JPH0429340B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a method for producing shochu. Shochu is a distilled alcoholic beverage unique to Japan, and representative examples include rice shochu, barley shochu, and potato shochu, which have been produced for a long time. In recent years, with the diversification of consumer tastes,
Various types of shochu are manufactured and marketed from raw materials other than those mentioned above. In particular, since the distillation process for shochu type Otsu is carried out by single distillation, it is possible to produce a variety of products derived from the unique flavors of the raw materials. However, since shochu is rarely aged in storage barrels, it is unavoidable that it has a milder flavor compared to whiskey and the like. Therefore, the present inventor has conducted extensive research to find a new shochu that is broadly compatible with consumer tastes and has a wide range of flavors. Shochu is manufactured by concentrating its alcohol content through distillation, but before shipping it is adjusted to the desired alcohol content by diluting water. Traditionally, tap water has been used for making water for splitting water, but the present inventor discovered that distilled water obtained by distilling tea leaf infusion has good compatibility with shochu, and that it can be used as water for splitting water. The inventors have discovered that by using this method, it is possible to produce a new shochu that combines the unique flavor of tea and the unique flavor of shochu, leading to the present invention. It goes without saying that the water used in the present invention is effective even when used as water for shochu produced by conventional methods, but it is also effective when used as water for shochu produced by the conventional method. It is more effective if used as water. In other words, by adding tea leaf components to the moromi and fermenting it, the inventor has discovered a new type of shochu that combines the unique flavor of tea with the unique flavor of shochu, and that is elegant, light, and widely compatible with the tastes of consumers. However, when shipping this product, if it was diluted with raw water as usual, the pleasant flavor derived from the raw materials was diluted, and there were also problems that it did not mix well with distilled spirits. According to the method of the present invention, it is possible to obtain diluted shochu with a flavor that is the same as that of unprocessed sake and has good familiarity. The water used in the present invention is distilled water obtained by adding tea leaves to boiling water and leaving it for about half a day to extract the tea components, and then distilling this at normal pressure or reduced pressure. The type of tea leaves is not particularly limited, and representative green teas include gyokuro, sencha, and bancha. Further, these tea leaves may be in the form of twisted leaves, powder, or white tea leaves with stems, and in this specification, the term "tea leaves" includes not only the leaf parts but also the stem parts. The amount of tea leaves to be used is adjusted in consideration of the amount of water added, the degree of flavor of the resulting product, etc., since the amount of active ingredients leached varies depending on the type and properties of the tea leaves. It is preferable to use rice or wheat as the main raw material in terms of providing excellent flavor, but other raw materials may also be used. Hereinafter, a specific manufacturing method will be explained based on Examples. Example 1 Rice shochu was manufactured using the formulation shown in Table 1.

[Table] Various types of green tea such as Gyokuro, Sencha, and Bancha were used as tea leaves. The shapes used were twisted leaves, powder, and white tea with stems. It takes about 4 days from the first preparation to the second preparation. During fermentation, vigorous foaming was observed, and a unique and strong aroma was observed, which was a combination of tea aroma and fermented aroma. With secondary preparation
Fermentation was carried out for 18 days and shochu was obtained through pot distillation. The unique aroma during fermentation was transferred to the distillate without loss. The alcohol content of the resulting shochu is 55
It was ~60 degrees. Meanwhile, add 5kg of tea leaves to 500ml of boiling water over 70℃,
After leaving it for half a day, it was distilled at normal pressure or reduced pressure to produce split water. Add this water to the above shochu to make alcohol content 25.
We have produced shochu suitable for commercial use. A panel test was conducted as follows on the obtained shochu and shochu using ordinary tap water as diluting water. (1) Familiarity with the original sake Judges: 5 people (A to E) Judgment method: 3-point system Very good...1 Good...2 Bad...3

【table】 (2) Flavor Judges: 5 people (A to E) Judgment method: 3-point method Very excellent...1 Good……………………2 Thin……………………3

[Table] Example 2 Ordinary rice shochu was produced using the formulation shown in Table 1 of Example 1 without adding tea leaves. Fermentation conditions are the same as in Example 1. Meanwhile, add 10kg of tea leaves to 500ml of boiling water over 70℃,
After leaving it for half a day, it was distilled at normal pressure or reduced pressure to produce split water. Add this water to the above shochu to make alcohol content 25.
A shochu suitable for commercial sale was obtained. A panel test was conducted on the obtained shochu and the shochu using ordinary raw water as diluting water as follows. Judges: 5 people (A to E) Judgment method: 3-point method Very good compatibility with unprocessed sake...1 Good compatibility with unprocessed sake...2 Poor compatibility with unprocessed sake...3

[Table] From the results of Example 1 and Example 2, atmospheric distillation,
It can be seen that in both cases of vacuum distillation, watered shochu was obtained that had a flavor similar to that of the original sake and had a good familiarity.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for producing shochu, which comprises using distilled water obtained by distilling tea leaf infusion as water for shochu. 2. The method for producing shochu according to claim 1, wherein the shochu to be diluted with water is obtained by adding tea leaves or tea leaf infusion to moromi and fermenting the mixture.