Future Prospects for
Kumamoto Shochu

A stylish wooden building stands on a small hill about 200 meters from the distillery. It is Kanpai Amakusa, a specialty spirits gift-shop and café opened in May 2021 by Amakusa Syuzo. Inside Kanpai Amakusa, which still has the aroma of wood, shochu from Amakusa Syuzo is displayed, and visitors can sample shochu from the counter. Sitting on the wooden deck overlooking the Yatsushiro Sea, and drinking shochu while enjoying the sea breeze is an absolutely exceptional experience.
 
"I want people to have an unforgettable toast in Amakusa,” says President Hirashita, and this was his intention in opening the café. "There is no compromise, nor a final end in making shochu," he says, "just to continue to aim for a perfect score of 100, meaning that the shochu you drink here is unforgettable!"  President Hirashita spins his words one after another with passion. The company plan for Kanpai Amakusa is to continue a stable operation of the gift-shop/café and hire more full-time employees. "It's a matter of course for a shochu distillery to have quality shochu - and now our company is also focusing on what kind of a quality place we can provide for friends, visitors and customers to enjoy our premium shochu."
 
There used to be more than 30 shochu distilleries in Amakusa. Today Amakusa Syuzo General Partnership Corp. is the only remaining company that makes shochu. Their corporate philosophy is to convey the charm of Amakusa to the whole country through their shochu. "President Hirashita's words, as well as the company's ‘Tokuchu Amakusa’ shochu, are full of ‘love for Amakusa.’