By SHUNSUKE KARASAWA/ Staff Writer
September 13, 2021 at 07:00 JST
Gin and a vodka produced by Nanbu Bijin Co. are unveiled on Aug. 18 in Morioka. (Shunsuke Karasawa)
MORIOKA--Stuck with a surplus of rice after sales of its sake nose-dived, the Nanbu Bijin Co. brewery in the city of Ninohe, Iwate Prefecture, branched out to produce gin and vodka to reverse its fortunes.
The hallmark of its new product lineup is that they are all made from local ingredients.
The company uses lacquer trees from Ninohe to add flavor to the gin, and charcoal fired from white birch trees that grow in Kuji, also in the northeastern prefecture, to filter the vodka and give it a transparent flavor.
Company president Kosuke Kuji hit upon the idea after the brewery began producing rubbing alcohol at the request of an acquaintance in April last year due to a shortage of disinfectants caused by the spread of COVID-19.
The company obtained a license to produce spirits before starting production as it feared rubbing alcohol might not prove profitable in the long run. This gave it a window to create gin and vodka.
"Our aim is to create new local specialties of Iwate," Kuji, 49, said.
The brewery initially released 2,021 bottles of "The First Lot" for each type of spirits. The limited production batch has an alcohol content of 60 percent. Sales kicked off Aug. 18.
Regular editions with a 40-percent alcohol content will go on sale from mid-September.
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