Making Otogo Shochu
Fast-flowing water from the beautiful mountains in Kumamoto creates the River Kuma. Groundwater from this river, which is said to be the clearest river in Japan, and extreme temperature conditions in the region are key to authentic Kuma Shochu.  The Tsutsumi distillation process uses water from the River Kuma and only Japanese rice. Tsutsumi distillation makes no compromises and through the passion, skill and experience of its distillers the unique flavour in Otogo Shochu is born. The distilled liquor is left to mature for around a year, creating a deep and complex flavour (“umami”), becoming more mellow as it matures. 
Just like Japanese sake, Otogo Shochu is made by first converting the starch in rice to sugar, so the fermentation process can begin. ‘Koji’, a naturally occurring aspergillus fungus, does this essential task. This is the same magical ingredient of soy sauce, miso and sake and adds an extra dimension to the drink's finish that the Japanese know as' umami' or the 'essence of deliciousness'. Koji also has many reputed health and nutritional benefits. Yeast live in the Kura (“distillery”), where decades of shochu making have left the very fabric of the Tsutsumi distillery’s plant and buildings as a ‘mini yeast eco-system’, imparting its own unique identity into the products produced there. Like many other premium spirits, with craft shochus, the more they age, the smoother they taste.  You could say, ‘time’ is essential to bring out the hidden tastes of shochu – ‘all good things come to those who wait’.