• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Japan Distilled logo in black.

Japan Distilled

Home of the Japan Distilled Podcast

  • Home
  • Podcast Episodes
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Funky Sanaburi Shochu (Ep. 57)

April 25, 2023 · Leave a Comment

Episode Intro

In episode 57 of the Japan Distilled podcast, your host Stephen Lyman is joined by author and podcaster Jim Rion for a deep dive on sanaburi shochu, one of the original forms of kasutori shochu.

CREDITS

Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyrobotpodcast.com/)

HOSTS

STEPHEN LYMAN discovered Japan’s indigenous spirits at an izakaya in New York City. He was so enthralled that he now lives in Japan and works in a tiny craft shochu distillery every autumn. His first book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks, was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Award.

JIM RION moved to Yamaguchi Prefecture almost 20 years ago and has since become both an ambassador for the area and also an unquestioned expert in all things Yamaguchi booze. He’s the co-host of the Sake Deep Dive podcast and recently published his first book, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake: a taster’s guide to Breweries, Culture, and Terrain.

Cover for Jim’s book, released in February 2023.

Stephen and Jim bonded over sanaburi shochu exploration.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, please reach out to Stephen or Jim via Twitter. We would love to hear from you. 

Show Notes

We first introduced kasutori shochu in episode 17 where we did touch briefly on sanaburi shochu, also known as sanabori shochu. To get some background, please listen to that episode before this one if you haven’t already.

In this episode, Jim Rion joins Stephen to dig into perhaps the most traditional style of kasutori shochu, sanaburi shochu, which dates back to the Edo period when sake lees were distilled to remove the residual alcohol so the lees could safely be used as fertilizer.

Today sanaburi shochu is classified as seichou kasutori shochu, which would be literally translated as “orthodox sake lees shochu” referring specifically to the fact that this is a very traditional production method. The lees, which are solids, are mixed with the hulls of threshed rice to create space to allow steam to pass through the lees.

Sake lees being mixed with rice hulls at Morinokura Brewery in Fukuoka.

This mixture is placed into a traditdional seirou mushi still, which is a large wooden structure in which steam is passed through to evaporate the alcohol, which is re-condensed when it hits a large metal cauldron on top that is filled with cold water.

The seirou mushi still being prepped for a distillation run. Sake lees are used to seal the gaps in the wooden still to prevent loss of yield.

This style of kasutori shochu was originally associated with a Shinto ritual, which is where the sanabori/sanaburi name came from. This is believed to have originated at the Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine in Central Fukuoka Prefecture and the production style is still associated with the region.

In fact, the 4 brands that are still sold commercially are all concentrated in western Honshu (Yamaguchi and Shimane) or northen Kyushu (Fukuoka and Saga). However, during the Edo era when there was a push to increase rice production due to a growing population, sanaburi shochu was being made all across Japan to produce fertilizer with the shochu being a byproduct.

Due to the rustic distilling methods, the drink itself is heavily grain or cereal forward with plenty of umami and lots of funk. Not for the faint of heart.

Current Brands

Today we are only aware of 5 brands on the market being made by 4 different sake breweries. Perhaps the most famous and the one with the highest annual production (about 1,500 bottles) is Yaku Dou Kabuto from Morinokura Brewery in Jojima, Fukouka. This brand is produced two weeks a year during the spring and is then rested for 12-13 years before release. It’s bottled at full proof (usually around 35% ABV). The first bottling was the 2002 vintage.

Yaku Dou Kabto 2002 vintage. Just 98 bottles were produced.

Morinokura also makes the Hitachiyama brand, which is a bit more affordable and not aged quite so long.

Hitachiyama from Morinokura.

The other Kyushu based brand is Yamafuru from Narutaki Brewery in Karatsu, Saga, which is bottled at 25% ABV. We are uncertain how long it is aged before bottling.

yamafuru sanaburi shochu
Yamafuru with a graphic of the still design.

Up in Yamaguchi, where Jim lives, Sakai Brewery produces the Nishikigawa brand in stealth baby blue packaging. Not the flavor profile we would expect with this bottling.

Nishikigawa from Sakai Brewery in Yamaguchi.

Finally, in Shimane Prefecture, Toyonoaki Brewery makes the Shippo sanaburi shochu, but it is so rare that the only pictures available online are from the brewery website’s product page.

More to Explore

This is, of course, a very unusual shochu style and not only is not much produced, it’s hard to find. If you track some down, please let us know what you think!

KANPAI!

Podcast

Follow Japan’s Spirits

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

japandistilled

Episode 54 tackles the topic of dilution in spirit Episode 54 tackles the topic of dilution in spirits. With the obsession with cask strength something may be lost. And that is the texture that can be brought to a spirit with really nice spring water, which is abundant in Japan. Cheers!
Episodes 52 & 53 were a 2 part episode on the life Episodes 52 & 53 were a 2 part episode on the life and legacy of Jokichi Takamine, easily the most influential Japanese immigrant to ever inhabit America. @altmattalt & @shochu_danji cover Takamine’s life from his early days in Japan to his fateful trip to New Orleans to his life in Chicago and then New York. If you flip through these you’ll see some of the places he lived from Denis House in NOLA to @sho_fu_den in the Catskills to his current resting place in @thewoodlawncemetery in the Bronx. We are obsessed with this man. No doubt. 

Why is a Japanese spirits podcast obsessed? Because he was the first Japanese person to ever make whisky. A full generation before Taketsuru. Takamine was the OG.
Episode 51 was about a year of drinking less dange Episode 51 was about a year of drinking less dangerously. @shochu_danji and @christopherpellegrini discuss mindful drinking and how to pace yourself. One way, of course, is copious amounts of hydration. Drinking other fluids helps slow you down. Another is to drink premium products and savor them for what they are rather than rushing through as many glasses as possible. One great drink is worth far more than many lesser ones. Kanpai!
Episode 50 was our 1st ever Q&A episode. You can t Episode 50 was our 1st ever Q&A episode. You can trust us, we’re authors. Have a listen in your podcast feed if you haven’t already. Our next Q&A episode will probably be at the end of 2024 so you’ve got plenty of time to get your questions submitted. 

Rare photo of us together during a joint book signing @tales_of_the_cocktail #totc2023

📸 @gigi_gaoyang
Event Alert! Our first ever in-person Japan Dist Event Alert! 

Our first ever in-person Japan Distilled whisky tasting. Come out to Travel Bar in Brooklyn this Thursday 7/20 6-8pm to meet our co-hosts, sample some 8 & 16 year old Takamine Koji Whiskey, and try our favorite Takamine cocktail from one of our favorite bartenders, Jane Nam. 

Come on out and lift a glass to the most epic Japanese human to ever live in America. 

Tickets available through eventbrite (link in profile). 

#whisky #whiskey #whiskytasting #brooklyn #travelbar #kojiwhisky #kojiwhiskey #koji #takaminewhiskey #japandistilled #podcast #podcastlife
Stephen reporting live from @shochu_fes 2023 in Fu Stephen reporting live from @shochu_fes 2023 in Fukuoka!
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Never miss a new episode. Subscribe now

Japan Distilled

Copyright © 2023 · Log in