Kitaya Co awarded IWSC’s 2022 Shochu Producer Trophy

When it comes to awarding the 2022 Shochu Producer Trophy, we’re delighted to honour Kitaya Co, who’s 99-point Honkaku barley Shochu stole the show at recent judging.

In Japanese, Kitaya translates as “creating joy and happiness” – it’s an apt name, when you consider the rapturous reception their barley Shochu received at this year’s awards. Our judging panel described it as: “superbly complex”, “exquisitely detailed”, with “multitudinous layers”. 

Kitaya was founded in Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture in 1820. It’s a family run business, now in its seventh generation. Initially, it was set up as a sake brewery and its founder Saikichi Kinoshita was a toji (master brewer).

Kitaya expanded its production to shochu and, in 1972, sixth-generation brewer Shigeru Kinoshita developed decompression distillation, a technique that was to revolutionise shochu production.

Of their Mugi Shochu, the team says: “Barley Shochu Kitaya is a masterpiece that is made with full use of all of these technologies. Specifically, we made both shochu which is vacuum distilled and atmospherically distilled and blended them in exquisite balance.”

The barley used in its production is all grown by local farmers in Fukuoka Prefecture; this is just one of the ways Kitaya works in conjunction with its local community.  

Congratulations again to Kitaya.