HAKKAISAN Kasu-tori Shochu Yoroshiku Senman Arubeshi

八海山本格粕取り焼酎宜有千萬

Fresh sake lees are distilled at low temperature, then allowed at least three years of time before bottling. This 40% kasu-tori shochu carries the aromatic logic of sake brewing into a more concentrated, calmly matured expression.

Three-year ginjo kasu-tori shochu · 40%

StyleGinjo kasu-tori honkaku shochu

MaterialFresh sake lees

DistillationVacuum

Maturation3+ years

Alcohol40%

Sake lees, not a generic base

A dedicated kasu-tori expression

This expression is distilled from fresh sake lees of honjozo grade or above. Vacuum distillation keeps the process at lower temperature, giving the aromatic side of the lees space before the spirit enters its three-year-or-more maturation.

Award history

Recognition specific to the 40% kasu-tori

The product has direct records including TWSC Highest Gold in 2022, TWSC Hall of Fame in 2023 and Kura Master Platinum with Jury Prize in 2022. These are listed as factual competition records for this 40% kasu-tori expression.

Award record

2022

TWSC · Highest Gold — 40% kasu-tori shochu

2022

Kura Master · Platinum and Jury Prize

2023

TWSC · Hall of Fame

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

Food affinities

Four directions shaped by sake-lees concentration

This page does not include specific aroma or flavour descriptions. What is recorded is production information — the raw material (fresh sake lees only), the distillation method, ageing of three years or more, and a design approach described as carefully drawing out aroma. What follows is a reading of food affinities in four directions, built from these production characteristics — not a pairing recommendation issued by the brewery itself.

Concentration meeting umamiAnchovy and black olive canapes, salted fermented squid (shiokara), and nam prik — a Thai dip built on fermented shrimp paste — carry concentrated umami, a weight that follows from a spirit distilled from sake lees alone.

Three years, matched to a long simmerCoq au vin, simmered beef tendon in miso, and gaeng hang lay — a northern Thai pork curry slow-braised with herbs — are all dishes built over long cooking times, a direction that follows the three-plus years this spirit has spent ageing.

Aroma supporting the dishAn arrabbiata pasta with chilli, yuzu-kosho-seasoned charcoal-grilled chicken, and gaeng pa — a fiery Thai curry made without coconut milk — bring spice to the front; a shochu designed around drawing out its own aroma sits alongside without competing with the ingredients themselves.

Concentration meeting a roasted finishA creme brulee with its caramelised top, miso-glazed grilled tofu, and khanom krok — a Thai coconut snack cooked until lightly browned — share a roasted, sweet-savoury finish, a weight that follows the concentrated character of this spirit.

This pairing rationale draws on the following reference book: Shochu is described as rarely interfering with a dish’s own taste, and a more concentrated spirit is said to match well with dishes built over a long simmer (Logical Pairing). The directions above were built from the confirmed production detail of ageing three years or more from sake lees alone.

Pairing guide — Shochu & Selected Spirits

The producer

Minamiuonuma, Niigata — Hakkaisan Brewery

Hakkaisan Brewery was founded in 1922 in Minamiuonuma, Niigata. Its Fukasawahara Distillery brings brewing methods from sake into its shochu: yellow koji, sake yeast, staged mashing and sake lees are used differently across the three distinct expressions shown here.

For restaurants and retailers

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