Takahashi Shuzo

FLAGSHIP PRODUCTS

KU MA SHOCHU - WORLD -RENOW NED PREMIUM SPIRIT

Takahashi Shuzo
高橋酒造

Deluxe all-koji fermentation,a beautiful spirit that brings out a dish's ﬂavor

Easy to drink and never gets old,
the go-to Kuma Shochu

A ﬂowery ginjo aroma,rich with the umami of rice

MATSUYOI

HAKUTAKE

HAKUTAKE KAORU

A deluxe shochu varietal made entirely withkoji. With a fragrant aroma, light flavor, and a
deep full-bodied palate, it can play the perfect
supporting role at dinner to bring out theumami taste in the likes of sashimi or steamed
dishes.

Synonymous with vacuum-distilled shochu,
Hakutake revolutionized Kuma Shochu. The
mild flavor and smoothness going down sets
it apart to create a shochu that you'll never tireof. Best mixed with hot water.

A fruity and flowery ginjo aroma meets thedistinctive sweetness and body of rice shochu.
Remarkable balance of the aroma and flavor;
a drink shochu newcomers can casually tossback.

Ingredients: rice, koji
ABV: 28%
Distillation Method: vacuum

Ingredients: rice, rice koji
ABV: 25%
Distillation method: vacuum

Ingredients: rice, rice koji
ABV: 25%
Distillation method: vacuum

Takahashi Shuzo Taragi Distillery
THE HISTORY OFKUMA SHOCHU

Kuma Shochu: Born from the History,
Climate & Culture of Hitoyoshi-Kuma

Abundant Water & Unique Climate
The Kuma Valley is located at the southernmost tip of Kumamoto Prefecture,
deep in the mountains of Kyushu. The
cool waters of the Kuma River—famed for
its rapids—nourish the fields, while thevalley's distinctive climate and significant
temperature variations create one of theprefecture's prime rice-growing areas. Thefrequent dense fog in the region allows
for fermentation and storage at relatively
low temperatures, which helps give Kuma

WHAT ISKUMA SHOCHU?

■ 813 Okuno, Taragi, Kuma-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture■ Tel: 0966-42-2366■ http://www.hakutake.co.jp

Shochu its refreshing aroma. The soft
water from the Kuma River system is ideal
for shochu making and helps enhance
the gentle sweetness of the rice. The richaroma and deep flavor of Kuma Shochu
can only be produced in the HitoyoshiKuma region.

Tradition & Evolution

Rice shochu production in the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region is believed to havestarted about 500 years ago. Distillation

techniques were supposedly brought overthrough trade with southeast and continental Asia. Today, 27 distilleries preserve
the traditional techniques honed by theirpredecessors, offering a variety of flavorsthat have evolved over time.
In 1995, Kuma Shochu was designatedas a Geographical Indication by theNational Tax Agency, establishing it as aworld-class shochu brand and attracting
attention from around the globe.

■ Must be made with rice (including rice koji) grown in Japan■ Mash must be made with Hitoyoshi-Kuma water and shochu must be distilled in a pot still and bottled in Hitoyoshi-Kuma.

You must be �� or older to drink. Do not drink and drive.
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding may aﬀect the development of the fetus or infant.
Drink in moderation. Please recycle.

Upper left: The name "Hakutake" (white peak), comes fromthe Shiragatake mountain range lining the Kumamoto andKagoshima prefectural border. Removing "ga" (meaning "self")from "Shiragatake" signifies an effort to calm the peculiarities offlavor commonly found in the spirit, and thus make a rice shochu
anyone can enjoy. Upper right: The factory houses a research lab
where yeasts are selected and cultivated. Left: During secondary
fermentation, rice is steamed for about one hour and thenundergoes koji processing. Right: The numerous massive storage
tanks lining the factory exterior are quite a sight.

■ TAKAHASHI SHUZO, TARAGI DISTILLERY (Taragi) ■Driving the Kuma Shochu brand:
A distillery continuing to innovate■ HISTORY

Vacuum distillation disruption

Takahashi Shuzo is the distillery thatmade Kuma Shochu a household name not
only in Japan, but throughout the world,
leading the charge with its two major
brands Hakutake and Hakutake Shiro.
Upon its founding in 1900, however, it wassmall in scale and also produced miso andsoy sauce.
Despite its over 100-year-long history ofmaking rice shochu, the turning point forthe distillery didn't come until 1974, when
it installed the revolutionary vacuum distillation stills. Takahashi Shuzo, through trial
and error and with help from various local
companies known to its president andfactory head, was able to develop its ownoriginal vacuum distillation equipment.
The flavor of shochu depends on thelength of the neck on the still, so the distillers repeatedly experimented with this tocreate a suitable spirit, using their top-selling brand at the time, the atmospheric-distilled Ichifusa-no-tsuyu, as a standard ofcomparison.
The appealing new taste born from therapid shift to vacuum distillation led thedistillery to soon dominate the shochu
market. With this, the size of its factory also
increased. Next came Hakutake Shiro,which further redefined how refreshingand easy-to-drink rice shochu could be.

Kuma River groundwater is used in the shochu production. Sacred offerings can be seen all around the distillery, particularly on water pumps and pipes.
They signify the idea that even the best shochu distillers can't make delicious water.

■ ABOUT US

A dedication to fine rice and water

Amid rapid growth due to increased
sales, in 1986, the distillery established theHakutake Shuzo Research Institute inHitoyoshi. An adjacent facility housed thebottling line of Takahashi Shuzo.
The distillery has consistently strived toprotect the traditions of Kuma Shochu
while continuing to innovate. In addition,
its commitment to using rice, a symbol ofJapanese culture, as a key ingredient has
never wavered. Furthermore, Takahashi
Shuzo is making great efforts to develop
new distillation methods and brands,
under the philosophy of using Japaneserice to make shochu, the only distilled
spirit that is quintessentially Japanese.

One such project, which spent three
years in the making, is Hakutake Kaoru.
This spirit is made using a new strain ofyeast, custom cultured as part of the product's development cycle, to provide it witha flowery, ginjo aroma. This all new flavor
and peerless quality is thanks to a new approach to shochu-making that makes nocompromises in ingredients, post-fermentation aging, and distillation management
processes.
Takahashi Shuzo is looking into experimenting outside of the honkaku shochu
space by developing other spirits and whiskeys. This distillery dedicated to fine waterand rice continues to challenge itself.

Bubbles roil tothe surface inside
a secondary preparation tank, giving
visual indicators of
the chemical process
underway. Using
hand-made paddles,
the brewers mix themash of ingredientsby hand for approximately two weeks.

A giant rotating koji production chamber, capableof holding three tons of koji. This facility controls
the temperature and humidity inside, producing
massive amounts of koji. This is just one example of
how mechanization has evolved to maintain quality
at pace with the increase in output.