AWARD : SHOCHU
だいやめ
Imo
Specifications
- Ingredient
- Black koji and sweet potato
- Country
- Japan
- Region
- Kagoshima
- ABV
- 25%
- Volume
- 900 ml
DAIYAME 25
An aromatic expression of honkaku imo shochu, shaped by sweet potato, black koji and a deliberate low-pressure distillation.
A different starting point for sweet potato
DAIYAME 25 begins with Kōjuku-imo: sweet potatoes matured by Hamada Shuzo before they enter the mash. The approach places the raw material, rather than an added flavour, at the centre of the aroma. It is paired with domestically produced rice koji and black koji, then distilled under reduced pressure.
During maturation, aroma compounds in the monoterpene-alcohol family become more pronounced. In the finished shochu, Hamada Shuzo describes a fresh lychee-like character, alongside muscat and elderflower nuances. The profile is an interpretation of sweet potato with a notably lifted, clear aromatic line.
Maturity judged by scent
DAIYAME is made at Denzo-In Distillery in Ichikikushikino, Kagoshima, the innovation-focused distillery within Hamada Shuzo’s three-distillery structure. Founded in 1868, the house introduced DAIYAME in September 2018 to mark its 150th anniversary.
In the production season, the team assesses the maturity of the arriving sweet potatoes by scent. That observation is part of a process designed to respect a variable agricultural material and to carry its aromatic potential faithfully through distillation.
A Kagoshima word, recast as a contemporary expression
The name DAIYAME is drawn from dareyame, a Kagoshima expression associated with pausing and resetting at the close of the day. It gives the bottle a local point of reference without reducing it to a single tasting note or a single occasion.
Denzo-In Distillery received FSSC 22000 certification in 2018, the first shochu distillery in Kagoshima to do so. This is a distillery-level food-safety certification, not a product certification; it belongs to the production environment in which DAIYAME is made.
Delicate dishes for a bright, clear line
What is recorded above is a core of fresh lychee, touched with nuances of muscat grape and elderflower — a bright, clear line of aroma. The impression of sweet potato is drawn through transparency rather than weight. What follows are four directions that follow that clear aroma. They are not pairings the distillery states officially.
Food-pairing theory records that ester aromas close to lychee and muscat grape often align at a molecular level with delicate seafood and floral aromas.
Two documented international distinctions
ISC 2020Double Gold
