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imo

Day 15: A Full Day’s Work

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I was up at 6am to wash the sweet potatoes – all 900 kg this time. Each basket of imo are put into a washing machine for 90 seconds. The timer will tell you how long it takes for you to load your next basket. When I first started I was hovering around 60 seconds to make the transition – get the washed imo out and put the next basket of dirty imo in. Today I managed to get this down to 45 or so seconds on average and as low as 39 seconds.

Sweet Potato Shochu: Aka Kirishima

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Aka Kirishima is a seasonal sweet potato shochu from Kirishima Shuzo, the producer of the best selling shochu in Japan, Kuro Kirishima. Much as iichiko put Oita on the map as a producer of barley shochu to rival Iki Island (more barley shochu is now produced in Oita than in the traditional home of barley shochu), Kirishima's products put Miyazaki on the map as a rival to Kagoshima's dominance as the home of sweet potato shochus.

Sweet Potato Shochu: Akamaoh – Red Satan

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The name Akamaoh, or Red Devil, coupled with the black label over black bottle would suggest a full bodied sweet potato shochu that would give you the deep funk that Japanese often refer to as "imo kusai" (smelly sweet potatoes). However, Akamaoh, may have a devilish name for a completely different reason. It's so easy drinking, it's dangerous in a "devil made me do it way."

Kuratake Surprise

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Kuratake surprised me as soon as I opened the bottle. The rich sweet potato aroma and flavor I expect from imo shochus is largely absent from this spirit until you pay attention. It's got a subtle presence, but not the overwhelming sensation you'll get from a traditional Kagoshima style black koji imo shochu like Shiranami Kuro. This shochu takes the experience in a completely different direction.

Angel’s Temptation

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There's no better Valentine's Day shochu available in the U.S. than Tenshi No Yuwaku, which is translated as angel's temptation. This is a play on the idea of the angel's share, the part of a barrel aged spirit that evaporates "to heaven" ... In this case, the spirit is so good even the angel's are tempted. The Botticelli cupid on the label only makes it more sweet in its appeal to our romantic side.