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Company Name: Takamine
Distillery, Inc
Founded: 1949
Address: 930-2 Kabira, Ishigaki City
TEL:09808-8-2201
FAX:09808-8-2728 |
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Kusu quietly awaits
maturity in a distillery that engages in awamori production
in a dreamy setting overlooking Kabira Bay.
This distillery is a factory fitted with a lot of glass. It overlooks
Kabira Bay, Ishigaki Island, and the distant Omoto mountains. The
gallery, constructed by the distillery in 1995, greets visitors
with this splendid scenic view. Since its foundation in 1949, the
distillery has been engaged in making awamori by hand, and
many tourists come to watch the process during the tourist season.
The awamori is produced by the second generation owner, Zenshin
Takamine, with his brother Zento, the master distiller. The awamori
is made from natural water from the Omoto range of mountains. The
distiller still uses an iron pot still that is directly heated when
distilling the liquor, in order to retain the same flavor as that
produced by the founder, Eizo Takamine. In his day, the awamori
had no brand name, but was simply called 'beishu'. His son
named it Omoto and has continued its production ever since.
No two brands of awamori taste alike, and fans like to track
down a favorite brand. The special characteristic of the Takamine
brand is that the awamori tastes great when it matures to
become kusu. For this to happen, the new liquor must have
a distinct smell, as well as a bitter flavor. These features mature
during storage, and the liquor produces a full-bodied kusu
with a rich aroma.
The distillery has been accepting customers' registrations to own
kusu since 1981, and more than 2,000 customers are keeping
their awamori in the distillery today. Many tourists buy
some awamori and ask the distillery to keep it for them.
It should certainly be fun for them to return one day to collect
their delicious matured kusu. |
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