A spiced rum produced by Mizuho Shuzo in Naha, Okinawa, under the Kokuto de Lequio label. It is made from 100% kokuto, Okinawan raw cane sugar, and fermented with a proprietary yeast cultivated from local sugarcane fields. The rum is double distilled in stainless steel pot stills, then the botanicals go directly into a copper hybrid still for a third distillation. The botanicals are sourced from local farms and include shikuwasa (a high-acid Okinawan citrus, something like a cross between lime and mandarin), getto (Okinawan ginger) and pipachi (Okinawan long pepper). The rum is named for Yambaru, the heavily forested northern region of Okinawa.
Tasting Notes: A sprightly nose of lemon-lime soda, sansho peppercorn, honeysuckle and a touch of calamansi leads to a citrusy, floral palate of lime peel, jasmine, umeboshi, green papaya, sour candy and juniper berry.
How to Use: Closer to a gin than a typical spiced rum. It works as well with tonic as it does with lime and sugar in a Daiquiri.
ABV: 43%
