Hi everyone we’re recording now so good Morning good afternoon good evening Wherever you are in the world welcome Thanks for taking the time and an hour Out of your day to come and listen to me Witter on about shochu in January this Year 10 w SEC educators from the UK US And Canada visited Kyushu and Yuki and I Was privileged to be part of that party When we were there we took a deep dive Into the production and the culture of Wanted Japan’s traditional spirits Hongki showed you and how amore and Suppose these webinars just a product of That trip and an opportunity for me to Kind of share some of the experience and Some of the amazing insight that we Receive and we were there we got pretty Much unfettered access to lots of Distilleries that we couldn’t really Dream of and I think it was in a you Know an experience that we all cherish Those of us who went and hopefully I can Share some of that experience as I say And hopefully it doesn’t come across as An too self-indulgent or a kind of Episode of wish you were here it’s Something that I and I know the other Educators were on the trip are really Passionate about spreading the word of And the look for but I’m still I still Can very much consider myself a student Of these spirits not an absolute expert In these disciplines that we’re going to
Cover in fact when I visited I was Pretty much a complete novice all I’d Experienced of home Kaku showed you an Hour Maurice for their level 3 spirits That previously studied and actually Some of the more widely available showed You the more neutral styles we showed You that are produced throughout the Country through my bar that I used to Manage but the traditional spirits of Contact we showed you in our Mori were Relatively new to me but I’ve got enough Information that had known enough Resource to be able to as a psyche and I Put this presentation together and and Share Some of some of the wealth so before I Get deep into all the content no it’s Only right that I have a list of thanks To kind of to say because there’s plenty Of people that the trip wouldn’t have Happened without firstly my WCT Colleagues Anthony mas and Sookie Joohyuk and have happened without you So she who hopefully is washing well and Wave to Toshi and give her a big virtual Hook love Satoshi obviously the national Tax agency of Japan all the prefetches That hosted us are brewing in the Ceiling associations that hosted us and The various dinners and and formal Gatherings that we all enjoyed and all About handlers hosts and interpreters or Mums and dads as we called them on the
Trip the whole trip was made amazing by All of your hard work and yeah we Couldn’t have survived without you I Think it’s fair to say keeping us fed And watered and constantly on the move And constantly learning so thanks for That A special thanks needs to go to mr. Nick Corn for many of the photos within this Presentation he’s been amazing Cameron Took some amazing shots and has been Generous enough to share some of those For this presentation so thanks Nick in Regards to questions I’m going to try And keep my eye on the Jets and answer Questions as they come along however if I miss anything and Lydia’s gonna kind Of scoop them up and then we’ll try and Have a bit of a Q&A session at the end As I said I’m not an absolute expert in A lot of these disciplines so if I can Answer your question I will do it Honestly if I don’t know the answer then I’ll tell you honestly and the final Thing I’ll say is apologies for some of My pronunciation because I’m sure I’m Going to get some things wrong okay if We’re ready we’ll move on then so just To kind of give a bit of context and Orientate ourselves firstly just wanted To cover off what part of Japan we Actually visited and what you can see There in the the map on the left hand Side is is the country of Japan and two
Areas the electric focused on the main Island of Kyushu And then the long island chain of ryugu Which is where canäôt prefecture is and Produces at home or in Kagoshima Prefecture also includes a mommy which We will finish virtual tour with which Makes koko to show you but also Kagoshima Prefecture has the GIS of Satsuma showed you made exclusively in Kagoshima and will also visit the Prefecture of Miyazaki and from emoto One thing to highlight there through Probably the the map on that on the Right hand side but is you can see the Difference in longitude between the most Northerly point of movies occipital Remote so and the most southerly point In Okinawa a huge difference in climate Between those places at 10:00 almost 10 Degree difference in along with you So obviously that has a significant Effect on the climate and the terrain in Those places and also on the production Method and style of showed you that is Produced so just to add a little bit More context and I’ve lifted these Slides from the level three spirits Material so thanks to Nick King for Letting me do that one of the core Differences between European and Asian Traditions in so the spirits production Is the processing of starchy material Into a fermentable sugar and the
Fermentation of this sugar into an Alcohol in Europe this process is Sequential and we can see from the flow Diagram on the top taking that starchy Substrate which typically a grain and Using a combination of moulting we’re Using barley and cooking plus the Addition of exogenous enzymes and Mashing so then convert those soluble Starches into a fermentable sugar and Mixing obviously with water to give us a Should be liquid that is then that first Stage done we have we have our sugary Liquid what we can then do is add yeast That actually liquid an either selected And cultured yeast strain or Sometimes wild East rains are used to Proceed with alcoholic fermentation to Give us an alcohol those steps are Sequential we are producing a sugary Liquid and then we are adding yeast in Order to encourage our colleague Fermentation to give us an alcohol in Asian tradition by contrast the process Of starch conversion to sugar and sugar To alcohol is happening concurrently so Happening at the same time we’re going To take a starchy substrate typically Grain like rice or barley but also sweet Potato which is steamed to gelatinize The starch gelatinizes basically makes Means making that starch soluble and Then that starchy substrate that starchy Raw material is inoculated with
Cultivated fungal enzymes which are Going to convert the starch to sugar and Also yeast is added with water to Convert the sugar to alcohol in parallel These two things are happening Concurrently so as opposed to having a Sequential fermentation which is which Is which is in a completely liquid state In this case we’ve got a parallel Fermentation with enzymes from from from Fungus converting starch to sugar and Microorganisms of yeast converting Sugars to alcohol at the same time Obviously the coexistence of these two Different microorganism sets and their Various outputs is going to have a huge Impact on flavor and style this also Means that the solids present during Fermentation in in Asian traditions and And in the case of shochu this is a semi Solid state fermentation those of you Listen to Derrick’s and houses Presentation on bhaji earlier in the Week would have seen an example of solid State systole solid-state distillation Fermentation rather Obviously the solids that are present Here obviously gonna impact in style and Flavor as well and they’re going to have Implications for the rest of the Production process which we’ll come to As we move through through the slides But during this parallel fermentation as I said we’re having modification and
