Japan, Bhutan plan to partner to produce sake

The company expressed the desire during a symposium.

The Embassy of Japan in India held the “Japan-Bhutan Food Culture Exchange Symposium in Thimphu”.

Kyoko HOKUGO, Economic Minister of the Embassy of Japan in India, and the Bhutanese government officials and people from the food, beverage, and hotel service industries in Thimphu participated in the symposium, reports The Bhutan Live.

An official with the Embassy of Japan in India, which also covers Bhutan, told the web portal about his vision for Japanese sake to be produced in Bhutan.

“In Bhutan, they drink a kind of distilled liquor called ‘ara,’ which is made from grains such as wheat or rice. In particular, the drink is indispensable for festivals in the country. In parts of the country, the people brew another drink from rice called ‘singchang’ for their own consumption. I sensed some overlap in our countries’ cultures, with the close connection between alcohol and festivals," the official said.

The company’s sixth-generation owner, 46-year-old Yuji Tsuchida, said that he returned the company to using traditional techniques in 2017, because modern brewing methods using lactic acid bacteria or yeast end up making all sake taste similar.