Awamori

File:Awamori at Miyakojima01s3s4500.jpg

Awamori owes its existence to Okinawa's trading history. It originates from the Thai drink lao khao.{{cite book|last=Nakasone|first=Ronald Y.|title=Okinawan diaspora|year=2002|publisher=University of Hawaii Press}} The technique of distilling reached Ryukyu Kingdom, today's Okinawa,{{Cite web |title=Tracing the Roots of Awamori |url=https://visitokinawajapan.com/travel-inspiration/the-roots-of-awamori/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Visit Okinawa Japan {{!}} Official Okinawa Travel Guide |language=}} from the Ayutthaya Kingdom (roughly present-day Thailand) in the 15th century, a time when Okinawa served as a major trading intermediary between Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. All awamori is made from Thai (indica) rice. The Okinawans refined the distillation process, incorporating techniques from nearby countries, making it more suitable for the subtropical climate and incorporating the unique local black koji mold. From the 15th to 19th century, awamori was sent as a tribute to Okinawa's powerful neighbors, to the shogun during the Edo period, and was served to show hospitality to envoys from China. Strict control for the production and sale of awamori was implemented by the Ryukyu government, which only allowed the upper classes consumption and serving overseas dignitaries, including Commodore Matthew C. Perry.{{Cite web |title=Entertaining Honored Guests |url=https://www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db/common/001561783.pdf |website=mlit.go.jp}}{{Cite web |last=Hagio |first=Toshiaki |date=31 March 2016 |title=泡盛今昔 |url=https://www.isc.senshu-u.ac.jp/~thb0309/OishiiOkinawa/awamorikonjaku0329.pdf |access-date=14 February 2025 |website=isc.senshu-u.ac.jp |pages=14, 29 |language=Japanese}}{{Cite web |last= |date=6 December 2024 |title=ペリー提督一行も味わった泡盛「醸造古く、まろやか」酒宴の記述 ユネスコ無形遺産登録 |url=https://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/culture/entry-3727735.html |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Ryukyu Shimpo |language=ja}}

Before April 1983, awamori was labelled as a second class shochu; it is now labelled as "authentic awamori".

In 2017,{{Cite web|url=http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/2017/01/14/26317/|title=3 Okinawan liquor makers hold strategy meeting with foreign marketing specialists to develop the "Awamori Brand"|website=Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-26}} facing declining sales in the home market, three of Okinawa's prominent awamori distilleries combined their efforts to introduce awamori to overseas markets, specifically to the US and Europe.{{Cite news|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/10/12/national/public-private-sectors-push-revive-okinawas-struggling-awamori-industry/|title=Public and private sectors push to revive Okinawa's struggling awamori industry|date=2018-10-12|work=The Japan Times Online|access-date=2019-08-26|language=en-US|issn=0447-5763}} The product, branded Ryukyu 1429, made its UK debut in June 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019070201379/japanese-awamori-spirits-draw-attention-at-london-show.html|title=Japanese Awamori Spirits Draw Attention at London Show|date=2019-07-02|website=nippon.com|language=en|access-date=2019-08-26|archive-date=2020-11-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116151242/https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2019070201379/japanese-awamori-spirits-draw-attention-at-london-show.html|url-status=dead}}

Although awamori is a distilled rice liquor, it differs from Japanese shochu in several ways. Awamori is made in a single fermentation while shochu usually uses two fermentations. Furthermore, awamori uses Thai-style, long-grained Indica crushed rice rather than the short-grained Japonica usually used in shochu production.{{Cite book|title=Drinking Japan : a guide to Japan's best drinks and drinking establishments|last1=Chris.|first1=Bunting|last2=クリス・バンティング.|date=2011|publisher=Tuttle Pub|isbn=9784805310540|location=Tokyo|oclc=654312874}} Finally, awamori exclusively uses black koji mold (Aspergillus luchuensis) indigenous to Okinawa, while Japanese shochu uses white (A. luchuensis var. kawachii), black (Aspergillus awamori), and yellow (Aspergillus oryzae) koji molds.{{cite web|url=https://academic.oup.com/bbb/article/86/5/574/6541844|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409115821/https://academic.oup.com/bbb/article/86/5/574/6541844|title=The white koji fungus Aspergillus luchuensis mut. kawachii. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, Volume 86, Issue 5|author=Taiki Futagami|pages=574–584|publisher= Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry|archive-date=9 April 2023|access-date=9 April 2023}}

Image:Taragawa Cellar.jpg, Okinawa]]

