iichiko Saiten

iichiko Saiten

Situated in the Oita Prefecture on Japan's southernmost island of Kyushu, iichiko produces shochu, a traditional Japanese spirit. The operation employs cutting-edge technology in making its award-winning spirits. But it's also the environment that contributes to the quality of the product. The region is famous for its clean air, forests, and mountains, as well as spings. The water iichiko uses is naturally filtered through volcanic rock and is soft and iron-free. "iichiko" means "it's great" in the local Oita dialect. The distillery was formed in 1958 and produced sake, wine, and shochu. The very first iichiko shochu to be made from barley was released in 1979. Since then the company has become one of the leading Japanese producers of barley shochu. While shochu is most commonly distilled from rice, iichiko Saiten is crafted from polished 100% two-row barley, making it a distant cousin of whisky. It's a Honkaku shochu, meaning it's the highest grade of the spirit and one that utilizes a single ingredient. No additives or sweeteners are added and the pristine water is filtered through 1,000 feet of volcanic rock. The barley is steeped in this water before being steamed and left to ferment using koji, a type of mold that kickstarts the process of converting starch to sugar. It is then distilled once using low pressure and atmospheric distillation before the two raw distillates are blended together. The iichiko Saiten expression is bottled at a higher 86 proof and is a full-flavored and complex shochu that was crafted to work particularly well in cocktails.