Mugishiru Wins the President’s Prize at Kura Master 2026｜Grain and Toasted Bread Aromas

Mugishiru, a barley shochu made by Toyonaga Shuzo (Toyonaga Distillery) in Kumamoto Prefecture, has received the President’s Prize, the highest distinction in the Honkaku Shochu & Awamori Competition at Kura Master 2026. The jury chair described aromas reminiscent of grain and toasted bread. The award offers an opportunity to explore how barley becomes shochu through the producer’s work.

From the Barley Shochu Category to the President’s Prize

Kura Master is a competition held in France for Japanese alcoholic beverages. The judging panel for honkaku shochu and awamori includes bartenders, sommeliers, and specialist drinks retailers. The 2026 evaluation took place in Paris on April 27.

Mugishiru received a Platinum Award in the Barley Shochu category and was selected for the category’s Jury Prize. It then received the President’s Prize.

The Jury Prize recognizes the top entry in each of eight categories. From these eight winners, the jury chair selects one expression for the President’s Prize. Following its recognition in the Barley Shochu category, Mugishiru was chosen for the highest award across the Honkaku Shochu & Awamori Competition.

“Toasted Bread” as a Language of Aroma

The jury chair of the Honkaku Shochu & Awamori Competition described Mugishiru as having aromas reminiscent of grain and toasted bread.

Such descriptions connect aroma with familiar foods. Thinking of the surface of toasted bread makes the character easier to imagine than a broad term such as “roasted.” Familiar food references can also help people share an understanding of aroma across languages and cultures.

To understand how Mugishiru is made, we can turn to its ingredients and production methods.

Barley Koji, Atmospheric Distillation, and an Unfiltered Finish

Mugishiru’s grain ingredient is 100% Japanese-grown naked barley, a type of barley whose outer husk separates easily from the grain. The barley koji used for Mugishiru is also made from naked barley.

Barley koji is steamed barley on which koji mold has been cultivated. Enzymes produced by the mold convert starch into sugars, a process called saccharification. Yeast converts these sugars into alcohol through fermentation. In barley shochu production, these two processes take place alongside each other in the moromi, a mash containing barley, koji, and water.

The fermented mash is then heated, and the resulting vapor is cooled back into liquid. This is distillation. Toyonaga Shuzo produces Mugishiru through atmospheric distillation, which takes place at normal atmospheric pressure without lowering the pressure inside the still. The mash is heated at a higher temperature than in vacuum distillation. This method is generally associated with fuller aromas and flavors in shochu.

The producer also makes choices about how to finish the spirit. Toyonaga Shuzo explains that Mugishiru is finished without filtration to retain its aroma. An unfiltered finish means that the spirit is not filtered after distillation.

The producer selects the grain, ferments it, distills the mash, and considers how to retain aroma during finishing. Following Mugishiru’s production reveals how several stages contribute to the character of its aroma.

A Barley Spirit from a Rice Shochu Distillery

Toyonaga Shuzo traces its origins to 1894, when founder Tsurumatsu Toyonaga established the distillery in Yunomae, in Kumamoto Prefecture’s Kuma district. From its earliest days, the distillery owned rice fields and made rice shochu using rice it grew itself.

While continuing this rice shochu tradition, Toyonaga Shuzo also produces spirits from barley. Mugishiru is one expression of that work. Bacchus Global, an alcoholic beverage importer and distributor based in Bangkok, carries MUGISHIRU (麦汁) at 25% alcohol by volume.

The President’s Prize is accompanied by a concrete assessment of aromas reminiscent of grain and toasted bread. The jury chair’s wording shows how Mugishiru’s aroma was assessed. Its recognition offers a starting point for learning about Japanese barley shochu through its ingredients, production methods, and the language used to describe its aroma.

Related article

• Two Paths from a Single Grain: Barley Shochu and Malt Whisky

Related product information

• MUGISHIRU Unfiltered Craft Shochu

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This article explores the distillation techniques, cultural heritage and Kura Master 2026 recognition of Toyonaga Distillery and MUGISHIRU. It does not promote the purchase or consumption of alcohol. Intended for readers aged 20 and over.

บทความนี้นำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับเทคนิคการกลั่น มรดกทางวัฒนธรรม และรางวัลจาก Kura Master 2026 ของ Toyonaga Distillery และ MUGISHIRU มิได้มีเจตนาส่งเสริมการซื้อหรือการบริโภคเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้อ่านที่มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป