Kokuto (Brown Sugar) Shochu

The Japanese Kokuto shochu can only be made in the Amami Islands, otherwise it must be labeled and taxed as distilled spirits. This however, has it's own restrictions and drawbacks too. In order to qualify as Amami Kokuto Shochu, it must be made exclusively with a rice koji starting fermentation. The fermentation process is generally shorter than for other shochu traditions since koji can work directly on the kokuto,