“Out of the finest ingredients comes the finest flavor.”
And those finest ingredients rely on the local environment,
just as Kirishima Shuzo’s production of shochu relies on protecting the bounty of our local climate and culture.
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Sweet potatoes
Rich in starch, the Kogane-Sengan sweet potato is ideal for making our sweet potatoes -based shochu.
Our efforts to research, disseminate and promote virus-free seedling varieties continue unabated.
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Water
Kirishima Rekka-sui is water that has accumulated in natural aquifers nearly 100 meters underground.
Over time, rains that fall on the Kirishima mountain range filter through these aquifers to become clear, cold groundwater.
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Koji
The koji (koji mold and rice mixture), is said to have the greatest effect on the taste of shochu.
Through proprietary research, we have established our own method of producing the koji that creates a better-tasting shochu.
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Recycling
Protecting the bounty of nature.
At Kirishima Shuzo, we recycle the shochu lees and sweet potatoes leavings that are the byproducts of shochu production.
These generate biogas equivalent to the energy (electricity) needed to power about 12,000 households a day.
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Power generation
From biogas generated through recycling, we generate electrical power equivalent to about 2,000 households.
We also run a power generation business in which part of that electrical power is provided to power companies.Our goal is to make effective use of our sweet potato resources without increasing our environmental impact, helping to revitalize our communities.
The Culture