Batsugun Shochu's Selection

FLAGSHIP PRODUCTS

KU MA SHOCHU - WORLD -RENOW NED PREMIUM SPIRIT

Batsugun Shuzo
抜群酒造

Aged shochu long-matured
in ﬂavorful casks

A ﬂavor you'll never tire of,day in, day out

Proudly rich and ﬂavorfulatmospheric-distilled shochu

JUKUKA BATSUGUNBATSUGUN

KURO KOJI BATSUGUN

Refreshing aged shochu matured in
ex-sherry casks. Sweet with a great aroma.
Can be enjoyed straight, on the rocks, ormixed with cold or hot water.

Batsugun’s flagship vacuum-distilledshochu. Made with white koji for a gentle
flavor that makes for a great evening tipple.
Great on the rocks, mixed with cold or hotwater, or mixed with oolong tea.

Atmospheric-distilled shochu fermented
with black koji. Enjoyable depth and richness.
Traditionally enjoyed warm, but also greatwith hot or cold water or on the rocks.

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

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

Ingredients: rice, rice koji
ABV: 25%
Distillation method: atmosphericBatsugun Shuzo
THE HISTORY OF
KUMA SHOCHUKuma 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. The
frequent dense fog in the region allows
for fermentation and storage at relatively
low temperatures, which helps give Kuma

WHAT ISKUMA SHOCHU?

■ 1662 Kurohiji, Taragi, Kuma-gun, Kumamoto Prefecture■ Tel: 0966-42-2172■ http://www.batsugun-syuzou.com/

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 chimney to the rear of the distillery
was supposedly in use until the 1960s.
Upper right: Ex-sherry casks, most of which weremade in southern Europe, are used for aging.
Left: Bottles are reused for Batsugun shochu.
This kind of recycling is well-established in thecommunity.
Right: Making koji requires precise temperature
control.

■ BATSUGUN SHUZO (Taragi) ■Diligently making shochu you'll
want to end every day with
■ HISTORY

Breaking away from the pack

"We chose this name because we wantto make high-quality shochu that's leagues
ahead of the rest.”
These are the words of Tatsuhiko Nishi,
the third president of Batsugun. It was
his grandfather Tsuneichi, a leader offorestry and agriculture, who entered
the packed world of shochu in 1923 tocompete with the over 50 other breweries
in the Hitoyoshi-Kuma area. At the time,industry modernization brought along adramatic increase in lumber demand forcoal mining timbers, railroad ties, pulpfor paper, utility poles, and more. Amidst
this, the town of Taragi became a lumber
hub in Hitoyoshi-Kuma, attracting people,commerce, and capital. Shochu became
the go-to way to welcome these newcomers.
Although sweet potato shochu flourished after the war due to rice shortages,
the past 50 years were dominated by rice

shochu. The desire of Batsugun’s founderto create delicious rice shochu is carefully
preserved to this day.
Since installing a vacuum distiller in the1970s, over 90% of Batsugun’s shochu isvacuum distilled. Souvenir shops have contributed greatly to sales. Sweet cask-aged
shochu sold in tokkuri carafes are available
in souvenir shops throughout the prefecture and are popular with tourists.

Left: An old town road runs through the property. Center: A store beloved by the locals. Shochu available for purchase here. Right: For generations,Batsugun's style has been to try new things. Even the stone koji room has been removed.

■ ABOUT US

Anything and everything for quality
Although most distilleries in Hitoyoshi-Kuma make shochu in the coldest
period of winter, Batsugun also makes
batches in spring and fall, as well. Batsugun focuses on koji production as they
believe it is critical to making good shochu
when using vacuum distillation. To thatend, instead of using a traditional stone
koji room, they use automated equipment
to make sure the koji is consistent. The
temperature can't go below 15°C even in
the middle of the night, or else the kojimold will not fully propagate throughout
the rice.
The type of koji mold used depends
on what product it will be used for. Thevacuum-distilled Batsugun is 100% whitekoji mold, and the atmospheric-distilled
Kuro Koji Batsugun uses the Kawachi NK
black koji mold. To take advantage of theindividuality each koji brings to the product, Batsugun spares no effort to makekoji that will produce savory, sweet, androbust shochus.
Batsugun’s goal: a shochu that you
want to end every day with and will never
get tired of. To achieve this, they strive toincrease quality, but they also must work
equally hard to balance the cost. To keep
customers coming back, they make sure
to make delicious shochu that isn't too expensive. In this way, they work ceaselessly
to achieve their ideal shochu.

Batsugun uses
new equipment andputs great effort
into koji and fermentation so that they
can bring out sweetand savory flavors intheir shochu.

Batsugun protects the environment with a mind for
careful use of limited resources because their shochu
ingredients and employees benefit from nature'sgifts. They hold over 10 workshops a year with local
kids, where they clean and recycle collected bottles,
and they also occasionally hold shochu education
classes for kids.