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Company name: Okinawa Distillers
Mutual Association
Founded: 1976
Address: 2-8-9 Minato Town, Naha City
TEL: 098-868-1470
FAX: 098-862-7032 |
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The association was founded
by its 46 members to preserve their liquor for a long time and ensure
a stable supply of superb quality awamori to fans outside
of Okinawa. It is playing a leading role in the industry today.
The Okinawa Distillers Mutual Association was founded in June 1976.
It allowed awamori producers to jointly purchase rice and
other materials to produce awamori. Its purpose is to support
advances in the industry's financial status and to ensure long-term
storage of liquor to create superb matured awamori.
The first chief director, Seikou Sakumoto, completed construction
of a factory-including storage facilities-to be jointly used by
members of the association in 1978. Two years later, the association
began sales in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area of a three-year-old kusu,
Konpeki. The fifth vintage in the same series (matured for
five years and with an alcohol content of 43%), and the seventh
(matured for seven years and with the same alcohol content) were
marketed one after another. The latter was awarded the Gold Prize
in the Le Monde Selection. The Umi-no-kuni brand, which came
out in 1987, followed suit. The association has played a leading
role in promoting kusu to the rest of the world.Z
The storage facilities in Minato Town, Naha City include 20 stainless
tanks that can hold up to 46,000 liters. There are also ten 10,000-liter
enamel tanks, that contain awamori awaiting maturity.
Among all the operations carried out by the association, worthy
of special attention is the fact that the association exported awamori
to Italy in 1978 for the first time. The distilled liquor was readily
accepted by the Italians, who found awamori to be similar
to their own famous distilled liquor, grappa.
The association has also made special efforts in package design.
It set up a design development committee in 1985. Two years later,
it promoted sales of a ten-year-old awamori with an alcohol
content of 43%, called Umi-no-Kuni. It was awarded the International
Package Design Award of Cleo Awards in the United States in 1989.
The association, which has been internationally acclaimed, has sales
offices in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. It has been making all-out
efforts to promote the local specialty, including forming an awamori
club, called Konpeki-tai', which brings fans together on a regular
basis. |
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