Kuroki Honten Distillery

Kuroki Hoten has been producing shochu since 1885. They have established themselves as forerunner of craft distilling and are responsible for some of the most widely loved artisanal brands in the country like “NakaNaka” as well as the cult classic “Hyakunen no Kodoku” (“One Hundred Years of Solitude”) that broke new ground as a full bodied, 80 proof barley shochu aged in oak barrels, bringing what had been a simple regional spirit to new levels of expression.

The company motto “shochu-making is agriculture” informs everything they do. They take great pride in growing almost all of the ingredients for their shochu themselves on 20 hectares, and using no chemical fertilizers or presticides. Even using the byproducts of shochu distillation are repurposed into fertilizer to feed the fields and continue the cycle. Each shochu they produce retains the true character of the base ingredients and natural flavors of the Miyazaki soil and landscape they come from.