Unlocking the spirits of rice: Secrets of making awamori

Story and photos by Reggie Cantu

A casual excursion through an Okinawan neighborhood can lead to new discoveries — including the time-honored tradition of making the potent local liquor known as “awamori.”

One day while strolling the hills of Chatan just north of the Camp Foster fire station I noticed a bank of gleaming stainless steel vats through the gaping doors of a nondescript building. Curious, I stepped inside. Yutaka Tamanaha, the comptroller, explained that I was in a "shuzosho,” or awamori distillery named Chatan Choro Shuzo.

About 600 years ago, a crafty traveler sailed from Thailand to Okinawa. He brought a batch of long-grain rice and the secrets of distilling that rice into what Tokyo University’s Kinichiro Sakaguchi declared to be “one of the best spirits in the world.” Sakaguchi is an authority in the field of zymurgy, the study of fermentation in brewing and distilling. Awamori is brewed much like beer except with rice.

The rice used in creating awamori is the indica genus of Thailand. Forty-seven distillers in the Ryukyus make awamori and they all have their own particular way of blending the final product. The proportions are kept as trade secrets and rely on the abilities of professional tasters to produce the desired formulas.

According to Tamanaha, the process in use is the same basic one discovered centuries ago. The rice is first washed and steamed in vats for at least 24 hours. It is then dried and kept at a constant warm temperature. It is then introduced to another interesting specimen, a black mold or “koji.” Black koji is also indigenous to Okinawa. As the koji permeates to the core of the heated rice, it creates enzymes which break down starch molecules into sugar, which can then be fermented.

After a day or two, water and yeast are added to the koji rice in other vats which are covered and left for a few weeks. The mash is known as “moromi.” Next comes the distillation where the moromi is heated and the water extracted. What remains is raw liquor. The new spirits are stored, initially in underground tanks to cool, then in the large steel tuns that first caught my eye. The awamori ages for at least three years before it is blended either with older spirits or water to reach the desired strength. Awamori, like most distilled liquor, mellows with age and the price rises.

Tamanaha’s brother, Hitoshi, is the master taster. He is in charge of creating the end product of the business, which has been in the same family and location for over a century.

I learned much about the liquid in those bottles I see in nearly every store from my little jaunt. Now I’m eager as a puppy when my much better half holds up the leash and asks, “Ready for a walk?”