Awamori (泡盛)

Awamori is the distilled spirit of Okinawa, the old Ryūkyū Kingdom, and it belongs to the family of Japanese spirits that stand apart from the sake of the mainland. Distillation reached the islands from Siam, present-day Thailand, by way of the trade that bound Ryūkyū to Southeast Asia, and the Thai origin of the method is the settled account of its history. The spirit was produced under the Ryūkyū court at Shuri, and the distilleries of Okinawa carry it today as the prefecture's own drink, kept apart from shōchū in the cellar and in the law.

Awamori is a single-distilled spirit made from long-grain indica rice, imported from Thailand, which is steamed and inoculated with black koji mould, Aspergillus luchuensis, rather than the yellow Aspergillus oryzae used for sake. All the rice is turned to koji in a single batch, and the mash is fermented in one stage without added water. The mash is distilled once in a pot still, which leaves the oils and aromatics of the rice in the spirit. The spirit is often bottled at 25 to 43 per cent alcohol by volume. The black koji produces citric acid, which protects the mash in the Okinawan heat and gives the spirit a firm, dry, deeply aromatic character.

Awamori is drunk neat, with water, or on ice, and in Okinawa it accompanies the pork dishes of the islands, such as rafutē, pork belly simmered with awamori, shōyu and sugar, and the bitter and salted foods of the Okinawan table. The structural reason is the spirit's dry, aromatic firmness, which cuts through the fat of slow-cooked pork and refreshes the palate between rich mouthfuls. Diluted with water, it is gentler and suits a long meal.