KODAI-IKKO

古代一壷

KODAI-IKKO is built around rice spirits that have spent eleven years or more in oak. The time gives its Kuma shochu foundation a deeper amber register while keeping rice and cask in deliberate balance.

Oak-cask-aged Kuma rice shochu

OriginKuma GI rice shochu

BaseJapanese rice

MaturationOak casks · 11+ years

ProfileRice and cask in balance

Alcohol38%

Aged components

Eleven years and beyond

KODAI-IKKO brings together long-aged rice spirits, with an eleven-year-or-more oak-cask component at its centre. Maturation supplies the amber hue and composed length, but the starting point remains the rice distillate of Kuma.

Direct recognition

Records attached to this product

KODAI-IKKO received TWSC Highest Gold in 2020 and 2021.

Award record

2020

TWSC · Highest Gold — KODAI-IKKO

2021

TWSC · Highest Gold — KODAI-IKKO

The award record shown is specific to this product; it does not guarantee individual preference or quality.

Food affinities

Balance and quiet, matched

The record for this bottle shows an amber depth from more than eleven years of cask aging, a balance between rice and cask, and a settled finish that does not assert itself. The page does not state a specific aroma as a confirmed fact, so no aroma note is claimed here. Instead, the four directions below are built around the recorded qualities of “balance” and “quiet” as texture, not aroma. These are not pairings the maker has stated officially; they are a reading of the recorded characteristics.

A balanced core, matched with red meatBraised beef cheek in red wine, gyuniku shigureni (beef simmered in ginger and soy), Panang beef curry. The richness of slow-cooked red meat sits at the same weight as this balanced, restrained core.

Amber depth, matched with a seared edgeGrilled lamb chop, unagi kabayaki (grilled eel glazed in sweet soy), gai yang (Thai grilled chicken). The char of a seared edge echoes the depth suggested by the amber color.

A quiet finish, matched with a round brothVichyssoise, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), tom kha gai (chicken and coconut soup). A smooth, round mouthfeel matches the texture of this quiet, settled finish.

Rice sweetness, matched with nutty richnessRoquefort and walnut salad, walnut and miso dengaku, satay moo (pork skewers with peanut sauce). The richness and sweetness of nuts sit in the same direction as the sweetness carried by the rice.

In approaches that match the weight and texture of a dish to a drink, slow-cooked dishes and dishes with a richer fat content are said to find harmony when placed next to a drink of similar weight. Unlike wine or sake, shochu carries little assertion from the five basic tastes, which is one reason it is often described as a spirit that sits alongside a dish’s structure rather than covering it. For this bottle as well, the directions here were built on the recorded quality of “balance” as texture, rather than on aroma.

Pairing guide — Shochu & Selected Spirits

The producer

Kuma, Kumamoto — Rokuchoshi Distillery

Rokuchoshi Distillery works in Kuma, Kumamoto, where rice distillates carry the Kuma GI. Its aged expressions use time in oak as a continuation of the base spirit, not as an ornament placed over it.

For restaurants and retailers

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