This is a Shochu Gumi selection! It was featured in March 2022, Female Frontrunners

Motoko “A Mother’s Legacy” Shochu

We are so lucky to have this shochu stateside, from the famed Furusawa Distillery, which resides in the same building from when they opened in 1892! Furusawa occupies the only dozo building in Miyazaki for shochu-making, an old architectural style of mud walls and timber, and the family also lives there.

President and toji Masako Furusawa of the distillery is the eldest of three sisters. When I asked what her favorite part of shochu-making is, she replied, “The sounds of the boiler, the smell of steamed rice, the warmth and aroma of koji, the sounds and smells of the moromi, the bubbling sounds of distillation, and the smell as it drips off the still.”

Made with an endless amount of attention and care, the moromi is fermented in unglazed earthenware vats, and the carefully selected ingredients are distilled one pot at a time using hereditary know-how. Motoko is named after Fususawa’s grandmother; in this bottle, you’ll get a bevvy of flavors, from grape to tay to strawberry and shishito, yet notice a surprising minerality. We really enjoyed this on the rocks with some water, or with soda, alongside a plate piled high with anchovy pasta. Furusawa also recommends the drink with gyoza or duck hot pot.

Features

• Made by Furusawa Distillery in Nichinan, Miyazaki
  
• Distilled from 100% long grain Thai rice
  
• ABV 35% / Koji: White / Distillation: Atmospheric / Age: 9 years in ceramic + enamel