Koshu Aka Rice Shōchū, 13 years old

The name, "Kuma Shochu", is a leading international trademark recognized by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as having a geographical indication of place of origin.

Rokuchoshi Shuzo boasts over a century of history (Taisho era, early 1900s).

It is well known for its high quality aged shochu.

In making its rice shochu, it uses products from its rich soil, namely rice grown in the vicinity and groundwater from Kumagawa River.

Rokuchoshi Shuzo was the first distillery to install a Genatsu still, and maintains the same traditional method of making shochu, based on normal pressure distillation and long maturation.

Mr. Ikebe, distillery President, during a trip to the Scottish Highlands, was able to verify that climate in this region (temperature and hygrometry) was similar to that of the region where his distillery is located. After visiting many whisky makers in the Highlands, he understood that he could age his shochu in the same way.

Therefore, he equipped the top floor of his distillery with a special temperature and humidity-controlled room, adding air-conditioning for the hot summer months, to protect the precious casks from mold and rapid deterioration.

Rokuchoshi Shuzo uses only new wooden barrels.

Shochu made by the normal pressure method, or atmospheric pressure, evolves in maturation. It seems that time, long maturation, causes very complex chemical reactions.