Oishi Shuzo's Kabuto-gama Still

Oishi Shuzo and the Kabuto-gama

At Oishi Shuzo, there is a Kabuto-gama (helmet-shaped) still that the fifth-generation owner, Keigen Oishi, restored by deciphering old documents and creating his own blueprints.
He repeated trial and error until he was able to produce shochu with a taste and aroma that satisfied him.
Distillation using the Kabuto-gama takes a great deal of time and effort, but it results in a unique shochu with a faint, pleasant woody aroma.
(*For brands distilled using Oishi Shuzo's Kabuto-gama, click here)

Restoration of the Kabuto-gama

The fifth-generation owner, Keigen, became very interested in old documents written about the Kabuto-gama and wanted to recreate this ancient production method. He visited local museums and other facilities to measure the models and artifacts of Kabuto-gama on display.

He faced many difficult days of repeated design changes, as he could not create a Kabuto-gama capable of extracting alcohol just by measuring, due to differences such as using steam instead of the firewood used at the time, or the different materials of the pot.
Furthermore, even when he finally managed to extract alcohol, the distillation process took a very long time and produced only a tiny amount, making it far from being a commercial product.

Nevertheless, driven by the desire to have as many people as possible taste the delicious shochu made with the Kabuto-gama, the fifth-generation owner's many years of effort finally led to the realization of high, stable quality and production volume. The Oishi-style Kabuto-gama was finally recreated for the modern age after numerous failures and trials and errors.

The Kabuto-gama is filled with Oishi Shuzo's spirit of inquiry and challenge.

This "Oishi-style Kabuto-gama" is unique to Oishi Shuzo, but through a connection, it is also provided to Tatsumi Distillery Alchemiae in Gujo Hachiman, Gifu Prefecture.
Read more about this Tatsumi Distillery, which makes absinthe using Oishi Shuzo's black koji-fermented sweet potato shochu "Kura Junsui" as a base, here → The Journey of the Kabuto-gama

Kabuto-gama Distilled Brand List

Kabuto Tsurumi (1800ml / 720ml) Alc. 25%
Sweet potato: Shiroyutaka / Rice: (Domestic rice) Koji: White koji

Kabuto Akuneshi (1800ml / 720ml) Alc. 25%
Sweet potato: Shiroyutaka / Rice: (Domestic rice) Koji: Black koji

Hiougi (720ml Alc. 25%)
Pot-aged, 7-year-old pot-aged vintage sake
Sweet potato: Benisatsuma, Koganesengan / Rice: (Domestic rice) Koji: Black koji/White koji

Kanme (720ml Alc. 25%)
Sweet potato: Joy White / Rice: (Domestic rice, Hinohikari) Koji: White koji