Shochu from Kumamoto

How do water, climate and rice shape Kumamoto's drinks?

Kumamoto has more than 1,000 springs, and about 80 percent of household water is said to be groundwater. Water from Aso and the Kyushu mountains is available near breweries. The Kuma basin is ringed by mountains with big temperature swings, and together with the soft water of the Kuma river it grows good rice. The prefecture's first original sake rice, Hananishiki, is a cross of Yamada Nishiki and Yume Izumi, and its first sake went on sale in 2016.

What does Kumamoto sake and shochu taste like?

The Kumamoto yeast gives mild acidity and a bright aroma, so brewers can make anything from crisp dry sake to sweet, fragrant styles. For Kuma shochu, the National Tax Agency's standard describes a mellow sweetness from rice and a fresh flavour. Atmospheric-pressure distilling tends to bring toasty notes, and vacuum distilling fruity ones.

A short history of Kumamoto's drinks

In the Edo period Kumamoto protected "akazake", a red sake kept stable with wood ash, and banned ordinary sake within the domain. After the Meiji era brewers formed an association in 1879, and the Kumamoto Sake Research Institute followed in the late Meiji years. The Kumamoto yeast was isolated there in the 1950s and, from 1968, distributed nationwide as Kyokai No. 9, helping start the ginjo boom. Shochu in Kuma is said to go back to the Muromachi period, when trade under the Sagara clan may have brought distilling.

What is the GI "Kuma"?

It was designated on 30 June 1995 for single-distilled shochu. The grain must be Japanese rice only, the koji must be rice koji made from Japanese rice, and only water taken in Kuma county or Hitoyoshi city may be used. Fermentation, distilling, storage and bottling all take place in that area. The Kuma Shochu Management Committee, part of the Kuma Shochu Distillers' Association, checks each product. Kumamoto sake has no GI.

Where are the breweries?

Hitoyoshi-Kuma has 27 distilleries with over 200 brands between them. Ten breweries belong to the Kumamoto Sake Brewers Association, and there are shochu distillers in Yamaga, Yatsushiro and Amakusa.

Visiting and what to eat with it

Hitoyoshi-Kuma has a tradition of warming shochu directly over a flame in a vessel called a "gara", sipped from tiny "choku" cups. Tour rules vary by brewery, so check the association's site. River fish such as ayu and yamame, eel and miso-flavoured dago-jiru soup are introduced as local partners for Kuma shochu. Kumamoto sake also goes well with local dishes like horse sashimi and karashi renkon.