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Company name: Zuisen Distillery
Founded: 1887
Address: 1-35 Shuri Sakiyama, Naha City
TEL: 098-884-19685
FAX: 098-886-5969 |
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Known for its rare awamori
brand, Usaki, which revived the pre-war tradition of using
black koji mold to ferment rice, this distiller keeps an
abundant supply of kusu in earthenware pots.
'Zuisen' is the name of the freshwater spring at the second gate
of the Shuri Castle ruins. Koei Kyan founded the distillery in 1887,
taking its name from that spring water. It takes great pride in
its history of more than 100 years, and specializes in kusu produced
based on longstanding traditions. The distiller ships only 30 percent
of the new awamori it produces. The rest is stored to mature
into kusu. This distillery accounts for one fifth of the 20,000
kiloliters of awamori stored by all the awamori manufacturers
in the prefecture.
It is great fun to taste the various types of awamori kept
in the distillery. The distillery specializes in its Zuisen
brand, which could be described as a mainstream awamori.
The delicious flavor of awamori can also be tasted from the
non-aged liquor. A favorite of fans is the Omoro series,
with five different liquors raging from 23% to 43% proof. And the
younger fans seem to prefer the brand Sho with its relatively
low alcohol content of 25%.
This long-established distiller is proud to present its kusu, which
is stored for at least seven years. The maturity achieved with the
passage of time creates a deep taste and aroma, which captures the
heart of fans. Zuisen Distillery also has a subsidiary in Tokyo,
hoping that the feedback from distant fans can be reflected in production.
It was widely believed that the black koji mold kept at the
old distilleries was lost during the war. But Zuisen learnt
that some samples of the mold had been kept in a laboratory at Tokyo
University. Zuisen cultured the mold, which had been left untouched
for 60 years, to create its brand Usaki, which is now drawing
a lot of attention as a kind of 'visionary awamori'. Fans
truly look forward to the revival of kusu made from traditional
black koji mold. |
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