日本烧酒没有市场了吗？

Asia

亚洲版块

Japanese booze

日本酒

Awamori? Go on then

泡盛酒？继续吧

Okinawa's distillers are trying to posh up the local firewater

冲绳的酿酒厂正在努力改造当地的烈酒

THE EYES water as your correspondent enters Sakimoto Distillery.

记者进入坂本酒厂时，眼睛湿润了。

Large vats of rice bubble over open flames, filling the air with boozy fumes.

一大桶大米在明火上冒着气泡，空气中充满了酒味儿。

The solution will be distilled into awamori, a liquor native to the islands of Okinawa, the most southern and western of Japan's prefectures.

这种溶液将被蒸馏成泡盛酒，一种原产于冲绳群岛（冲绳是日本最南部和西部的县）的酒。

Sakimoto Toshio, the distillery's boss, pours out a sample of the stuff, which with an alcohol content of 60% is about half as strong again as a typical spirit.

酒厂老板坂本敏雄倒了一杯这种酒的样品，酒精含量为60%，大约是普通烈酒的一半。

Your correspondent's throat burns as it goes down.

记者在品酒下咽时，喉咙会有灼热感。

Awamori was invented in Okinawa in the 15th century.

泡盛酒发源于15世纪的冲绳。

It uses long-grain rice and, to stimulate fermentation, black koji mould, distinguishing it from shochu, a better-known Japanese spirit invented in nearby Kyushu, which uses white koji and short-grain rice or other starches.

它使用长粒大米和黑米曲菌来刺激发酵，这与附近九州岛发明的日本烈酒“烧酒”不同，后者使用米曲菌和短粒大米或其他淀粉制成的。

The punch it packs reflects local conditions: its strength helped preserve the drink on the hot, humid islands in the days before refrigeration.

包装后的泡盛酒反映了当地的情况：在冷藏前的几天，酒烈度有助于在炎热潮湿的岛屿上保存。

The throat-burning 60% variant emerged on Yonaguni, Japan's westernmost island, where Sakimoto is based.

日本最西端岛的与那国岛出现了60%泡盛酒的变种。

Known as hanasake, it is said to have started life as a disinfectant for medical use on ships, and later came to play a role in rituals such as funerals.

据说它被称为花酒，最初是作为船上医疗用的消毒剂，后来在葬礼等仪式中发挥作用。

When locals actually drink it, they usually cut it with ice and water and have it with roast pork.

实际上，当地人通常会将泡盛置于冰和水中饮用，并且就着烤猪肉一起吃。

Awamori has lately fallen on hard times.

泡盛酒最近陷入了困境。

Two-thirds of the 45 members of Okinawa Awamori Distillers Association were in the red in 2020.

2020年，冲绳泡盛酒厂协会的45名会员中有三分之二出现赤字。

Production volumes that year dipped by nearly 20%, the fourth straight year of decline.

那一年的产量下降了近20%，这是连续第四年下降。

Younger Japanese are drinking less booze, and they prefer softer stuff or mixed drinks.

日本年轻人饮酒较少，他们更中意软饮料或混合饮料。

That has forced the industry to experiment.

这迫使该行业进行各种试验。

Japan's external trade organisation has sought to market shochu and awamorias premium drinks for discerning foreign tipplers, but few are biting (or sipping).

日本的对外贸易组织一直试图向有鉴赏力的外国酒徒推销烧酒和泡盛优质饮料，但很少有人会吃（或啜饮）。

Distillers have released flavoured awamori drinks, organised awamori festivals and enlisted influencers to appeal to younger consumers—with mixed results.

酿酒商推出了风味泡盛饮料，组织了泡盛节，并招募了有影响力的人（网红）来吸引年轻消费者，结果喜忧参半。

Nakamura Shunki, a researcher at Okinawa's manufacturing promotion office, reckons it helps if the drink looks Instagrammable.

冲绳制造业促进办公室的研究员中村俊基认为，如果这种饮料能在Instagram上流行，那会有所帮助。

Mr Sakimoto has got the idea.

坂本敏雄先生已经有个想法。

He launched a collaboration with Rebun, Japan's northernmost island, which supplies mineral water to make a "limited edition" awamori.

他与日本最北端的礼文岛展开合作，礼文岛供应矿泉水，生产“限量版”的泡盛。

The "PR effect" of bringing together Japan's extreme north and west has helped sales, he says.

他说，将日本最北部和最西部结合起来的“公关效应”有助于销售。

Wisely, he also watered it down: its alcohol content is a more palatable 43%.

他还明智地稀释了酒的浓度：酒精含量是43%，会更可口。