From: Kumamoto Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan
Ingredients: Junmai sake base, fortified with 100% rice-based sochu and infused with botanicals including yomogi (Japanese mugwort), yuzu (aromatic citrus), kabosu (a high-acid citrus fruit), and sansho peppercorn.
Tasting Notes: Bermutto, named for the Japanese phonetic spelling of vermouth, is a novel take on a classic fortified wine using sake, shochu, and four Japanese botanicals. The nose is fruity and yeasty with notes of grapefruit, peach, guava, lavender, and plum; on the palate, the sake base is immediately evident with bass notes of rice, yeast, and faint plum. Yuzu and sansho peppercorn brighten things up, while an undercurrent of yomogi provides earthy grapefruit from beginning to end.
18% ABV
A wonderful match for countless foods (try it with sushi), or use it as a functional substitute or addition to dry vermouth or dry sherry to add new depth to cocktails. Another option is to use it in a Sonic highball with soda water and tonic!
About. Tsutsumi Distillery has been producing traditional shochu for 141 years and is 1 of only 28 distilleries certified by the WTO as a Kuma Shochu producer which is similar to the DOC’s of scotch, tequila & cognac. Using 100% rice and only crystal clear water from the Kuma River, Tsutsumi Distillery is tremendously respected for their ability to bridge the gap between tradition and innovation.
There is a long history of adding herbs and flavoring to sake in Japan, the same way aromatized wines like vermouth came into being in Europe. They believed that herbs and spices blended with alcohol were curative and, for more pragmatic reasons, often served to make the wine or sake taste better.
