In Episode 10 of Snow Country Stories Japan, I speak with Sam Yoneda, lead distiller at the newly opened but already well-awarded Nozawa Onsen Distillery. Founded with a vision to produce gin and whisky that reflect the character of Nozawa Onsen, the distillery opened its doors to the public in December 2022 and since that time has won multiple awards both in Japan and abroad – awards including four gold medals at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, four medals – including platinum, double gold and gold – at The Sip Awards, and most recently named the 2023 New Distillery of the Year at the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition.  Sam was good enough to sit with me for a chat on a humid and wild day in Nozawa Onsen, as an early summer storm passed over the village. As he explains, the distillery currently produces four gins including its signatures Nozawa Gin, Classic Dry Gin, Iwai Gin and Shiso Gin – all of which reflect the local history and character and all of which have already been awarded. We discuss the distilling and barreling of their whisky that will be on the market in a couple of years’ time. Nozawa Onsen is located around 50km / 70 minutes drive to the northeast of Nagano City. One of the snow country’s most historic and famous hot spring towns, in recent years it better known as one of the best ski resorts in Japan. Following on from my chat with Sam, I go into a little detail about the ski resort and why I consider it the best all-round ski resort in Nagano. So make sure to listen all the way to the end of the episode when I discuss that before rounding-out the show by asking Sam to confirm a theory I have about the heat of Nozawa hot springs.  Chapter markers are available at: 4:12 Start of Interview / Introduction to Nozawa Onsen Distillery  8:30 Founding Vision, Local Botanicals & Gin Line-up 14:38 Gin Distilling Process 16:36 Awards the Distillery Has Won 18:30 Whisky Distilling Process 26:30 Where to Get It 30:18 Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort Review 34:57 My Theory Why the Nozawa Onsen Hot Springs are So Hot Make sure to checkout the Nozawa Onsen Distillery website and follow them on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. For those headed to Nozawa Onsen, the distillery is only a couple of minutes walk from the centre of the village and is open to the public everyday other than Tuesdays, from 12:00 to 19:00. For more information about the podcast and your host, visit our website - www.snowcountrystories.com. Make sure to subscribe, rate and review the podcast and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.