AWAMORI, THE ORIGINS OF JAPANESE DISTILLATES
Awamori is a traditional alcoholic beverage from the Okinawa archipelago, produced from fermented and distilled rice, and containing between 35 and 60% alcohol by volume. Awamori first appeared in this region around 600 years ago, when stills from the Middle East arrived in Asia.

Production techniques were largely inspired by those used on the nearby island of Taiwan. In fact, it was from Okinawa that the first alembics and distillation specialists left for the rest of Japan, giving rise in particular to shochu from the island of Kyushu.

Shisa, emblème d'Okinawa - Shisa, Okinawa emblema


HOW AWAMORI IS MADE
Unlike sake, it's not round rice (japonica rice), but long rice (indica rice) that's used to produce awamori. This rice is grown in Thailand, and in a way symbolizes the past alliance and exchanges between these two regions of southern Asia. There are two main stages in the production of awamori: fermentation of the rice, followed by distillation.

1. Preparation and inoculation of rice with koji fungus
The rice is stripped of its cuticle, washed with plenty of water and steamed. It is then inoculated with the Koji fungus, using the same principle as for sake production. This stage lasts 2 to 3 days.

What's special about awamori is that all the rice is inoculated with koji, a process known as “zen oji zukuru”, as opposed to sake, where only 20% of the rice is inoculated with koji.

Préparation koji awamori

Riz koji awamori - rice koji awamori

Brassage du koji awamori - Brewing koji

Brassage final koji awamori - final brewing koji awamori

2. Rice fermentation
The rice + koji mixture is then fed to the yeasts, which ferment the simple sugars into alcohol. The koji is always present, and the simultaneous work of the koji and yeast (and the fact that all the rice is sown with koji) means that the availability of fermentable sugars is very high. This leads to extremely efficient fermentation, raising the alcohol content to over 20% by volume! The efficiency of fermentation is also the origin of the name Awamori, which means “big bubbles” in Japanese, in connection with those observed during this phase of production.

Melange des cuves de fermentation du riz - stiring rice fermentation tanks

Riz fermenté - fermented rice

3. The distillation process
Distillation takes place in a traditional alembic heated directly by a flame supplied with air by large fans. Moromi is distilled once, and distillation takes 4 hours at 70% alcohol by volume. The final product, awamori, is diluted to around 30°, except for hanazake, which is 60°.

 Alambic traditionnel pour awamori - traditionnal alambic for awamori

Chauffe direct de l'alambic - direct heating of the alambic

Mesure de la teneur en alcool en sortie d'alambic - mesuring alcohol content out of alambic

4. Maturation
At the end of production, Awamori is adjusted with spring water to bring its alcohol content down to around 30-35%. Awamori is then aged in vats, then in earthen jars known as “kame”. The aging process lasts at least three years, producing “Ku-su”. Aging is a long-standing tradition in Okinawa, as the reactions taking place in these earthen jars will truly change the flavours of Awamori. These will become rounder, giving a softer feel to the final product.

Bouteilles d'awamori - awamori bottles

Jarre contenant de l'awamori - awamori jar

TASTING AWAMORI
Traditionally, awamori is eaten on its own, with ice or sometimes with water. It is an integral part of Okinawan culinary culture. It goes particularly well with the rustic cuisine of Ryukyu (the region's former name): fish such as tuna or swordfish, black pork (an Okinawan specialty), raw vegetables such as goya, and seaweed.

Awamori is a real tasting drink. It can be consumed on its own, with ice, and can accompany dishes in sauce, fish or meat carpaccios, or even be served as a digestive for unreduced versions. It is also used as a highly original cocktail base. Here are a few examples of cocktails discovered at Summer Glass, on the island of Ishigaki, a bar specializing in awamori-based cocktails:

 Awamojito : Mojito à l’awamori. Awamori, feuilles de menthe, sucre de canne, soda.

Frozen awamori passion : fruit de la passion frais, crème de fruit rouge, awamori.

Awamori cherry : awamori, liqueur de cerisier, jus de pamplemousse frais, ginger soda.


AWAMORI STORIES AND TRADITIONS

Operation Iceberg
During the Second World War, the Battle of Okinawa, dubbed “Operation Iceberg”, was the biggest battle of the Pacific Campaign, lasting from March to June 1945. For the American forces, Okinawa represented the last stage before the invasion of Japan's main islands.

Bombing was intense and some villages were completely destroyed. It is said that a gigantic stock of jars containing over 400-year-old awamori was destroyed. This awamori dated back to a time when the Okinawa archipelago was not part of Japan, but together with the surrounding islands formed the Ryukyu kingdom.


Funeral rites
Hanazake is 60° awamori that has not been reduced by adding water. It is produced only on the island of Yonaguni, and is said to have originated in Taiwan, which produces “Corian”, a kind of eau de vie of undoubted pharmaceutical interest. It was around a hundred years ago, when trade increased between Taiwan (then occupied by the Japanese army) and Yonagui, that the latter began to produce it.

Hanazake is closely linked to funeral celebrations. In Yonaguni, the deceased are not cremated, but placed in a coffin with two jars of Hanazake. The coffin is placed in monumental tombs carved into the rock of the seaside hills.

Seven years later, on the anniversary of the death, the bodies are removed from their coffins; in such a state of decomposition that only the bones remain. This is the moment for relatives to gather, open one of the Hanazake jars kept by the deceased, and use its contents to clean his bones. Once this has been done, the bottom of the jar is used to start the cremation process. The second jar of Hanazake is consumed by the men taking part in the ritual, as a tribute to the memory of the deceased. The women, who do not drink, collect a few drops of this eau de vie to apply to injured areas of their skin.