Awamori: 5 reasons why Okinawa's signature alcohol should become Japan's next big hit

On an early February Sunday evening, I found myself in a small Italian restaurant in Tokyo’s Shimbashi where I was invited to taste a unique product from Okinawa: a newly designed contemporary awamori, the island’s signature sake. I was also there to learn about the essence of awamori, a drink I knew very little of: I had heard that it was a very strong alcohol, that it was mostly consumed by elderly folks, and that it was nothing more than a local serve.

The image I had in mind is — quite regrettably — one that is shared by the majority of non-Okinawans. Produced solely in Okinawa and consumed almost entirely on the island (around 80 percent), the sake for many people remains nothing but a distant taste; a souvenir sip we would occasionally have while traveling south.

Yet, just like most treasures, awamori is yet to be discovered. With a history of over 600 years, it is Japan’s oldest distilled liquor, and one that has a deeply rooted culture very few drinks in the world can pride themselves with. Here are five reasons why awamori is special and why it could (and should) become Japan’s next big hit.  

1. Beyond just a drink, awamori is a living history

Awamori, first introduced to Okinawa from Thailand, has been the official liquor of Japan’s southernmost island since it was still known as the Ryukyu Kingdom (1429-1879). The island’s sake industry, however, was almost completely wiped out during WWII. During the horrific Battle of Okinawa, one could have found more awamori bottles in caves where people desperately hid (or tragically perished) than in stores and distilleries: merciless air raids had destroyed all but one distillery on the island, the Tsukayama Distillery, which the U.S. troops had seized and used as an office, barracks and a bread factory until 1947. After the end of the war, it was returned to the owning family and was listed as a national cultural heritage site in 2009.

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