Almost every gin on the shelf starts life as neutral grain spirit. Oka starts with rice. The base is pot-distilled from 100% rice at the Tsutsumi Distillery in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyushu, then run six times through a copper-lined pot still, with the botanicals dropped directly into the still on the final pass. The botanical bill goes all-in on juniper, using two kinds: Macedonian for its bright, piney lift, and Himalayan for a lower, earthier register. Around that sit young ginger, orris root, and a rotating cast of seasonal Japanese citrus yuzu, sudachi, Satsuma mandarin. The result is loud in the best way: yuzu and orange oil on the nose, sansho pepper and ginger heat across the palate, and a soft rice sweetness holding it together. Founder Yuno Hayashi built this as a workhorse rather than a curiosity, and it is proofed accordingly put it in a Negroni, a G&T, or a Martini with a lemon twist.