distill 復習

愛媛県宇和島市にある離島の戸島沖海底に焼酎や日本酒、ワインなどを沈めて熟成させる取り組みを、島の住民たちが進めています。

Ehime isle seeks to revitalize with seabed-matured shochu, sake

UWAJIMA, Ehime Prefecture--Off the remote island of Tojima, two fishing boats haul up an unorthodox and potent bounty of the sea: 200 bottles of shochu spirits.

At a subsequent tasting session, the ocean-matured distilled beverage draws praises of “mild” and “easy to drink.”

The project was proposed by Norifumi Joko, 47, a member of the Genkijima Project, a nonprofit organization working to further revitalize the island in the Uwakai sea along the western coast of Shikoku.

Other communities around Japan have stored sake, shochu and other alcoholic beverages in seawater to improve their taste. Joko said his plan was based on a project in Shizuoka Prefecture.

“The taste changes apparently because bottles sent to the seafloor are shaken by the tides,” Joko said.

The 200 bottles taken from the seabed on June 5 were among 500 bottles of shochu, sake, whiskey, wine, “awamori” distilled liquor made from rice and other beverages that were sunk to a depth of 20 meters about 100 meters off Tojima island during the fall and winter of 2015.

Some of the bottles will be sold to the public.

Joko nicknamed the drinks “Uwakai Jukuseishu” (Uwakai matured sake).

Under the project, bottles of beverages owned by individuals in Uwajima or produced by brewers in Ehime Prefecture have been stored on the seabed and will be retrieved in phases.

Project members intend to collect more bottles of alcoholic drinks from individuals in other parts of the prefecture for underwater storage.

In fall 2014, shochu, wine and other alcoholic drinks were submerged beneath the sea on a trial basis. They were lifted in June last year to check for damage or other problems.

The shochu in the 200 bottles raised on June 5 was produced by Meimon Sakai, a sake brewer in the city of Uwajima. The company named it “Umisuzume” (murrelet) after a film set in Uwajima that hit cinemas across Japan on July 2.

The special shochu of 25 percent alcohol by volume was marketed on June 25.

During the sampling session held in a coastal area on the island, the specially stored shochu was compared with ordinary shochu. The seabed maturation process gave the shochu a mild flavor with a clean aftertaste, according to the imbibers.

“Shochu that were not stored underwater have a strong alcohol flavor,” said Ayako Fujikawa, 54, a resident of the island.

Joko also said he was “surprised at the large difference in the flavor.”

“I want to bring to customers the dream and pleasure of enjoying sake matured on the same seabed as pearls are cultured,” he said.

今回取り上げる表現は、“distill”です。『ウィズダム英和辞典』(第３版、三省堂)を引いたところ、第一義に「a〈液体〉を蒸留する；«…から»蒸留して〈純粋な液体〉を作る«from». b«…から»蒸留して〈ウイスキーなど〉を作る«from»」とありました。今回は後者の意味で用いられています。

Macmillan Dictionary.comでは、“to use this process to make an alcoholic drink such as whisky”と定義されていました。

今回の場合、「海底で熟成された酒は、まろやかで、飲みやすいと絶賛された。」などと解釈できるのではないかと思います。(Blue Sky)

North British Distilleries
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