Samurai No Mon Shochu

The Samurai No Mon sweet potato (Imo) shochu from Ookubo Shuzo is a very special Shochu because the Koji rice used here is made from a rice variety that has not been cultivated for 160 years. This rice, together with the great home-grown sweet potatoes, makes this shochu so aromatic. The intense yet subtle umami flavour comes from the use of black koji. The production of Samurai No Mon is limited to 2,500 bottles per year.

Description

Samurai No Mon is the flagship of Ookubo Shuzo, it is available in Japan at only 50 dealers. It is produced by atmospheric distillation. The carefully selected raw materials, the sweet potatoes as well as the rice for the Koji rice, are grown on the company's own "Daiman Nojo" farm in the city of Shibushi in Kagoshima Prefecture. The rice used for the 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, together with the sweet potatoes and black koji, gives a slightly sweet, spicy and deep umami aroma. Samurai No Mon stays in the mouth for a long time and has an intense fragrance. This shochu is complex and deep. Nevertheless it is very gentle and easy to drink with 25% vol. The elegant black bottle with a banderole on the bottle neck has a label made of precious Washi paper.

The Samurai No Mon can be enjoyed straight or on the rocks. Especially recommended is the drinking of Oyuwari, i.e. prolonged with hot water, because the taste of the Imo is so extremely good. The Samurai No Mon goes very well in foodpairing with spicy and hearty dishes, with fried, dark fish and meat, but also with really sweet desserts like Cremé Brûlée.

Japanese Shochu
Net quantity: 720 ml
Alk.: 25% vol
Dispensed only topersons of full age
Importer: Ginza Berlin GmbH, Pfalzburger Straße 20, 10719 Berlin

About Ookubo Shuzo

Ookubo Shuzo was founded in 1893 as Kubo Jozo, and has been operating under its present name since 1990. Since that time, the company has also had its own sweet potato production. Ookubo Shuzo is known throughout the country for the good quality of its Imos. The distillery also supplies this extremely popular shochu raw material to many other shochu producers in Japan. The company is located in the city of Shibushi, Kagoshima Prefecture, on the Osumi Peninsula at the southern tip of the island Kyūshū. Here, Mount Kirishima, a 1,700-metre-high volcano, with its ashes provides extremely good conditions for growing high-quality sweet potatoes. Almost all imo shochus are produced in Kagoshima Prefecture. Ookubo Shuzo is a small company, only 12 people take care of everything from growing, harvesting and processing the Imos to producing the shochus. All steps are done by hand, more craft is not possible! A special feature is the revival of the cultivation of a traditional rice variety, which was only cultivated until the Meiji era (1868). For 160 years this rice variety was almost forgotten in Japan, until Ookubo Shuzo started to cultivate it again on their fields to use it for some of their Shochus, including the Samurai No Mon.