Sho-Chu Time / Unique Shochu Varieties Bringing in Fans; Demonstrating Local Characteristics with Sweet Potato Selection

By Masahiro Kozono / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

21:00 JST, January 14, 2025

Kagoshima Prefecture is one of the nation’s major production areas of shochu. This is the third in a series introducing the charm of the distilled spirit and the people involved in its creation.

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KAGOSHIMA — Various unique kinds of shochu, reflecting the commitment of their distilleries, have been attracting attention in recent years. While one distillery uses a rare variety of sweet potato for distilling, another grows their own sweet potatoes to make shochu.

These shochu are said to be popular, as they produce distinctive flavors rooted in where they are made.

Nokaido Izanau brand shochu, produced by Kedoin Joryusho Co. in Satsumasendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, is made from purple sweet potatoes.

The potatoes are stored in a temperature-controlled room for about two weeks after harvest to make them softer and richer in sugar content. This process gives the potatoes a rich taste and an aroma like roses or lavender.

However, it is hard to obtain enough purple sweet potatoes to use as shochu raw materials, since the potatoes are susceptible to a contagious sweet potato foot rot that stunts their growth. The annual production of Nokaido Izanau is therefore only about 4,000 to 8,000 720-milliliter bottles, according to the distillery.

Generally, sweet potato shochu is made by adding sweet potatoes to moromi, a product created by fermenting rice malt or yeast, for distilling. For Izanau, purple sweet potatoes and moromi made with the potatoes are used.

It requires extra time and effort to use purple sweet potatoes for making moromi, since the potatoes have a high water content. But chief distiller Takayuki Yamashita said, thanks to the moromi, the distinctive aroma of the sweet potato is enhanced and a refreshing, light taste is created.

Shiraishi Shuzo Co. in Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima Prefecture, is the producer of Tenguzakura brand sweet potato shochu, which has the “flavor of the land.” Shiraishi Shuzo grows 15 varieties of sweet potato at its fields at nine locations in the city, using them as ingredients for Tenguzakura shochu.

According to Takafumi Shiraishi, head of the company and chief distiller, sweet potatoes have different features depending on whether the soil in which they are grown is rich in clay or sand, or poor in drainage, for instance.

The company produces six varieties of Tenguzakura shochu, which differ in terms of the type of sweet potatoes used, the proportions of varieties mixed and the soil characteristics where they are grown.

The annual shipment volume of this shochu is about 40,000 bottles, far less than that of major manufacturers. But Shiraishi said that because the company is a small distillery, they can concentrate on every aspect of production on their own, from sweet potato growing to shochu distilling.

Craft beers produced by small distilleries are already popular for their distinctive flavors. For example, the popularity of craft gin, which is made with a focus on ingredients, place of origin and production method, is also increasing.

According to Kazuyuki Fujisaki, vice-chairman of nonprofit organization Kagoshima Shochu Meisters Club, there are more than 100 shochu distilleries in the prefecture.

“Shochu varieties with distinctive features produced by the distilleries with enthusiasm symbolize the prefecture’s diverse shochu culture. I believe the lines of unique shochu will convey the new, attractive aspects of the prefecture,” Fujisaki said.

You can read this article in Japanese here.