Availability of those enzymes and an Alcoholic fermentation happening at the Same time concurrently giving us an Alcoholic semi-solid In this case moving on just looking a Little bit more closely at what what These fungal microorganisms are actually Doing closely an analogy that we use Here is comparing it to a human Digestive system obviously we have a Digestive system on the inside we Consume food and that food is processed Inside of our body filamentous fungi Like this grow into their food and Consume food from the inside out so as We saw in the previous slide that Starting material and then rice or Barley or sweet potato is steamed and That steaming is going to unravel those Those tightly bound starch molecules and Make them soluble and chillaxing tyson And then those fungal spores are Sprinkled into the starch and if the Conditions are warm and moist enough They will start those filaments will Start to grow onto and into the material Which is actually going to release Amylase and other enzymes which is going To grow through the sorry go through the Starting material and then those Nutrients are going to be consumed by The fungi and sugar is one of the Nutrients that’s created and when this Material is now kind of rich in enzymes
It can be mixed with another raw Material too to kind of you know had a Definitive Type of flavor and we’ll look at a Two-step mashing process when we move on To record showed you in in in inclusion What’s important to mention at this Point though is is the impact of this Fungus on the final style of the spirit The type of fungus that is being used He’s going as the potential to impact Dramatically on on on the on the style And the flavors that we find in the Class of the show to you at the end of Production so it’s looking detail of how We’re processing these grains or how We’re processing the the raw substrate The royal starch in order to create Koji And Koji’s is the name of that mold that Grows on that substrate and it will Either be rice Koji barley Koji or sweet Potato Koji depending on what be the raw Material was initially in this case These rice as the example and rice is Fair to say is that the most common Material used to create Koji we will Look at some other examples as we move Through the slides but rice is the one You’ll be familiar with obviously in Terms of sake production but it’s the Use of an impact of Koji mold the sets Spirits in this presentation apart from Other spirits without this koji spirits Produced from barley in Japan would be
Similar to more whiskey and spirits Produced from brown sugar would be Similar to rub in Japan is says made Cody’s made from rice but we’ve seen it Made from barley and sweet potato as Well and we’ll look at some of those Examples in the cane in the case of Grains like rice and barley the grains Need to be polished primarily to remove Sulfur compounds and that’s going to Have implications later on in the Process If the sulfur compounds are managed Effectively here then it be concentrated To an manageable levels during the Drawing distillation So the grains when they’re polished in Terms of shows you are typically not Polished to anywhere near the kind of Level you’d be expecting in Sarko Production they’re they’re polished a Much much lower levels once they’ve been Polished to remove some of those sulfur Compounds then the the substrate is Washed soaps and steam such a latinized The starch and make it soluble as room Statements once it’s soluble this Softens starch of material is then Inoculated with cultured and selected Fungal spores of a particular variety Which we can see the bottom on the Bottom of the screen there and they’re Either yellow white or black to those Varieties regarded us they’re producing
Temperature controlled rooms and as I Said that kind of the mold grows into And on to start releasing the necessary Enzymes to produce sugars providing the Distilling with a batch of koji a Particular variety the yellow variety on The left hand side of the screen there You’ll be familiar to many of you Aspergillus oryzae is the Koji mold used To produce Sarkar It’s not typically using haiku co2 Production because it’s very sensitive To heat making it untenable in some of The warmer climates of this region as I’ve said you know Okinawa and the Maumee Islands specifically are Subtropical but usually it’s we’re warm As well therefore the use of yellow Koji Like this is rare black Koji and white Koji are both versions of Aspergillus Lachesis white Cody’s a mutation of Hospitalist blue transistor back version And they are prevalent in shochu at al Mori production both a more resistance Temperature The white code use regarding is the most Efficient and easy to grow and manage Black is renowned for its higher levels Of citric acid that are produced both White and black produce great levels of Citric acid which has a really really Positive impacts on the fermentation in These areas enabling it to be more Resistance temperature enabling it to
Not spoil effectively black code use the One to highlight here though and it’s The one we’re gonna look at firstly when We talk about our Mori because it’s Produced to layer on this really rich Roasted often bold smoky mushroomy and Nutty flavors that frankly are really Really distinctive and and unlike Anything I or any of the educators on The trip had ever tasted before why it Was said it was used more to preserve The aromas of the raw material and black Was used for that really big flavor Impact so we’ll get into the Distilleries that we visited and we’re Going to do them in chronological order As we came across them on the trip in January I’m going to use a you know a Slide or two to feature each distillery Visited and try and use each distillery To focus on a particular category Concept or production feature that kind Of really sets them apart so we starting The most southerly and westerly part of A trip on the mainline main island of Okinawa what can I was probably familiar To some of you it was certainly familiar To me before the trip as a former US Military base and there’s still a great Deal of kind of US influence on the Island it’s so tropical there and lots Of it reminded of us in many parts of Parts of America that has a similar Climate because there is that much of an
American influence there but thankfully The local and traditional spirit of our More Retain the heritage and is protected by GI the spirit said to date back to the Eye entire kingdom of the fifteenth Century and the the rock and our Subtropical region is where this Particular variety as kind of rose to Prominence It is a GI for for Okinawa made Exclusively from long grain rice that’s Typically from Thailand is in the cut in The case of this first distillery Exclusively from from Thailand but also This long grain rice is grown in Taiwan And Japan as I said Ishikawa where we Are now uses exclusively Thai rice and This Thai rice is used exclusively to Make 100% pocono and black Koji the Reason for that is because the Temperatures are obviously quite high in Okinawa that high acid output of this Black algae koji is required to maintain Fermentation in these particular Climates the other key definitive Feature of our Mori is this single Fermentation step so 100% of that Substrate the rice is coaching and That’s obviously going to amplify the Impact when we move through the slice We’re going to see other types of showed You that do a two-step fermentation it Introduces a secondary and definitive
Raw material or starch sauce and Therefore that impact of the Koji is is Nullified but dull down somewhat because The Koji doesn’t make up 100% of the Fermentation So as I said this is this salami Chicago Used Thai rice which is polished and and Washington in the in the gems that we See and steamed inoculated and grown Into the black Koji mashed with yeast And water in clay ferments as like we Can see in the picture on the right hand Side we’re gonna see clay in use a great Deal throughout this particular talk it Has a huge impact at various stages of Production they are temperature Controlled and they were quite open About that temperature control within Ishikawa here the fermentation initially Starts around 36 degrees Celsius and That temperature is to promote the Enzyme production of the backhoe G it’s Then lowered to about 33 degrees Celsius And that promotes citric acid production Which is obviously integral to Maintaining this quite long fermentation And providing a suitable environment for The yeast and then it’s reducer around 27 degrees Celsius which is an ideal Temperature for alcoholic fermentation By the yeast as you can see the Fermentation takes around three weeks Which is a long time in comparison to Most European traditions and that
Three-week fermentation is obviously Going to enable a whole load of flavor Creation by the yeast and a whole load Of interaction between the outputs of The Koji and the outputs of the yeast as Well as the raw material its churn However that fermentation and that Vessel is turned off on a daily basis to Incorporate oxygen and to stop the Development of any unwanted microbial Activity you can see probably just about From the pictures on the right hand side The ferment fermenters are covered over Most of the time they are obviously open To the elements somewhat they’re not Completely and utterly cut off from from From the environment so we need to Expect some microbial activity happening There and and and some bacteria which is Going to influence the style of flavors That are created but that doesn’t need To be managed Need to be kept on top of and that’s why This churning happens on a daily basis This fermentation for three weeks here Would would result in in a washing Around 17 percent ABV which is an Indicator of another unique thing I Suppose about about shows you an Asian Spirits these high these high wash Drinks these high fermentation strengths Which we’ll have again implications Further on in the production process It’s fairly typical to have around 17%
Here but some of these fermentation can Go up as high as twenty percent ABV We’re not going to talk specifically About distillation and the other parts Of the process here but know that Ishikawa also use single distillation Which is which is the practice within Within Shoji production but they use Atmospheric distillation as well as Vacuum distillation and in maturation in Clay as well as stainless steel to Produce to produce aged our Mori okay Let’s move on to Musa home paint Apologies for my pronunciation a very Memorable part of the trip the second Distillery that we visited and I want to Focus on some different production Features namely yeast obviously yeast is Absolutely integral to the process it’s How we’re going to create alcohol but It’s also a key driver of flavor here Like is it in many many spirits Categories and we got a real insight Into the yeast strains at this Distillery and they use three main types That you can see in the picture on the Left hand side and they attribute Different styles and different flavor Characteristics to the different strains Of yeast Ginjo which some of you will be familiar With that word through three sake used In the production of us are psychos and Famed for its flavour its flavors of
Kind of fresh fruit and fresh flowers The sakura yeast in the middle there Sakura is the Japanese cherry blossom it Was quite interesting for me to learn About the fame and notoriety of that Cherry blossom I didn’t realize there Was a cherry blossom tour and season as It moves across the country and people Follow it we saw it at many junctures During our trip but this distillery and Isolating a yeast from the Sakura Blossom which they ate rubies had lots Of tropical fruit flavors from banana And mango and finally and probably most Importantly is the amore 101 yeast which Is renowned for its body and production Of vanillin and banelings a compound That we in the West at least most Closely associated with oat But it’s been found this how more yeast Is not only you know high strength high Yielding has a has a great output of Ethanol but it also produces a great Deal of valid in all precursors to Vanilla flavors which can kind of Develop into maple syrup another Associated flavor flavor categories as Well The distillery makes black Koji from Thai Taiwanese or canola and rice and They also use three three different Strains of black Koji but the key thing Here is they must use black black Koji To to make our morning but the one of
The major production feature I wanted to Focus on here at Mitsuko was was was Distillation well at least an Introduction to the type of distillation That is common within this region within Our mori but also non crack researching More generally shows like this our Single pot distilled in a pot still Similar to the one that you see there That example is a vacuum still it’s easy To identify given the fact that it’s Made from stainless steel but also it’s Got this ribbed and reinforced exterior Which actually you know stainless nearly Strong enough to support the difference In pressure between inside are now and That ribbed exterior supports that Copper would simply fold in on itself if We were trying to pull a vacuum through It Pressure inside actually reduces the Boiling points of all the various Compounds within the wash as well so That means the still can run at a much Cooler temperature reducing the chance Of cooking and scorching of some of Those solids remember we were talking About fermentation a few slides ago and The fact that we have this parallel Fermentation ongoing at the same time we Do start such substrate this semi-solid Fermentation that is then carried Through and placed into the steel as Well so this still needs to be carefully
Heated through a variety of different Variables in order to try and manage Effectively ways cooking of of those Solids and those the scorching Potentially and flavors created through Through cooking of those solids those Flavors referred to as kind of my odd Reaction combination of amino acids and Reducing sugars to give foods that we Eat but also plenty of rhenium spirits That we familiar with these kind of Cooks roasted toasted flavors and you Know they can be used to great effect Within show to another spirits but they Also needs to be managed effectively and These vacuum distillation is actually Reduce the propensity for those may odd Reactions producing typically in the Case of vacuum distillation with in with A no mori lighter and pure respira it’s Not as on a bold and robust they’re Often quite floral quite elegant and Quite delicate and we’ll talk about some Examples and some character comparisons As we move through the slides as an Addition here I wanted to briefly Mention the fact that show is this Emerging category of triple distilled Now amore Distilled in these still so around 70 Percent ABV and in bottled at 40% so These particular varieties have a Completely different texture and style Butter he still very flavorsome
Distilled to a relatively carrot several Strengths and 70% obviously not as as Well we haven’t mentioned this in detail Yet but many shows use a distilled to a Much much lower strength made possible By the fact that we have Well there’s a single distillation is is Made possible by the fact that we have This really high fermentation strength And then the collection strength of the Spirit is often fifty forty five percent Only through a single distillation so It’s fairly unusual and it’s a new Emerging category to triple distill Certain Sergio cheese into and kind of 70 percent spirit which is still Relatively characterful but obviously Contains to you know probably less Richness less fullness of flavor and Certainly different textures compared to Traditional power Lori this particular One is actually from issue college to The previous distillery we looked at but They’re all bottled and the same label As kind of a distillery collection of Labeled show which I believe was a serve As a former king kings they wish this Was in the bottle The other thing I wanted to mention on That slide was actually the first thing That we all tasted when we arrived at This distillery and Ishikawa previously Was vinegar and I’ve never personally Drank vinegar straight in that way with
Ice but we all were blown away by the Kind of purity and complexity of the Vinegars that were created from the sake Lees left over in these stills that was Something that was really really unique For me really delicious vinegar from the Sake lees okay moving up The final distillery to be visited in Okinawa was Chico and they are also Naturally producing El Morya in the same Ways in which we’ve discussed using long Grain a Thai rice and exclusively Bakken Almond black OD with the yeast 101 which Is which is which is attributed to the Area also a mango yeast they are using That and produced in a single Fermentation now although we didn’t get To see And much of the processing in terms of In terms of fermentation and Distillation at this distillery what we Really did focus on was post Installation and their focus on Maturation in these earthenware vessels Known as coming as I understand economy Just is is earthenware and play vessels So so so camo would be referring to any Earthenware clay vessels used at any Stage of various production but here We’re going to look at post distillation And how come here used to soften the new Spirits and actually make them more Palatable and ready to drink much like Oak clay earthenware like this is
Semi-porous allows oxygen to enter and Interact with the liquid but unlike oaky Doesn’t provide much in terms of color And flavor perhaps a slight minerality In terms of flavor but really the Impacts in terms of additional flavor is Much much less than oak but as I said It’s semi porous it allows this oxygen In an ounce of and that slow oxidation And interaction between the various Compounds inside can actually start to Neutralize some of the harsh notes and Textures and soften the spirit even with The polishing of the rice in this case We’re still going to get through some Sulfur into these into these spirits no Doubt as they’re as the polishing level Is relatively low so clay can actually Act as a bit of a catalyzer For sulfur compounds as well similar to Copper when we think of whiskey Production so that can can actually kind Of remove some of that influence of Sulfur and actually soften and Neutralize some of those more astringent Textures and flavors compounds like Aldehydes can start to esterified and The complexity and concentration of the Flavours tends to increase as they spend More time in a day as they age for Longer but specifically with becoming Innocence And this in this earthenware maturation What I like to think of is those flavors
Being present throughout production Obviously inherent in the raw material Or created by the Koji or the yeast but Then really evolving by our interaction With with with clay in this case and Developing insert into new things Building on and involved in these Flavors and then everything kind of Concentrating and increasing in Complexity as it spends time in the in In the vessel and interacting with with Oxygen over time as well as interacting With all the other compounds that the President if spirit is is aged for more Than three years it’s known as coup soup And QC means old liquor and many of the Spirits here and in other parts of the Tour in in Okinawa in our Mori and and Other parts of their range for much much Longer than than three years certainly Ablative of 30 years regarded as noble Aging which can obviously again increase That complexity and that concentration Of aroma even greatly and and those of You who are thinking this through Obviously there’s going to be some angel Share potentially to this as well Obviously the ABV is is is lower than Then is typical in western spirits Production So the ABV of the spirit that’s going Into these vessels is much much low but There will be some evaporation certainly Over time which is going to be in
Concentration at what’s left behind the Reason I focused on this Zucco is Because they have their own keel and They produce all their own kin they made From Okinawan black and red slow and You’ll be one of my biggest regrets is Not buying a small little version coming As a souvenir we all had the opportunity Bombers or any of us took that option I Probably didn’t have any room left in my Case to be honest by the end of the trip But I’ve always mindful and these once Since I’ve got home So let’s move on as we are more than Halfway through as I am NOT that whole Face race and let me let me speed up I’m A quick little interjection in terms of Serving style I’m sure many of you are Intrigued how our Mori can be served and This really this particular part of the Trip was was focused on our amore amore Suka it was a very memorable dinner and And and food pairing opportunity that we Had I’m currently enjoying no no I’m worried But in my lovely capitalism given to me On the on the on the trip in a you worry Style with hot water misery with with Cold water is very very common as well Here at the Alamo escucho we we paired Various different show shoes with Different dishes the particular images You can see on the left there was was The serve when I deserve which was a
Winter melon dessert which was tiny tiny Little sweet but so full of flavor and And this this cruiser amore When exquisitely with it the image on The right which I apologize for he’s not The best image but it’s just taken of my Phone was was actually an infusion of Our amore with tomorrow in other herbs Which was then used as the base for a Spritz so two very dramatically Different ways of serving I want more in There but he is probably as far as I’m Concerned anyway the the spirit that Best goes with food if I always find Food and spirit pairings slightly Difficult and slightly crowbarred sorry To the brand ambassador out there who do That optimum with myself in the past I Always think it’s quite difficult given The high alcohol content obviously the Lower alcohol content in these spirits Makes the matching with food slightly More like a wine and food matching and Really some of the complexities of Flavor and And savory Miami flavors that we find Present in our lorry really really pair Well with with food I don’t want to Dwell too much from that because I’ve Got lots of distilleries to cover so Let’s move on Okay so on to miyazaki prefecture and And Achaia shoes ooh probably Pronouncing that wrong machi is user
We’re back onto the large islander Berkeley issue not tropical in the same Way that Okinawa’s but still humid and Very warm summers fermentation here Though now we’re kind of back into in so Hot gang we showed you happens in two Steps step one where a small volume of Cody typically rice and water and yeast Are mashed for up to a week a week Allowing Koji and yeast to develop in Parallel and once we have that kind of Starter if you like then in step two A secondary starchy material is added And this secondary starting material is The definitive starchy material so what Is added at that second stage is what Defines the type and name of shochu Produced so if that second starch sauce Is sweet potato it’s an emo shoujo if It’s barley its movie so chewed if it’s Come a it’s a rice shoujo And within those there are local GI so We’ll come onto when we move into Kagoshima and come a modern hero GI they Mostly make emo and movie shochu but They also make a ginger show to which is The one I showed some of you earlier Where small amounts of ginger are added In that second match it’s fair to say That the whole quantity of that second Match is not simply changed that would Be quite overwhelming as we were told But but a small I think around fifteen Percent of that second match is ginger
Alongside sweet potato and that ginger Flavor really really carries through Into the final spirits while I’m Enjoying with on water right now because I’ve got a little bit of a cold it’s Helping to clear my sinuses so um the Second mass fragmentation zaji i and Most distilleries takes place in in clay Vessels which are say into the ground Like the ones you see in the picture on The left hand side the fact that they Are contained within the earth and the Fact that they are set where they are Helped naturally to control fluctuations In temperature the temperature cannot Get too high in these situations the Room would be temperature controlled as Well but obviously that maintenance and Temperature is absolutely critical to Ensure in a high production and the High-end output of yeast in terms of in Terms of alcohol and also desirable Flavors and also the production of acid From from from the from the koji some of These fermenters are in excess of 100 Years old there’s one in there which is The oldest which many of us took photos Off and similarly to the famed wood Implementers in places like Jamaica Where these wooden fermenters have been Around for such a long time and contains Such a abundance of local micro Organisms they these fermenters will Hold a unique biome in themselves as
Well and that local boy over various Different microorganisms and bacterial Activity will influence flavor compounds They’re generated through the Fermentation in these vessels and the Two-step fermentation here can last up To three weeks again we’ve got a lot of Opportunity for that yeast to create a Great deal of flavor here it produces a Wash of around 14% which is Significantly lower from the 17 and 18 Percent typically the we certainly saw That in Okinawa the other area of Production that I wanted to focus on Here was something that again is Prevalent within parts of Hong Kong we Showed you certainly is in our Maturation as opposed to maturation in Coming in earthenware vessels the Picture that you can see there Unfortunately is not of these enamel Maturation vessels Old cameras outside the distillery Beautiful though is the enamel vessels Are similar in the effects they have on The spirit but they’re really the thing That I want to kind of highlight here is The fact that they are cooled to a Degree that enables what we call the Group three fractions these usual oils These heavy fatty acids to kind of Coagulate enough so they can be skimmed And removed from the spirit it’s Probably fair to say that these enamel
Vessels don’t allow as much oxidation And of the spirit they don’t allow Enough oxygen in to kind of to Contribute to the flavor in the same way But as they are temperature controlled And cruel to such a degree those group 3 Factions which are much denser much Heavier start to coagulate start to fall Kind of oily pools on the top of these Animal vessels and they can be skimmed Off and removed if they weren’t to be Removed the spirit would be much harsher Much creepier much more difficult and Much more unpalatable in texture some of Those Ruby fractions can really give a Kind of a stringency to a spirit which Frankly in the case of certainly a sweet Potato churches they need to be they Need to be removed because otherwise They would be overwhelming and as we’ve Claimed maturation and that what we’re Starting to see some of those harsh and Those soften compounds the game will React together and then increase some of That concentration in complexity the Enamel vessels are mostly sealed on the Top of this there will be some Evaporation of compound certainly the More volatiles within they’re allowing Some of that concentration and increased Complexity through an emulation Why then moving on to to Isuzu Yama and Kuroky huntin needs to agree together as We visited them in their in one session
If you like and they are part of the Same part of the same group run by the Same gentleman here you can see pictured There and the real thing that I wanted To focus on here firstly is the the Difference in climate up here Isuzu Yama Specifically an increased altitude Really beautiful saying a very new Distillery which which stuck in many of Our minds with a real kind of Sustainable in environments and he Friendly ethos recycling waste products And grains as all organic fertilizer for Their crops you know fairly commonplace Now with forward-thinking distilleries But this is something that was really Part of the ethos and the philosophy at Suzy OMA and kuroky onsen although they Produce sweet potato and rice showed you Here me as a key is one of the main Production centers for movie show – made From barley so really wants to kind of Focus on barley on this particular slide Barley is grown locally or imported from Australia and it’s used here as well as Rice used to create white and black but Also yellow Koji and that’s enabled Through that really really pristine Temperature control koji room you can See on the left-hand side and you know It’s probably the first history I think We encounter that is actually using Yellow Koji for show to production so I’m the only one but it’s the first one
We encountered and I think that was Really enabled by the fact they had this Really pristine and carefully managed Koji room and as the sake experts Amongst you know that can read that Yellow Koji despite being hard as a Managed can produce a really interesting Fruity floral fresh zesty kind of aroma And taste They’ve also got a selection of stills Here using atmospheric distillation as Well as as well as vacuum distillation When using barley let’s focus on barley Specifically on this side as we’ve said We have this we have this semi solid Wash and when using atmospheric Distillation you’re inevitably gonna get Some cooking of that wash and and some My own reaction resulting in actually Really delicious I found this was really Standout for me Delicious rich toasted cereal almost Multi characteristics you would have Find akin to whiskey in some ways when These washes are vacuumed distill Typically that barley will produce a Slightly gracia and fruitier style of Spirit still single bottle distillation Still distilled to a very very low Strength when we compare it to two European traditions but but but Certainly in vacuum distillation much Lighter and purer and more elegant if You like in style but I really but I
Really enjoyed some of that rich roasted Toasty flavor and aroma that’s coming From from from atmospheric distillation Of this distillery the other thing I Wanted to talk briefly about was with Wood maturation we haven’t talked about With maturation yet during this Presentation and wood maturation is Something that that all of us on the Trip and suppose most of you who are Listening and more familiar with I think It’s fair to say that there was a General consensus amongst a group that The ok churches that we retry during the Trip were amongst that kind of least Favored although as there were the most Contentious should we say because some Of those elegant flavors and textures That we enjoyed so much from from our Warrior and and other regions it can Easily be overwhelmed white oak Oak is Used in various places but obviously oak Is very very very potentially Overwhelming and showed you can be very Delicate and it’s a roamer of flavor and Texture you know given the fact it’s Water fountains it’s such a great some Of that oak influence can start over Well here though I think you know it was Used in a really really positive way Really good effect they had a Combination of different barrels there It’s fair to note as well that they’re Making whiskey at least distillery and
This is the first distillery movie saw Copper during the trip we saw it later On in the trip as well but we saw it Here for their whiskey distill their Whiskey stills but they’re using new and Expert on American oak here as well as New and ex Tanja French oak and Importantly Japanese mr. Norah mr. Naro Because obviously we would be familiar From whiskey production but really Really strikingly for me a barley barley Shochu which not only used barley for The second match but also created the Koji Aged in a variety of different woods They had a Sakura aged version and a Chestnut aged version which I happen to Have in front of me which I will Certainly come the end of the Presentation and that is really really Special and unlike anything else that I Tried before Another thing to note here as well as Precise limits the color in terms of Wood age showed you so products aren’t Generally allowed to be beyond what we Describe as WCT at least to be beyond a Medium lemon color this is the Distinguish it from whiskey because if I Take Koji out of the equation if you Start to produce barley in this way and Ferment it using yeast exclusively and Disability in pot stills and then put Into oak it starts to just become a
Whiskey so to differentiate Barley movie shochu from whiskey there Is a or and any show to that his age Differentiates it from other ranged Spirits there is a there is a limit on The color and that color can only come Through little You’re actually filtration to some of Remove some of that color as well okay Let’s move on because I am running out Of time I want to talk about Kumamoto this is The only distillery visiting toyonaga This Prefecture is very different it’s Fair to say in terms of in terms of Terrain in terms of climate in between Two volcanoes there was a few volcanoes We saw during the trip namely in Kagoshima number remote it has two Volcanoes by the side of this particular Valley as well and they have a GI 4r I Showed you made in this district and it Used to be 200 distilleries here but now Since world one there are only 28 and This is as far north as you visit as I Said mountainous cooler but still wet And those volcanoes provide a great deal Of ash obviously which is good soil for Rice and good conditions for rice Growing Quba rice is a short grain variety which Provides this particular style of concat We showed you with some of these grassy And actually creamy yakity aromas
There’s a local to mate yeast which is Attributed to creating a lot of tropical Banana and vanilla aromas namely outputs From the yeast like ice formal acetate And and and precursors to vanillin as we Discussed in our mori and end it’s fair To say i think everybody will testify to This we go image of the second aroma the Second ferment there on the right-hand Side of the screen when we walked into That room and when we took a whiff of Fermentation it was huge banana yogurt That was the peak descriptor for me and For many others they’re using white and Black Koji here made from rice or barley White as we’ve said but it retains more Flavor of the raw material but the black Coach is going to layer on some of those Roasted smokey nutty and mushroomy Flavors which actually twin really Really nicely and with some of that kind Of creaminess and buttery yogatina say And just to make a note of the Difference in Kochi rooms we didn’t get To see inside this one but this is a Much more traditional town cozy room Compared to the obviously more modern Pristine version that we saw previously At Isuzu Yama here they also had a Selection of stills and what I thought Would be interesting to take note of Particularly here was was the comparison In terms of temperature the distiller There gave us lots of insight into how
How he ran his stills and Amarista Leadership as you can see ran to a much Higher temperature and much kind of Shorter and hotter distillation move Around 85 to 90 degrees Celsius meaning That actually we’ve got all of those Compounds and elements coming through Distillation and through into the Condenser in a quite condensed period of Time through vacuum distillation you can See that temperature that it runs at is Much cooler and the temperature is a Wider gradient running at much much Slower rates enabling those alcohols Those higher volitans to come over first As he sent much more of the kind of Things the heir tributes the flavor and Aroma to kamut coming over later in the In the distillation Now we get to Kagoshima which was a huge Part of our trip and something that I Really want to focus on the GI that they Have there for Satsuma Shoji made Exclusively from sweet potato which is Steamed it’s fair to say here that we Encountered some examples not Necessarily in Sumer my memory serves me Right but we did see examples of sweet Potato that is both aged but also baked And those variables are also going to Kind of implement flavor as well as the Particular type of raw material that I’m Going to come onto but typically those Sweet potatoes are cut into into chunks
And steamed which is going to gelatinize Those starches as we saw at the start Potato or rice congee is a it is used Here typically rice but they’re also Making Koji out of one of these Varieties of sweet potato and they’re Culturing white black and yellow Koji And I really wanted to have a bit of a Focus on the amazing amazing amazing or The amazing sweet potato I enjoyed sweet potato before counting On this trip but I had no idea about the Variety of sweet potatoes that will Grown and enjoyed certainly in Japan and Around the world there are so many Varieties of sweet potato and they have A huge influence on the characteristics Of Satsuma shochu produced obviously They’re providing the starch source and They have varying degrees of starch Within them but they also have the Propensity to produce lots of different What we call aromatic compounds red Varieties like many assume a nutty city They’re rich in sucrose used for sweets Lots of Japanese sweets made from this Particular variety purple varieties like Aya Maru sake what exactly which are low in Starch and therefore provide much lesser Yield in terms In terms of ethanol through fermentation But are big in what we call polyphenols Big fruity floral aromas that you might
Associate with the Muscat grape white Varieties like the most common of any Sense Rich in Lin all Jarrow geranium which Are both floral compounds terpenes which We will talk about more in the next Slide as well as from orange varieties That again a big fruity floral and the Type of sweet potato I can’t emphasize Enough has a huge influence on the style Of spirit that’s created I’d say this This part of the trip and this kind of Insight was was astounding to me to kind Of really focus in on the differences in Raw material when accentuated or Amplified or aided by by the influence Of different types of coding in yeast as Well not only that here is particularly Distillery initially were creating not Only were they using a whole array of Different raw materials but you know and All three types of coding there also got A whole set of different stills at their Disposal but you can see there on the Left-hand side we have a multitude of Stills with different shapes as well as Atmospheric and vacuum distillation Within the mix so within mix and with Much wider necks gonna kind of Concentrate some of those aromas through Into the liner but importantly sometimes Those next container its application Plates you can see it’s some of those Stills in the back they’ve got a kind of
Ribbed exterior which indicates they’ve Got plates in the next which is going to Increase refluxing you increase the the Purity of the spirit increase the Distillation strings potentially but Also different line arms which again Going to affect reflux dramatically some Line arms which are going straight Across and which you can see it’s Sharply turned down some are just Slightly turned up either promoting Or nullifying reflux also here we had an Example of a traditional wooden still Judge hakusho choose would have been Made on wooden stills exclusively and There are a few distilleries that we Visited that retain those wooden stills Unfortunately it was a closely guarded Secret so not allowed to show the photo For you all but but know that the Spirits produced on these wooden stills Would be very very big and bold and Potentially sultry in their Characteristics let’s move on this is a Very geeky slide that I wanted to cover I’ll probably not cover it in too much Detail because it’s already seven O’clock and I might be losing some People so their dinner already but this Is a chemical analysis of a Satsuma Shoji or email Shoji made obviously from Sweet potato and we can see from kind of The the concentration of particular Compounds at various stages in the
Distillation Road between 8:00 between 0 And 8 minutes we’ve got those higher Alcohols that we’d expect the methanol And broken oleic cetera but Interestingly in 10 to 15 we’ve got Those kind of ethyl and ISO groups Namely eatle acetate which we never Associated this kind of ascertain vanish Aroma isoamyl acetate which is one which Is probably familiar to many of the room Fans out there big banana and pear Flavours associated with that compound And evil lactate and which gives us a Buttery creamy Nuss typically but it’s Then from 18 minutes you can probably See the arrival and it’s actually Highlighted well being in Japanese there The arrival of lots of what we call Terpenes Some of those things that I mentioned Before when talking about the sweet Potato the varieties little log which is Typically very floral turbine oil which Is a lock and a lilac perfume aronia as Well as citronella rose and citrus Aromas and lots of these sweet potato Varieties are high in these compounds And can really really carry through and Dictate the style of spirit one which Really comes to mind is the MA which I’ve spoke to a few of you about before Which is absolutely You Don those types of aroma containing A lot of these turn beans giving this
Big old fruity floral almost Muscat type Like she tropical fruit aromas that you Might associate with certain wines and Other other things the other thing about Particularly the purple variety and We’ve moved on to another distillery now A Kumasi jirozo still in Kagoshima Focusing on focusing on Satsuma showed You although they are making a chair out Of rice and barley as well that purple Sweet potato that is so big in those Aromas actually kind of has a lower Starch content so it produces a much Lower yield in terms of ethanol but it’s Still used extensively in this Distillery unleash you the previous one Because it’s so famed for this flavor Which is starting to become even more Popular in mixed drinks and there were Such things there’s also a high Potential for salt for them and the Other thing I really really wanted to Show you this distillery was the picture On the right hand side which isn’t a Isn’t a spaceship from a b-movie I think It looks a little like something like That it’s actually a snail burst they’ll Unlike anything we’ve ever seen before It’s horizontal for a start So not tall like like a typical still You’ve seen in previous slides or you Would have seen European traditions this Is long and wide and tubular with direct Steam injection by row pipe that goes
