〈Brewer's Note〉Color Shift

I have rediscovered the charm of Awamori. Or rather, I didn’t even know the charm of Awamori until I was invited to join this project with shimmer.

We were moved by their enthusiasm to promote Awamori, and it was pure curiosity—a desire for us to peer deeper into the abyss of alcoholic beverages—that drove this project forward.

To age mead in barrels that once held Awamori.

While simple in concept, it was a project that made my core as a brewer tremble with the question of what kind of mead it would become. The result was magnificent, turning into something truly "good." It is shipped in limited quantities of 12 bottles/cs, and we only have a few cases in stock, but since it ages well, keeping it in its presentation box is a great option.

〈Awamori→Mead〉
The Awamori used was "Danryu" from Kamimura Shuzo. It was aged in bourbon barrels, those barrels were brought to Shiga, and then our mead was poured in.

The barrels that held our mead were then sent in the same way to Kamimura Shuzo to age their Awamori. At two different breweries, two different colors intersected, and the hues began to blend into one another.

Humanity has grown through the intersection of cultures. This evening, two spirits that would never have crossed paths have mingled. It is quite daunting to try something you have never had before. Yet, terror and romance are two sides of the same coin. I hope you will feel the romance we have poured into this.


〈Tasting Note〉
A faint cloudiness unique to mead with residual sugar. The aldehyde-like notes and clear solution texture that rise in the aroma allow you to feel the history of the barrels that once held Awamori. The body is very thick, carrying a solid sweetness. It makes you smile, as if you were eating pancakes.

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Style: Awamori Barrel Aged Mead

ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 15%
Carbonation: None
Volume: 720ml (in a presentation box)
Ingredients: Honey (from Myanmar)
Sweetness (10-point scale): 9 (Very-Sweet)
Recommended Serving Temperature: Cellar temp (8-12°C)

〈Mead making〉
We used mead with the exact same skeleton as our Deep Sea series, immediately pouring it into the freshly arrived Awamori barrels to age.
That is all we did; for the rest, we simply prayed that the mead's potential and the Awamori barrels would intermingle, while waiting for the right moment to draw it out.

It was a moment when a new bond was born.

〈Naming & Design〉
When you read "Awamori" backwards in romaji, it becomes "Iromawa." *Iro-mawa*. "Color around" or "Color shift." And so, it became "Color Shift." We wanted to express the intersection of cultures, so this felt very fitting.

For the label design, we made sure to retain the feel of the Danryu design while incorporating the ANTELOPE triangle. It was a struggle to create a design that would work with this new bottle shape and take advantage of its transparency, all while expressing how our colors blend together, but we successfully completed it.