French judges visit the terroir where "Tsuruzora" is produced
The members of the "Kura Master Competition" who came from France this time were Keiichiro Miyagawa, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Kenjiro Moji, Honorary Chairman, Michiko Pekon, Public Relations Officer and Interpreter, Christophe Davoine, Head Judge for the Shochu and Awamori Category, and judges Baptiste Bocher and Julien Echasselot.
After arriving, the tour began at the fields outside the Kitaya sake brewery. They learned about the taste and growing characteristics of "Gin no Sato" and "Yamada Nishiki" rice used for brewing. They also learned about the rich natural environment surrounding Kitaya, such as how the Chikugo Plain is Kyushu's largest grain producing area, and how underground water from the Yabe River is pumped up from 60 meters underground and used for sake brewing. The judges looked around and nodded in agreement.
Next, we toured the sake brewery. Standing in front of a row of tanks of three different sizes - large, medium and small - we received a detailed explanation of how sake is produced, and the yeast and koji mold that are important for sake brewing.
A tour of a specialty shochu brewery to discover the secret behind the deliciousness of "Tsurusora"
Next, we went to the shochu brewery where Tsuruku is made. Tsuruku has a distinctive feature in the sweet potato used as an ingredient. Regular potato shochu is made only from the "Kogane Sengan" variety, which is less sweet and is used as a starch ingredient. However, Tsuruku is made from two varieties with high sugar content, "Beni Azuma" and "Beni Haruka", which are grown near Narita Airport.
Both are popular varieties, but they are characterized by high viscosity and a tendency to crumble, so some ingenuity is required to make shochu using them.
The first key point is the steaming time. We shortened the steaming time for Beniazuma and Beniharuka compared to when we used Kogane Senkan. This allows us to bring out the best in the potatoes.
The second key point was in the distiller. Regular shochu is distilled in a large-capacity distiller of 3,000 liters over a period of about five hours, but this would not produce the quality of Tsuruku. Tsuruku uses a small-lot distiller that holds only 500 liters and distills for about two and a half hours. This method produces the rich, full-bodied flavor and sweetness of the potato.
The judges seemed impressed by the careful attention to detail and meticulous work that goes into the manufacturing process of Tsurusora.
The judges were intrigued when they saw the many ceramic storage jars, asking questions such as "Why ceramic and not stainless steel?" and "Why not use bigger containers?"
"This thickness means that the container is less susceptible to changes in the surrounding temperature, allowing us to produce stable shochu. Also, using a container of the right size allows us to take finer care of it," said Kitaya's Kinoshita, and the judges were impressed by the meticulous work.
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The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
