GOKUJO TSUTSUMI

極上堤

A single cask from Kuma, resting in an Oloroso sherry cask for more than eleven years. GOKUJO TSUTSUMI lets the rice spirit, deep amber colour and cask character remain intact, even when that means sitting outside the usual category for shochu in Japan.

Single cask · long-aged rice spirit

BaseRice spirit

CaskOloroso sherry oak

Maturation11+ years

FormatSingle cask

Alcohol40%

One cask, one expression

A bottling shaped by the barrel

GOKUJO TSUTSUMI is bottled directly from a single cask. Each barrel develops its own colour, aroma and balance, and the bottling carries a cask number rather than being blended into a uniform profile. This is a limited expression in the literal sense: a cask yields only a finite number of bottles.

Time and colour

The choice not to bleach the character away

At least eleven years in Oloroso sherry casks gives the spirit its deep amber-to-dark-brown hue and a layered cask profile. Japanese rules on the colour of honkaku shochu would require a different treatment, so the product is legally classified as a liqueur. The classification protects the cask’s colour and flavour rather than diluting its identity.

At the glass

Rice softness beneath an Oloroso frame

Caramel, vanilla and dried-fruit notes lead toward creamy rice sweetness, gentle spice and a clean, warm finish. The 40% structure carries concentration while retaining the more delicate side of the rice.

Food affinities

Layering the cask’s memory onto the plate

The pairings below are not a combination presented officially by the brewery, but a reading drawn from the aroma and finish characteristics recorded on this page.

A direction that follows the vanilla and dried-fruit cask aromaA baked dessert with dried fruit and nuts, a Japanese sweet made with sugared chestnut or dark brown sugar, and a Thai dessert simmered with tamarind or dried fruit. The sweetness the cask has layered in is matched here with confections carrying the same direction of sweetness.

A direction that follows the creamy sweetness of riceA creamy risotto, a gently seasoned simmered dish finished with white miso, and a Thai curry made with coconut milk. The creamy texture from rice sits alongside the smoothness of dairy fat in the same direction.

A direction that follows the gentle warmth of spiceA baked dessert with cinnamon and nutmeg, a simmered dish with sansho pepper or ginger, and a mildly spiced Thai curry such as panang or massaman. The gentle spice character recorded here meets the spice in these dishes at a similar temperature.

A direction that follows the body and clean finishA grilled steak, Thai-style grilled chicken (gai yang), and a rich grilled fish or eel dish with a glaze. The 40% body is balanced against the weight of these substantial dishes.

This pairing rationale draws on the following reference books: Logical Pairing identifies alcohol content and concentration as elements that build a drink’s weight, and treats matching that weight to the dish as the first step in pairing. Following that idea, Gokujo Tsutsumi’s 40% body and its layered cask aroma tend to sit well alongside dishes with richness or concentrated spice. The Food Pairing Compendium describes something similar: cask-aged spirits tend to connect easily with aroma groups carried by nuts or dried fruit, alongside the sweetness the cask itself contributes.

Pairing guide — Shochu & Selected Spirits

Award record

Award history

2025

TWSC · Superior Gold, Western Spirits OTHER — awarded to Cask No. 130

Awards are presented as competition records for this specific product only; they do not guarantee individual preference or quality.

The producer

Tsutsumi Shuzo in Kuma, since 1878

Tsutsumi Shuzo was founded in 1878 in Asagiri, Kuma, Kumamoto. It is one of the producers associated with the rice-spirit tradition of the Kuma region. GOKUJO TSUTSUMI turns that regional base toward long cask maturation without losing the quieter sweetness of rice.

For restaurants and retailers

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