Distillery: 瑞泉酒造 Zuisen Shuzō

Address: 〒903-0814 Okinawa, Naha, Shurisakiyamacho, 1 Chome−35

Additional Content: There is a pretty active youtube channel with commercials, interviews and other assorted content, I haven't checked out a lot, but what is there is pretty entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/@user-mf2hd1fb3f

Name: 瑞泉門 Zuisenmon

Type: 泡盛 Awamori 10yr
蒸留方法: 単式常圧蒸留

Ingredients:

米麹(タイ産米) Rice Koji (Thailand)

Alcohol: 43%

In the bottle: Intensely fragrant with strong notes of toasted rice, wet hay, and a big earthy clay that is front and center right from the start. Zuisenmon starts heavy but then finishes with a nice subtle sweetness that lands on the side of caramel and vanilla giving a nice hint on what will be in the glass. At 43% the alcohol is definitely present; however, it never gets in the way of what comes out of the bottle. (Interestingly, in the glass over ice, there is a real savory black truffle scent, which is something I have never encountered before).

On the rocks: What first hits the tongue is absolutely intense and full of that classic Awamori taste (thankfully not full on black truffle). These notes of burnt caramel, vanilla with a bit of custard hold steady until a range of earthy clay notes start to surface along with a warming toasted rice that stays through to the finish. With 43% alcohol, some of what makes Zuisenmon so amazing gets a bit covered up by the sheer intensity but id does mellow nicely as the ice melts. The best approach with Zuizenmon is to sip slowly over ice, which allows for an interesting ride for everything this 10-year bottle has to offer.

Diluted with water:

4:1 ratio: As mentioned above, with a little water or just letting the ice melt really opens this bottle up, allowing some amazing sweetness to come through, along with toasted rice, caramel, vanilla, and cherry which complements the earthy notes perfectly.

Enjoy on-the-rocks

Reflections on this Awamori

At first I had some concern when I gave it a smell in the glass; black truffle was not my expectation, but after the first taste I was relieved to find a beautiful and intense Awamori.
Found this at the local high-end bottle shop in my neighborhood. This was not priced too crazy but somewhere in the range of 4,000 JPY, still a bit more than I normally pay; however, I have no regrets.
I drank this bottle over the course of a couple of weeks and there were some days when I felt the flavor profile was much different than what I had experienced a few days prior; in hindsight I should have captured some additional tasting notes. The variation day to day made it even more interesting, some pours felt earthier and more intense, others smoother and sweeter, which speaks to how well-aged Awamori can evolve even after opening.