Roku Gin Review: Is Suntory’s Japanese Craft Gin Worth the Money?

By Vim, Editor of 12×75. Last reviewed: June 2026.

The short answer: Roku is one of the most accomplished gins you can buy under £35, and at its frequent £25 to £28 price it is close to unbeatable. Made by Suntory, it uses fourteen botanicals (six of them Japanese, hence the name “Roku”, meaning six) to deliver a soft, floral, citrus-led gin with a tingling sansho-pepper finish. Tasting opinion divides: most drinkers find it gentle and easy, while some experienced reviewers find it dry and a touch tannic, which makes it better neat than in every cocktail. It is not a juniper-forward London Dry. But as a versatile, gift-ready bottle that flatters a tonic and behaves in a Negroni, it earns its place on the shelf.

What Roku actually is

Roku is a premium gin from The House of Suntory, the Japanese drinks group behind Toki whisky and Haku vodka, which has been making gin since 1936. It contains fourteen botanicals in total. Eight are the usual suspects (juniper, coriander, angelica root and seed, cardamom, cinnamon and citrus peels), and six are distinctly Japanese: sakura (cherry blossom) flower, sakura leaf, yuzu peel, sencha tea, gyokuro tea and sansho pepper. The six Japanese botanicals are distilled individually so each flavour can be dialled in, then blended back together. The base is a clean grain spirit, and it bottles at 43% ABV, a notch above the category norm, which gives it body in a long drink.

There is a nice idea behind the recipe. Each Japanese botanical is harvested at its seasonal peak, the principle the Japanese call shun: cherry blossom and leaf in spring, the two green teas in summer, sansho pepper in autumn and yuzu in winter. Even the bottle leans into the story. It is hexagonal, with a botanical embossed on each of the six faces, and the label is printed on washi, a traditional hand-made Japanese paper.

How it tastes

The aroma opens floral and clean, with cherry blossom and green tea sitting over the juniper rather than burying it. On the palate the top note is sweet-sour yuzu, the middle is soft and rounded, and the finish brings a distinct, tingling lift of sansho pepper that keeps things fresh.

Worth being honest here, because tasting notes for Roku genuinely split. Most drinkers read it as soft, floral and easy. A number of experienced reviewers, though, find it drier and more tannic than expected, with the green tea pushing a slightly bitter, astringent edge that can make it awkward in sweeter cocktails. Both things are true. If you like a gentle, aromatic gin you will love it. If you want juniper that bites back, you will not.

One practical note for the calorie-conscious: a 25ml measure is around 60kcal, so the spirit is not the problem. The tonic and the third refill are.

Neat or mixed?

Because of that dry, tea-led finish, Roku is one of the better gins to drink neat or over a large block of ice. In mixed drinks it rewards the right partners:

• Japanese G&T. Roku, plenty of ice, a good light tonic, and a slice of fresh ginger instead of citrus. The ginger plays off the sansho pepper and is the single biggest upgrade you can make.
• Roku Gin Fizz. 50ml Roku, 15ml fresh lime juice, 10ml sugar syrup, top with soda, garnish with lime. It is Suntory’s own signature serve.
• Negroni. It holds up against Campari and sweet vermouth better than most floral gins, thanks to that peppery backbone.

If you are gifting it, a pair of stemless flutes or a set of whiskey stones rounds out a drinks-lover’s hamper nicely.

Price and where to buy

RRP is £34.50 for a 70cl bottle, but Roku is almost never full price. Expect £26 to £34 across the major retailers, and watch for £25 deals on Tesco Clubcard and in Waitrose promotions. At anything around £25 to £28 it is a genuine bargain for the quality. Above £34 you can do better elsewhere, so wait for the offer. Current listings worth checking: Amazon, Waitrose and Tesco.

New for 2026: the Seasonal Festival Collection

In March 2026, Suntory launched the Roku Gin Noryo Tea Edition worldwide, a limited summer release and the second bottling in its Seasonal Festival Collection. It dials up two of Roku’s six Japanese botanicals, sencha and gyokuro green tea, for a cooler, more tea-forward take on the core gin, again at 43% ABV and dressed in a washi-paper label.

It follows the Sakura Bloom Edition, the cherry-blossom release created with celebrated washi artist Eriko Horiki. Both are limited and tend to sell quickly through specialist retailers, usually at a small premium over the standard bottle. If you already like Roku, they are a fun seasonal upgrade rather than an essential buy.

Awards, and the “craft” question

Roku has the pedigree to back the price. It was named Best Distilled Gin at the International Spirits Challenge 2025, and the Osaka distillery that produces it (also home to Haku vodka and Kanade liqueur) took the Liqueur Producer Trophy at the International Wine & Spirit Competition the same year. Suntory is also opening the Osaka Craft Distillery to the public for the first time in 2026.

One honest caveat on the marketing. Roku is labelled a “craft” gin, but Suntory is one of the largest spirits companies on earth, with Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and Laphroaig in the same portfolio. The gin is genuinely well made and unmistakably Japanese, so do not let the scale put you off. Just know that “craft” here is more about the recipe and the botanicals than a tiny back-room still.

How it compares

Against other Japanese craft gins, Roku is more widely stocked and better value than most. Etsu and Ki No Bi are worthy rivals but usually cost more and are harder to find on a supermarket shelf. Against UK favourites, Roku is softer and more aromatic than a classic London Dry like Tanqueray, and a more interesting pour than Hendrick’s if you find that one’s cucumber-and-rose profile a little obvious.

Verdict

Buy it, especially on offer. Roku is a polished, food-friendly, gift-ready gin that punches above a £25 to £28 price and only slightly above a £34 one. Drink it neat or in a ginger-garnished G&T to show it at its best. The only buyers who should hesitate are die-hard juniper drinkers who want a gin that bites back, and anyone who finds green-tea bitterness off-putting. Everyone else gets a versatile bottle that earns repeat purchases.

For the next round, see our guide to the best wine apps for tracking what you drink, and our note on serving temperature for getting the rest of your bar right.

Roku Gin FAQ