Once illegal, this Japanese alcohol is making a comeback

Tokyo CNN —

Japanese-produced whisky, nihonshu (sake), and beer are popular around the world.

But one bar in Tokyo has been trying to reintroduce to locals and visitors alike a taste of doburoku, one of the oldest and most controversial drinks in Japanese history.

Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery is in the Nihombashi neighborhood in eastern Tokyo. During the Edo period (1603 — 1868), this area flourished with activity due to boats carrying shipments of sake.

With that in mind, Heiwa Shuzou (Brewery), which since 1928 had been producing sake in Wakayama prefecture, chose to open this rare doburoku specialty bar in one of the city’s upscale neighborhoods.

Before venturing into the bar to try a glass, here’s what to know about this historic, controversial tipple.

What exactly is doburoku?

The history of doburoku is as murky as the drink itself.

Often considered to be the ancestor of today’s sake; it is no coincidence that the characters comprising the word, 濁酒, signify “cloudy,” or unrefined, liquor. To distinguish this type of turbid Japanese alcohol from that of the ubiquitous and transparent sake, there are two distinct if slightly misleading categories: seishu (清酒), or clear sake, and doburoku (濁酒).

Consequently, sake and doburoku have one key difference in their respective productions.

Typical sake calls for a yeast starter, called shubo, and adding three main ingredients –steamed rice, kouji (moldy rice fungus) and water – over a period of days.

However, when making doburoku, they are all simultaneously placed in with the yeast starter, causing the resulting mixture to be comparatively overflowing with sugars. The sugars then start to break down the yeast, which halts fermentation much earlier on.