Japanese brown sugar shochu distillery uses music to create different flavours
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The team behind this 'sonically aged' spirit says the music genres coax different flavours from the spirit, adding a rhythmic twist to the centuries-old island tradition that is gaining fans far beyond Japan.
'When I became the CEO in 2021 after taking over the business from my father, I knew I had to make changes to appeal to a wider range of customers,' says Selena Nishihira, president of Nishihira Distillery on the sun-drenched Amami Oshima, the largest of the Amami Islands.
Made by fermenting boiled-down sugar cane syrup with rice koji, brown sugar shochu is prized for its fragrant, mellow character. It contains no artificial sweeteners or additives.
Selena Nishihira (centre), president of Nishihira Distillery, poses with colleagues at the distillery. Photo: X/kana_sango
Like Japanese sake and whiskey before it, this Kagoshima spirit is being rebranded for international palates as domestic alcohol consumption continues to decline.
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