When awamori is aged for three years or more, it is called {{nihongo|kusu|古酒|| "old liquor"}}. This pronunciation, which derives from Okinawan, is unique to awamori; elsewhere in Japan, the word is pronounced "koshu" and refers to aged sake.{{cite web |url=http://sake-world.com//?s=awamori |author=John Gauntner |publisher=Sake World |title=Shochu & Awamori |year=2004 |access-date=2016-11-06| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101129065113/http://sake-world.com/html/shochu-awamori.html| archive-date= 29 November 2010 | url-status= live}} Legally, in order to earn the designation "kusu", the awamori must be aged for a minimum of three years. If a specific age is noted, then all of the contents must be of at least that age. Awamori is aged underground in constant cool temperatures in clay pots or vases. Containers of awamori can be found in the caves of Okinawa.

Before the Battle of Okinawa during World War II, 200- and even 300-year-old kusu existed, but most of the oldest kusu were lost in the battle.{{Cite web |title=沖縄で現存する最古１５０年物の泡盛古酒を訪ねた |url=https://ryukyushimpo.jp/style/article/entry-793755.html |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=琉球新報 Style |language=ja}} However, the Shikina Distillery in Shuri own 100- and 150-year old kusu which are thought to be to be the oldest surviving.{{Cite web |title=沖縄最古の泡盛 |url=http://www.shikinashuzo.com/old/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=沖縄泡盛酒造所 有限会社 識名酒造 - 古風味豊かな琉球泡盛「時雨」・「歓」 |language=ja}} There are ongoing attempts to once again produce 200- and 300- year old kusu.{{Cite web |title=古酒とは {{!}} 古酒は沖縄の宝 {{!}} 現存する最古の古酒は？ |url=https://okinawa-awamori.or.jp/kusu/heirloom/oldest/Array |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=琉球泡盛 |language=ja-JP }}{{Dead link|date=September 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

On Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, the three distilleries of Donan, Yonaguni and Maifuna produce a variant of awamori called {{nihongo||花酒|hanazake}}, lit. "flower liquor", which has an alcohol content of 60%. Originally intended for religious ceremonies, hanazake is traditionally consumed straight.

The earliest known use of the term {{Nihongo|2=泡盛|3=awamori}} is in a 1671 record of a gift from King Shō Tei of the Ryukyu Kingdom to the fourth shōgun, Tokugawa Ietsuna. Awamori was sent as a gift to the shogunate prior to 1671, but it was recorded as shōchū (焼酒 or 焼酎) in earlier records.{{Cite web |title=泡盛とは {{!}} 泡盛基礎知識 {{!}} 泡盛の名前の由来 |url=https://okinawa-awamori.or.jp/awamori/knowledge/name/ |access-date=2022-06-27 |website=琉球泡盛 |language=ja-JP}}

Several explanations exist for the etymology of the word awamori. The Okinawan historian Iha Fuyū believed that the name derives from the word for {{Nihongo|millet|粟|awa}}, compounded with a verb-derived noun meaning {{Nihongo|"heaped amount; serving"|盛り|mori}}. On this theory, the word was recorded incorrectly with the first character as {{Nihongo|"bubble, foam"|泡|awa}} rather than the character for {{Nihongo|millet|粟|awa}}. Millet was a raw material used to make awamori at the time that the word was first used.

Another hypothesis is that the name comes from a method that was used in the past for assessing the quality of distilled liquors. This method was to slowly pour the liquor from a small bowl held in one hand into an empty bowl held in the other hand about one foot below. The desired result was for a large number of small {{nihongo|bubbles |泡|awa}} to {{nihongo|rise and swell|盛|mori}} in the lower bowl as the liquor is poured into it. Longer-lasting bubbles were also seen as desirable.

{{portal|Drink}}

• Habushu
• List of rice beverages

{{reflist}}

• Okinawa Prefectural Government, "Awamori", Okinawa: Cultural Promotion Division, Okinawa Tourism and Cultural Affairs Bureau, 1996.

• [https://www.sippingliquor.com/what-is-awamori What is Awamori?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221000131/https://www.sippingliquor.com/what-is-awamori/ |date=2019-02-21 }}
• [https://www.ryukyu1429.com RYUKYU1429 Awamori] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615024820/https://ryukyu1429.com/ |date=2022-06-15 }}

{{Commons category|Awamori}}

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Category:Rice drinks

Category:Japanese distilled drinks

Category:Okinawan cuisine

Category:Japanese drinks