Zuisen Hakuryu Awamori

Happy Shochu'sday!

I've saved the best for last for the finale of this awamori marathon we have been running this past month, to highlight our Awamori Bazaar event tonight with Nick Korn. Zuisen Hakuryu Awamori (featured in March 2020 for Shochu Gumi) is my favorite awamori on our shelves – it is lush and full of umami with a taffy-like texture. Awamori uses the Shitsugi method for aging (like the Solera method for sherry), and the oldest awamori used for this bttle is 8 years!

I've been enjoying this soda-wari (with club soda) at a 2:3 ratio – the salinity in the seltzer amplifies the savoriness of this awamori, and adds a bit of satisfying bitterness, which makes this the ultimate adult beverage. I get a dark Sendai miso flavor profile at the tail end, and milk chocolate too.

Awamori is fascinating for its two ingredients – rice and black koji. The two play off of each other and create a harmony that is so uncanny and unexpected. It is at once rustic and sophisticated; intense and joyful. Enjoy with Ryuichi Sakamoto's sultry Asadoya Yunta on the speakers (I love this live version from 1992, they are all so cool). 

Kanpai!
Kayoko