Interview  •  Portraits

Itinéraires Singuliers Podcast - From Pharmacy to Distillation: How François Combes created Nagura, a Premium Rum born in Ishigaki

Itinéraires Singuliers dedicates this episode to François Combes – founder of Nagura – and to what his journey reveals about artisanal entrepreneurship in Japan, in the Okinawa archipelago where agricultural tradition meets innovation.

A trained pharmacist, François arrived in Japan in the 1990s for a product launch. He hadn’t planned to stay. Yet opportunity turned into belonging. His career took him through laboratories, distribution, pharmacy ownership, and finally real estate – always guided by the same instinct: spot the openings, step in, and learn by doing.
Real estate eventually led him to Ishigaki, a gem of Okinawa – an agricultural and maritime island devoted to sugarcane, wagyu, and a fiercely protected rural way of life. Where others saw isolation, he saw an opportunity: after Japanese whisky and Japanese gin, why not a Japanese rum rooted in Ishigaki’s terroir?

His method is straightforward and deliberate: start, learn by doing, and solve one problem a day.
Find farmland without being a farmer, convince the city hall and the prefecture, secure alcohol and agricultural licenses, import equipment, and prove sanitary compliance piece by piece. Build trust with local growers, listen before speaking, and earn acceptance.
Rather than buying an existing operation, he built his own distillery. Two years later came the first production – and an unambiguous verdict: 'It’s good.'

Nagura proudly claims a Japanese identity. Locally selected typhoon-resistant sugarcane, hand-cut to prevent unwanted fermentations, pressed immediately, and distilled by a whisky-trained distiller for precision rather than effect. Nothing goes to waste: leaves and bagasse go back to farmers, vinasse becomes fertilizer. Minimal plastic, no boxes, Japanese labels.
A small team of five to six people, including a local unit of workers with disabilities who handle pressing – a tangible way, as François puts it, to 'give back to the island.'

When it comes to the market, François chose a short, dense funnel: first Ishigaki, then Miyako and Okinawa, followed by a few carefully selected addresses in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. The goal: a premium brand that grows through tasting, distillery visits, and bartender recommendations.
The response? Connoisseurs speak of excellence, and the very first batch earned a gold medal in London. The aim isn’t to flood the internet, but to build a strong reputation among bars, hotels, and restaurants capable of telling the story behind the product.

The episode also breaks a few myths. Starting a company in Japan isn’t the hardest part. The real challenges lie with local banks that take their time, administrative licensing processes, and the strict rules of agricultural zoning.
The key, according to François, isn’t waving a French business card as a golden ticket, but consistency: speaking Japanese, being on the ground, accepting early slowness, delivering on time, listening to feedback, and striving for operational perfection at every step – from harvesting to barrel aging, whether in bourbon casks, Japanese whisky barrels, or, more rarely, mizunara oak when it makes ecological sense.

The turning point came when Ishigaki’s bars began serving the rum.
'It’s their rum – the island’s rum,' says François. That local recognition changed everything: Nagura was no longer seen as a Frenchman’s project, but as an island’s pride, a product born from its soil and carried by its people. This sense of ownership became both a shield against failure – the island supports it – and a springboard to Tokyo, where authenticity rooted in place sparks curiosity.

What’s next? Strengthening roots in Okinawa, expanding carefully across Japan, and opening export windows once aged stock allows it. Always guided by the same credo: succeed first where you are.
The episode becomes a how-to guide for building in Japan outside the megacities: choose a territory, enter humbly into its networks, respect local standards, and keep your product promise.

This isn’t just the story of a spirit. It’s the story of a transfer of know-how – from pharmacy to distillation – and a collective learning process where farmers, workers, bartenders, and visitors shape the brand as much as its founder.
If you love stories where quality outweighs volume, where you sell without selling out, and where an island shapes both a flavor and a vision, listen to the episode.
Discover how François Combes built Nagura, field by field, glass by glass – and what it reveals about artisanal entrepreneurship in Japan today.

Ishigaki Distillery : https://ishigaki-distillery.com/our-rum/ 

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/ishigakidistillery/

This episode was recorded live during our launch event on October 9