Discover with us: Sweet potato shochus from Ookubo Shuzo

Ookubo Shuzo was founded in 1893. The company is known throughout the country for the high quality of its imo (sweet potato). The distillery also supplies this extremely popular shochu raw material to many other shochu producers in Japan. The company is based in the town of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on the Osumi Peninsula at the southern tip of Kyūshū Island. Here, Mount Kirishima, a 1,700-metre-high volcano, provides extremely good conditions for growing high-quality sweet potatoes with its ash. Almost all Imo Shochus are produced in Kagoshima Prefecture. Ookubo Shuzo is a small business, with just 12 people taking care of everything from growing, harvesting and processing the imo to producing the shochu. All work steps are carried out by hand - you can't get more craft than that! 

The shochus from Ookubo Shuzo are characterized by a very special aroma and the highest quality. In our range you will find three exceptional shochus from Ookubo Shuzo:

Samurai No Mon Shochu is the flagship of Ookubo Shuzo and is only available from 50 retailers in Japan. It is produced using atmospheric distillation. The rice used for Samurai No Mon is a very special rice, as it was only cultivated until the Meiji era (1868). Specially re-created by Ookubo for this shochu, this rice, in combination with the sweet potatoes and black koji, provides a slightly sweet, spicy and deep umami flavor. 

Ookubo shochu is a real rarity. It is made using yellow koji, which is complicated for sweet potato (imo) shochu and is therefore very rare. Baked sweet potatoes (yaki imo) are also used. The result is a particularly fruity shochu with a unique aroma of light sweetness and subtle umami notes. A shochu that is perfect for almost any occasion.

Kampou shochu is a particularly aromatic and strong sweet potato shochu (imo shochu). This is a Genshu Shochu, i.e. an original, undiluted Shochu. No water is added after distillation and the alcohol content is 37% vol. The Kampou is stored in steel tanks for three years. The three-year storage period is rather unusual for Imo Shochus, which are usually only stored for a short time. Although the Kampou Shochu is much stronger than other shochus at 37% vol, it is still extremely mild. At the beginning, there is a slightly spicy note before a spicy umami flavor spreads through the mouth. It also has a slight sweetness from the sweet potato.