fragrant. You can enjoy it straight or even slightly chilled. A liqueur with high expectations was born as the main ingredient of cocktails."

(Image Source: Rudder)

Scarlet Menta Amaro

Given the success of the first Green Amaro, Verde, Iseya extended their lineup to include a Menta Amaro that focuses on the use of mint herbs.

This expression was created after the rainy season under the hot sun with 30 kinds of medicinal herbs including wormwood, fennel, and mint, which is the main focus for this expression. The types of mint used included mint, peppermint, spearmint and apple mint.

A blend of mints forms the basis for Scarlet's Menta Amaro. (Image Source: Ultimate Spirits)

"Plant shoots contain tremendous energy. We carefully picked the sprouts and flowers one by one and condensed everything into one bottle. It's a fun drink to drink and even more to look at, and it opens up new possibilities for medicinal liquor."

(Image Source: Rudder)

(Image Source: Rudder)

Official Tasting Note

"The scent of mugwort and menthol will whet your appetite, and the elegant mint and bitter taste will leave you wanting more after one sip. [To get] the aftertaste. Not only the first cup of soda and tonic, but also the frappe style using crushed ice is more refreshing, so I recommend it!"

The Road Ahead

With close to two years of experience and two key products under Motonaga's belt, Iseya Distillery has taken off exceptionally well under his stewardship.

Motonaga constantly spends time in the fields in search for botanicals. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

“Now is the most fun,” says Motonaga. 

Motonaga mentions that in its inaugural year, the theme for Iseya Distillery was to undergo a period of trial and error, and to experiment with various ingredients and aging periods. Subsequently, Motonaga mentions that his goal is to work on the development of Iseya's herbal liqueurs further incorporating the use of local base alcohols and ingredients.

Infusing locality is helping to create a name for Sagamihara as the next big thing with local liqueurs such as Scarlet. (Image Source: Twitter @Tatsuya Motonaga)

Constant experimentation and trial and error is at the heart of Motonaga's work at Iseya. (Image Source: Instagram @Scarlet.Iseya)

“We are also focusing on the fields for new flavors,” Motonaga says, as he highlights that he visits the fields twice a day in the morning and evening, with the practice of trying to keep the fields as natural as possible.

The future for liqueurs is certainly a bright one, as a local bar owner mentions, "after craft beer and craft gin, herbal liqueurs are increasingly fashionable. Crafting [liqueurs] is also free of rules, so it's easy to bring out the color of each brewery and region."

Motonaga (pictured right) has set the wheels turning for what just might be a bright future for Japan's liqueurs scene. (Image Source: Instagram @Scarlet.Iseya)

"I think it will become a new specialty of Sagamihara."

The impact of Motonaga's work with the Iseya Distillery is clear - if there is a future to be had in Japanese liqueurs, you can bet Iseya Distillery and Motonaga will play a big role in it.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot