Hakata Gion Yamakasa
Regular Shochu Brewed by Tenpai

Date：23, Jan, 2012
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
About our introductory articles

Tweet

Japanese sake is boasted liquor of Japanese. Then, what is boasted distilled liquor of Japanese? It is shochu.

Brewed liquor is alcohol drink made by fermentation, closely to say. Distilled liquor is, like whiskey or brandy, the sake whose alcohol and attractive quality are extracted by heating because they utilize difference in boiling point. Japanese use sweet potato, rice or barley as an ingredient of the brewed sake before distilled. Distilling is to vaporize some mixture and then to condense. So two or more things of difference in boiling point are concentrated and separated.

Well, regular barley shochu is made in a good production area of barley. Since 1898, Tenpai has made shochu in the Tsukusi Plain famous as one of the best barley production areas. Especially local sake among their products is Hakata Gion Yamakasa.

Hakata Gion Yamakasa is a traditional festival held in Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City early in July every year. Hakata Gion Yamakasa by Tenpai has some fleshy taste as reflecting spirit of the festival.

Originally, the name of Tenpai was from a phrase Tenpai Chodai, meaning great joy. So their sake is suitable for being named from the traditional festival in Fukuoka. The taste of distilled sake can be greater with storage and maturing. The shochu has been stored for five years and tastes very beautiful.

It is the real regular shochu that they never use any chemical processing and any additives, and that has been stored for five years. Then the sake is a little expensive and is hard to obtain because it is on sale by subscription in June every year. But your having once makes you know the value and the reason.