hey, mike: Sake vs Awamori

Are there any differences between Japanese sake and Okinawan awamori?And, is awamori originally Japanese?

—Lisa McDermott

Many people in Japan use the word “sake” as a generic term referring to all alcoholic beverages. However, the term actually applies to a specific group of liquids— mainly rice wines produced in mainland Japan. Sake, like awamori, is created from rice. But while sake uses white yeast and primarily locally grown rice in the fermentation process, the production of awamori requires black yeast and rice from Thailand.

During the 14th to 16th centuries, the Ryukyu Kingdom was an established trading hub between Asian countries— mostly due to the island’s geographic location. Also, many traditional Okinawan items, such as the sanshin (a musical instrument derived from China), and kasuri (a style of dyed fabric from India and Southeast Asia), were integrated into Okinawa from a countless number of cultures.

Chinese records state that awamori was first believed to have been distilled in the Ryukyu Kingdom after being introduced by local seafarers who brought a brew called lao-lon back from Siam (now known as Thailand) about 500 years ago.

Throughout history awamori has played an important role in Ryukyuan diplomacy. During the days of the Ryukyu Kingdom, Imperial representatives visiting from China were served aged awamori of the finest quality—called kusu—during visits to Shuri Castle. During the occupation of the Ryukyu Kingdom by the samurai of Mainland Japan, tribute delegations from Okinawa were sent to Edo (now Tokyo) with a myriad of valuable offerings, including awamori.

While there have been technological advances over the years, the process of creating awamori has pretty much stayed the same. It begins with the washing and soaking of long or short grain Thai rice. The rice is steamed for approximately an hour, blended with black yeast, and then fed into a mash processor. After ingredients such as mineral water are added, the mash is fermented into unrefined awamori. This liquid is then distilled, refined, and then stored; the longer the better—aging is what produces the finest quality kusu awamori. Only awamori that has been aged at least three years or more after distillation can be called kusu. The average age for a reasonably good bottle of kusu is at least 10 to 15 years old.

Since ancient times, a process called shitsugi has been used to mature awamori into kusu. Shitsugi is the practice of periodically decanting and transferring awamori through a sequence of clay urns, beginning from the oldest to the newest, over a period of 15 to 20 years. Descendents of former Ryukyu kings kept two to three hundred year old bottles of kusu stored in caves before World War II. Served only to honored guests once every few years, these spirits were precious treasures to their owners. Most of the old kusu did not survive the mass destruction of the war.

Fortunately, the awamori trade did survive. Today there are over 40 distillers producing over 800 brands with prices ranging from around 1,000 yen to 100,000 yen. And, while there are varieties of awamori and kusu (some well over the age of 30) that cater to every palate, the palates themselves should be at least 21 years old before imbibing.

—Mike Daley

Got questions for Mike? E-mail editor@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.