Aging brings about quality flavor and aroma
The traditional method in the Edo era (17th to 19th century) is brought back to use. Honkaku Imo Shochu made by the Donburi method
This Honkaku Imo Shochu is made after fermenting Kagoshima-grown sweet potatoes using special ‘Gold koji mold’, which have been revived in Kinzangura Shochu Distillery.
It is stored and aged in an old gold mine after careful craftsmanship with the traditional manufacturing Donburi *method and helmet kettle distillation.
Please enjoy the refreshing feeling of this historically situated Shochu enhanced by the taste of the true sweetness of sweet potatoes.
*traditional method: put all ingredients (koji mold, raw materials, yeast and water) in a jar and store to ferment for about 12 days and distill the fermented mash)
- Category
- Sweet Potato Honkaku Shochu
- Raw ingredients
- Sweet Potato (Kagoshima Prefecture), Rice Koji (Domestic Rice)
- Koji mold
- Gold
- Alcohol
- 32%
Return to the origin of Japan’s Shochu making at this gold mine, which dates back 350 years.
Kushikino Kinzan (gold mine) is believed to have supported Satsuma’s prosperity and to have played a part in the Meiji Restoration. The reason this point is made is because the mine began producing gold early in the Edo period. Kinzangura is exploring new possibilities for Honkaku Shochu. Kinzangura is the one and only distillery in the world that has a fermentation house and storage house deep inside a mine roadway.
The Donburi method dates back beyond the Meiji period
We have revived the Donburi method, which is believed to have been the origin of homemade Shochu. In ancient times, water, koji mold and steamed sweet potatoes were placed in a jar and fermented in a single step. Today, we use only sweet potatoes grown in Kagoshima Prefecture and rice koji made with an Gold koji mold.
Storage and aging service in the mine roadway
If you take a tour around Kinzangura and buy a bottle of Shochu that we call “Aging brings about quality flavor and aroma”, you can store it in the mine roadway of Kinzangura for up to five years. At your request, we can extend the period at a charge to allow it to age further. Since the label has space for a message, it would be a nice present for yourself since you will open it in the future, or it might be enjoyable as an anniversary gift. Please look forward to the day when your Shochu has aged for your commemorative days.
(Shipping is limited to Japan)