Aged three years in barrels, Kurouma Kunteki from Kagura Shuzo in Miyazaki comes in a beautiful glass bottle, with a flip top stopper that accentuates its honey/straw color. Kagura Shuzo specializes in barrel-aged shochu, with over 3,000 casks in their underground storage facility in Takachiho, Miyazaki. They char the inside of their casks every three batches to ensure aging imparts maximum flavor, important given that shochu can rarely be aged longer than a few years given the restrictions on color. Kurouma Kunteki is full of vanilla and oak on the nose, but is far smoother on the palate than whiskey, giving off notes of caramel and the sweetness/savoriness of the barley koji. Kagura Shuzo has optimised Kunteki’s ABV at 28%, slightly higher than the regular 25%, and so it’s wonderful on the rocks or with a bit of water.
JC 10/21: My third time trying the Kunteki, and it doesn’t disappoint. The sweetness of the 100% barley ingredients without the 40% ABV bite of whiskey allows this to be enjoyed by a far wider range of drinkers. Try it mizuwari with yakitori or fried food; it brings a sweet richness that really shines with fatty foods. With ice, it becomes downright quaffable, and at $250 a bottle (at Ippai-ya), please feel free. Highly recommended at that price 9/10
Additional:
Kagura shuzo produces a wide range of shochu, many of which are available at Sake Central and Ippai-ya (Mira Place 1, part of Genki Ippai). We have enjoyed their Tensonkourin (天孫降臨) imo shochu as well as their aged soba shochu Tenso (天照). Definitely check out their other products.
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