From end to end which bubbles through What is a very very low mash level with A huge surface areas you can probably Imagine this this than what the the Volume of this still is but it is huge And then for extraction points at the Top of the still four necks and four Line arms which is encouraging a huge Array of extractions Huge vapor collection and minimal reflux Which is going to result in a much Bigger bolder spirit in nature far less Ratification separation of those Individual compounds within this Distillation we’re taking it all through To the condenser not only that this Particular still as I understand it was Used exclusively with black Koji and That’s to kind of capture and retain all Of that big flavor and big body that we Associated black code you that kind of Roasted toasted smoky mushrooming nutty Aroma so it’s fair to say that the Spirit produced on this type of steel And this is the only still of its time As I understand it in Japan is is big And bold and in requiring of resting Because of the amount of kind of Potentially Group three fractions and But also please kind of these sultry Compounds that need a little bit of kind Of softening through through age I need To finish off with a Marlene and I’m Running over time so I’m apologies if I
Am delaying anybody’s dinner but I would Be remiss not to talk about the amazing Island of Amami the the producer to go To show you which is not a GI but it’s Only produced within her mummy sugar Cane was introduced to the island in the 16th century that and rice two main Crops they’re moving into the 20th Century in World War two rice was too Valuable to be used for spirits Production so she came with use instead In the misuse simply using yeast as we Know it’s not koji just to produce room And there are still Japanese produced Here and available it was in 1953 though When a mom email Island returned to Japanese ownership previously and and Similarly Takanawa It was a US military territory and it Was then in 1953 and onward when Cody Shoji was Defined as a chicane plus rice Koji Spirit and and definitively different Therefore from run the sugar cane as we As we saw we were there in January sugar Cane is harvested on the island between January and March and they produce two Hundred and fifty thousand tonnes beer And we visited a small sugar producer Twin with with a cafe on the beach a Beautiful beautiful part of the world Where they were where they were Producing this is unrefined brown sugar The stalks were squeezed to produce
Their juice I’m sure many of you have Seen before with in rum production but Then this juice is boiled down and so Basically a syrup boiled at around 130 Degrees Celsius to remove simply much of The water but retaining a lot of the Molasses essentially they’re kind of Rich flavors that we associate with Molasses and some of those and some of Those compounds that actually kind of Drive that that color and flavor much The waters move but then what’s left and Syrup is set aside to crawl as you can See in the picture on the right hand Side and what we have left once is dried Is this finish so really rich dense Molasses heavy what they call brown Sugar but I think actually more Realistically we call black sugar Because the molasses is still there lots Of brown sugar that we know of actually Has that brown color and the flavor Added back in its simply white sugar With with color added back to it this is Raw unrefined brown sugar and in that Sense now why is this important well It’s important because it’s being used To make a very very particular type of Show to you as the same which is known As Coco G showed you and made Exclusively on the islands of Amami We all enjoyed the the I notice that so You can saying you mean sugar very much We all sat walleston probably by that
Particular refinery for far too long Just munching on sugar And yeah it’s absolutely delicious I’ve Brought some home with me which did not Last long we visited two distilleries on The island of Amami Machida Suzhou and Tamina shoes though both you making Cocoa too showed you using this raw Brown sugar but doing so in different Ways it’s fair to say there were very Different distilleries and very Different operations but in terms of Scale and style both start with you go To sugar but there are different types Different different sources of cacao Sugar that we should mention at this Point because you sugars from a mommy Island specifically which is typically Softer and sweeter more of those kind of Caramels and maybe kind of soft Chocolate flavors in there but then also Sugar from Okinawa which is actually Slightly more bitter oh I finally tasted A lot like licorice personally and this Kind of herbal sweetness to it maybe a More kind of bitter dark chocolate and Even a slight say line quality to it Some people said this is paired with Rice Koji exclusively and white and Black erasers are used for the reasons That I mentioned before a yellow variety Simply will not survive in these kind of Climates we need the high acid created By a white and black varieties and
This happens in a three step match the Reason it’s not a one or a two step mass Here is because actually we are adding Essentially pure sugar as opposed to a Starchy substrate that needs to be Converted that yeast is interacting Immediately with high volumes of sugar If we were to dump it all in in one step Or in even two steps it’s the potential For that needs to become overwhelmed we Sugar in the environment not to be ideal For it to actually create how come so It’s done in a three step process once a Wash is being created and remember the Wash tasting very much like a lot of Really kind of multi beers actually Personally it had a real Brown a all Kind of quality to to it to me There’s two different distillation types Happening here as there as with many Other distilleries in salem’s of focus On vacuum distillation and machida and Atmospheric distillation as a means of Both distilleries had both types of Still but alive the spirit producer Machida was significantly lights are Significantly purer significantly kind Of cleaner and more elegant in Star Wars To meter was a little bit more Traditional a little bit more robust in Bold and flavor equally they are Involving plenty of earth and where Maturation here to to to kind of soften Some of those textures influence some
Oxygen and really kind of contribute to Some of that consist there’s some that Kind of complexity and concentration of Flavor to I’m trying to hurry through I Think I’m pretty much at the end yes the Final slide I really wanted to do was Just to embarrass a few of us on the Trip that is everybody who was who was On the trip it was incredible thank you To everybody we all look equally silly There so I hope not a few home to Account If you want to know a little bit more About this particular spirit category as Well as the other Asian spirits buys you In so you’ve Korea and China then the Level three award in spirits is Obviously the thing to do I know some of You on the call have already done it and So you very recently I look forward to Hearing your glowing reports this is a This is the most advanced multi category Spirits qualification there is in the World you won’t be surprised to hear That selling this is what they do on a Daily basis but yeah if you want to know More about this or any of our other Qualifications obviously check out our Various channels and streams there Alright I think that is that