Awamori
Awamori (泡盛): Okinawa's spirit from Thai rice and black koji, made with an all-koji mash.
- Japanese
- 泡盛（あわもり）
- Group
- Shochu & awamori
From “How does awamori differ from shochu?”
Awamori is Okinawa's distilled spirit: rice koji made with black koji mould and water are fermented and distilled once in a pot still. By law it belongs to the honkaku (single-distilled) shochu family, but three things set it apart from other shochu: all the rice becomes koji, the koji is black koji only, and there is only one mash.
Related terms
- Black kojiThe awamori koji: bold, rich, full-bodied shochu.
- Zen-kōji (all-koji mash)All the rice becomes koji and goes into one single mash. This is how awamori is made.
- Alcohol by volume (ABV)How much of the drink is alcohol. Sake is usually 15–16% (genshu 17–20%), honkaku shochu mostly 25%, awamori around 30% and some aged kusu over 40%.
- KusuAwamori aged three years or more. Round, with a sweet aroma.
- On the rocksShochu or awamori poured over a large ice cube. Full aroma and taste, changing gently as it melts.
- ShitsugiTopping up the oldest pot of awamori from the next-oldest, to keep kusu alive and growing.