Shochu Making Process
Koji Making
Ingredients (rice or barley) are moved from the silo to the dipping tank. They are added with water and steamed for one hour. Koji is made by sprinkling koji-kin (aspergillus oryzae) on steamed rice or barley.
It takes two days to make koji.
Primary Fermentation
Koji, water and yeast are put in a tank for six days for the primary fermentation. The enzyme which is obtained by koji breaks down the starches in rice or barley into sugars. Yeast multiplies and gradually converts sugar into alcohol.
Secondary Fermentation
Sweet potato is washed thoroughly right after harvest then taken to the factory. We carefully destem and select by hand, as the damage in the sweet potato does harm to fragrance and flavor of shochu.
The potato is crushed into pieces after steaming for one hour.
Rice and barley are synonymous with koji making.
Steamed ingredients, water and the first moromi, which is obtained by the primary fermentation process, are put in a tank for the secondary fermentation for about 10 days.
Distillation
The second moromi, which is obtained by the secondary fermentation process,is distilled by evaporating alcohol and cooling the evaporated alcohol promptly.
Through this distillation process Honkaku (authentic) – shochu is made.
Aging
The original shochu is stored for aging in a tank or a custom-made cask.
The shochu in a cask has a unique fragrance and flavor because the ingredients of the cask wood are melting out into shochu.
Filtration
Excess oil is removed from the aged shochu with a dedicated filter to keep and adjust the fragrance and flavor.
Bottling
We pay the utmost attention to avoid foreign matter and manage hygiene so that our customers can enjoy our shochu without any worries.
Our bottling room is kept perfectly clean and has double doors to keep out insects, etc.
