Doburoku

Doburoku (どぶろく or 濁酒) is a kind of local sake (地酒) made in the rural areas of JapanJapan. It is an alcoholic drink. The making of sakè or any alcoholic beverages at home and or without licence is illegal in Japan. But its making has quite peculiar origins. More than a thousand years ago, when in Japan there was no such thing as chemistry, all sake recipes were made by guessing, imported recipes and word of mouth, usually from China and Korea. The elements of doburoku are different from sake. Usually to make Sake what you need is cold temperature, rice, kōji, spring water, and yeast. Instead for doburoku what you need is a Miko (Shinto shrines Maiden), rice, cold temperatures and water. This is a Shinto ceremony so the making was and still is during winters between December and January was activated by the Mikos by actually chewing the steamed rice in their own mouth, and actually spitting it inside a big wooden container, the same containers for the miso production. So chewed rice begins to ferment and from sugar it becomes alcohol. The taste is usually far less palatable than regular sake, because the range of taste of doburoku is around the sour range. But as a very old tradition it is very famous among locals like in the village of Shirakawa-Go and also people from all around Japan.Nowadays the making has been improved of course, but its very original taste hasn't changed. Drinking doburoku is still one of the most entertaining festivals in the local and remote areas of Japan, definitely worth experiencing.