Straight from the island of centenarians: Discover delicious awamori with us!
Aug 17, 2022
Okinawa is home to the highest number of over 100-year-olds and is also where Awamori, Okinawa's delicious craft spirit, comes from. Whether there is a connection between these two facts is probable, but not empirically proven.
Awamori has a 600-year-old tradition and is often referred to as "Island Sake" (島酒 shima-zake). Okinawa's national drink first found its way to Japan via Thailand and is still distilled almost exclusively from imported Thai rice. Similar to the production of shochu, koji is also used for awamori. However, only black koji is used. After distillation, awamori is stored for between three months and several decades. It is stored in steel, stone or wooden barrels, sometimes even in caves.
Awamori is an extremely diverse spirit with a very unique, spicy taste that is usually accompanied by an earthy character. The taste depends on the ageing methods and the alcohol strength. While unaged awamori can be very intense and often produces a strong aroma, well aged awamori is rich and complex and one of the spiciest spirits produced in Japan. The recommendation for drinking awamori is on the rocks or "mizuwari", i.e. with water and ice.
We present three delicious awamoris here:
Ryukyu Gold Awamori
Ryukyu Gold Awamori is produced by Shinzato Shuzo on Okinawa Honto, Okinawa's main island. It is the oldest distillery in Okinawa, founded in 1846, and is now in its 7th generation. Traditional craftsmanship meets visions of modernity here. The awamoris from Shinzato Shuzo have won many awards and are extremely delicious.
Ryukyu Gold 30 consists of 60% matured awamori (kusu) and 40% freshly distilled awamori and is blended. It is produced using atmospheric distillation. In addition to its mild aroma, this awamori is characterized by a rich and slightly sweet taste. Paired with the fine umami notes of black koji, it is intense and profound, yet very smooth and mild at 30% vol.
Udisan No Sake Awamori
The Udisan No Sake Awamori is produced by Miyanohana on the island of Miyakojima, Okinawa Prefecture. The production process does not use imported Thai rice, as is usually the case, but 100% domestic rice. It is important to the company that the rice is grown without the use of fertilizers, compost or pesticides. The producers found what they were looking for in a farmer in Kumamoto, so that they can only use domestic rice (Hinohikari) from completely organic cultivation for the production of Udisan No Sake Awamori.Incidentally, 80% of Miyanohana's workforce are women. They are said to have a particularly gentle and caring approach to distilling, and the Udisan is indeed particularly mild, soft and round. After distillation, the Awamori is stored in steel tanks for over a year. The strong umami notes from the black koji are followed by a slight sweetness from the domestic rice. The Udisan is complex and deep and has an alcohol content of 30% vol. The beautiful, bright bottle symbolizes the blue sky over Okinawa.
The Matsufuji Awamori is produced by the Sakiyama Awamori Distillery in Kunigami on Okinawa. This traditional company has been around since 1905 and this awamori is the company's premium product. The rice koji is fermented for three days (most awamoris are fermented in just two days), which makes the matsufuji particularly smooth and complex. After distillation, it is then blended, 60% of the bottling is matured for at least three years in a steel tank, 40% is freshly distilled awamori.
In addition to its mild aroma, Matusfuji is characterized by a rich and slightly sweet taste. Paired with the spicy umami notes of black koji, it is particularly intense and profound, but still very smooth and mild at 30% vol.
