All About Okinawa Awamori
For something that's a little different, try Awamori, Okinawa's own liquor. It's a lot stronger and a tad smoother than the Japanese sake you may be used to, but Awamori still has a nice taste to it, all due to the careful distillation techniques used to make it.
Awamori starts as crushed rice (imported from Thailand - the only rice Japan allows for importation) that is carefully washed to remove the outer surface, then soaked in water. After soaking, the water is drained and the rice is steamed for about an hour. The temperature is lowered to about 40 degrees Celsius and black yeast, called koji, is added to the rice and left overnight in the steamer.
The next day this mixture is spread over triangle-shaped shelves to let the black yeast breed for another two days. This turns the starch in the rice into sugar, an important part of the liquor- making process.