1.Overview

The North Kyusyu(Kyushu) Sake and Shochu Awards are held annually by the Bureau to rate and showcase the quality of seishu sake and honkaku single-distilled shochu brewed in the three prefectures under its jurisdiction (Fukuoka, Saga, and Nagasaki) with the aim of promoting advances in brewing technology and sake quality so as to assist the development of these prefectures’ sake industries.

The 2019 North Kyusyu Sake and Shochu Awards drew 106 entries from 49 breweries in the Ginjo-shu category, 85 entries from 47 breweries in the Junmai-shu category, and 132 entries from 39 distilleries in the Honkaku Shochu category. Quality evaluations were conducted on September 19 (Honkaku Shochu), September 25 (Junmai-shu), and September 27 and October 3 (Ginjo-shu).

• How Sake and Shochu Are Made (parallel Japanese-English text)

2.Method

For the taste test, entries were assessed on the following criteria.

3.Result

For the names of the winners, etc., please refer to the attachment "List of Prize Winners".

1. (1)　Ginjo-shu cateogory
   A great many of the entries exhibited an outstanding balance of refined and gorgeous fragrance and smooth taste and they also had richer tastes than usual. The entries were divided into two sub-categories for quality evaluation —Ginjo-shu and Junmai Ginjo-shu—and they were further grouped according to their aromatic  level.
2. (2)　Junmai-shu category
   From this award, responding to the request from sake industry based on diversification of Junmai-shu, we evaluated each entry at warm temperature (around 43℃) or normal temperature (around 25℃). Most of entries had diverse characteristics suited for each serving temperature, ranging from refreshing aftertaste to rich taste, while preserving the tastes of their rice ingredients and offering suitability for sake taken with a meal.
3. (3)　Honkaku Shochu category
   The entries offered the characteristics of their ingredients, especially barley. They were ranged from those having light and refined flavors, to those having more aromas and full-bodied tastes. These reflected the characters of their makers' brewing and distilling techniques. For quality evaluation, the entries were poured into clear glasses and labeled to show details such as ingredients and distillation method.

4 Numbers of entries

Numbers in previous year shown in parentheses

Numbers in previous year shown in parentheses

*Entries made primarily from other ingredients are broken down as follows (distilleries/entries):
sweet potato(8/12), sake cake(8/11), buckwheat(1/2), sesame seeds(1/2), carrot(1/2), kudzu(1/1), water chestnut(1/1), pumpkin(1/1), potato(1/1), tea(1/2), gyokuro(1/1), shiso(1/1)
* Entries matured and stored for long time are broken down as follows (distilleries/entries):
barley(16/25), rice(1/1), sweet potato(2/2), sake cake(1/1), seaweed(1/1), barley shochu stored in barrel(5/6)
Note: Sake cakes include Ginjo-shu sake cake. An entry made from pearl barley is included in other ingredients, but it was not judged.