Umami Mart Gift Guide

Free entry for Sake + Shochu Gumi members and customers who purchase any awamori through July 21 RSVP at shochu@umamimart.com and we will send you Zoom info!

In June, we featured two special bottles of awamori for Shochu Gumi (our quarterly shochu club), and we're excited to present this event with our friend Nick Korn, Boston-based spirits specialist and Awamori Jinbner.

Nick will take us through the history of awamori, and taste us through the Shochu Gumi bottles, plus Taragawa Awamori. Then he will make a cocktail with the Taragawa and Mizuho awamoris.

This event is in conjunction with June 2021 Shochu Gumi bottles. Become a member today to receive these two awesome bottles of awamori and taste along with us during the event!

So what is awamori?

Awamori must be made with rice and black koji, using zen koji shikomi (100% koji for the moromi), then single distilled. Its method of aging is particularly special, with the result being called kusu.

At Umami Mart, we call awamori the grandmother of shochu. The history of awamori predates shochu, as the drink was created in the Ryukyu Kingdom (modern day Okinawa) in the 15th century with the discovery of distillation on the islands. Located in the farthest southern reaches of Japan in the East China Sea, the 160 islands of Ryukyu became Okinawa as an annex of Japan in the late 1800s. During WWII, all awamori was destroyed in the bloody Battle of Okinawa; since then, 47 distilleries today are keeping the tradition alive by making what is designated as Ryukyu Awamori.

WHAT: Awamori Bazaar with Nick Korn
Awamori Specialist Korn takes us through the history of awamori and demonstrates how to make cocktails using Taragawa Awamori.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 21, 5:30pm

WHERE: Zoomworld

ADMISSION: Free entry for Sake + Shochu Gumi members and customers who purchase any awamori (we recommend Taragawa Awamori).
We'll email you with the Zoom info after you make the purchase! 

Here's what you need to do:

1. Purchase any awamori (we recommend Taragawa Awamori)
2. RSVP to shochu@umamimart.com for Zoom info
3. Line up your ingredients for the cocktail  
4. We'll see you on Wednesday 7/21 at 5:30pm!

Photo of Nick Korn ©Caitlin Cunningham, 2017