[Tadami Town, Fukushima Prefecture] Nekka Vodka, a vodka made from rice produced by Nekka Okuaizu Distillery, is now on sale to the general public!

Nekka Okuaizu Distillery produces the rice shochu “Nekka” in Tadami Town, .

Nekka Vodka is made by distilling the sake lees, a byproduct of the rice shochu distillation process, again and filtering the resulting high-alcohol spirit through white birch charcoal .

General sales of such craft rice vodka "Nekka Vodka" will start from July 2024.

What is Nekka Okuaizu Distillery?

Tadami Town, Fukushima Prefecture is located in the westernmost part of Fukushima Prefecture, and if you go over the mountains you will reach Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture.

While a lot of nature remains, it is also one of the heaviest snowfall areas in Japan, with snowfall exceeding 3 meters in winter.

Four rice farmers and one brewing engineer from Tadami Town are focusing on making ``rice shochu'' using rice, a local specialty.

Nekka LLC was established in July 2016, and Nekka Okuaizu Distillery was completed in December of the same year. We have started distilling rice shochu "Nekka".

Meaning of nekka

Nekka is a word used in Tadami Town and the Minamiaizu Nango area, and it means ``exactly'' or ``absolutely''. The official website explains it as follows.

What is “nekka”?

This is a term used in Tadami Town and the Minamiaizu Nango area, and is a word used to emphasize something, such as ``Nekkasasukenee'', which means ``exactly'' or ``absolutely''. It expresses the spirit of ``No problems at all'', which means looking at things with a positive attitude without denying possibilities.

Source: Nekka LLC Okuaizu Distillery

Rice Shochu Nekka that has won numerous awards

“Kome Shochu Nekka” was distilled for the first time in February 2017, the year after the distillery was completed, and has received numerous awards since its release.

• July 2017: IWSC2017 (International Wine & Spirits Competition) Silver Medal Awarded
• July 2018: IWSC2018 (International Wine & Spirits Competition) Silver Medal Double Winner
• November 2018: HKIWSC2018 (International Wine & Spirits Competition Hong Kong) Gold Medal Winner “Nekka”
• April 2019: CINVE2019 (Spanish International Liquor Competition) highest award winner “Nekka”
• July 2020: TWSC (Tokyo Whiskey & Spirits Competition) 2020 Gold Medal Winner “Nekka” “Baganekka”
• April 2021: KuraMaster (France) Netka Special Edition/Baganekka Gold Award winner

The taste of rice shochu made from 100% Tadami-produced sake rice is backed by its award-winning history.

Nekka Okuaizu Distillery <Information>

• Name: LLC Nekka Okuaizu Distillery
• Address: 998 Yanatorioki, Tadami-cho, Minamiaizu-gun, Fukushima 968-0603
• Phone number: 0241-72-8872
• Official URL: https://nekka.jp/

Google Maps

Craft rice vodka made from rice “Nekka Vodka”

The sake lees, which is a byproduct of the distillation process of rice shochu nekka, is distilled again to raise the alcohol content to 15%, and then redistilled to create a spirit with a 45-50% alcohol content.

The international rule for calling it vodka is that the spirit must be filtered through white birch charcoal, so by filtering this highly concentrated spirit through white birch charcoal, ``Nekka Vodka'' is completed.

Making vodka to return sake lees with residual alcohol content to nature

The rice shochu ``Nekka'' is characterized by a ginjo aroma that is more than twice as strong as that of Japanese sake. In order to bring out the flavor of rice to its fullest, Nekka Okuaizu Distillery stops distilling at an early stage. Therefore, a considerable amount of alcohol remains in Nekka's sake lees.

In this state, it cannot be reused, such as composting or animal feed. That's why we came up with the idea of ​​distilling vodka. This redistillation removes the alcohol from the sake lees, ferments it by mixing it with bran and rice husks, and returns it as compost to the rice fields where Nekka's sake rice is grown.

"Nekka Vodka" was born through upcycling efforts to establish such a circular farming method.

Nekka Vodka <Product Overview>

A Japanese rice vodka with the flavor of rice made with rice grown in Tadami. It has a slight ginjo aroma and rice-derived umami, and goes well with herbs and spices, making it recommended as a base spirit for pickled sake.

• Item: Spirits
• Product name: Vodka
• Ingredients: Pot distilled shochu (manufactured in Tadami Town)
• Alcohol content: 40%
• Capacity: 500ml
• Base price: 2,000 yen

YUZU Nekka Vodka <Product Overview>

Yuzu peel is pickled in Nekka vodka.

By pickling the peels of yuzu, which would otherwise be thrown away, we create a refreshing vodka with a clear yuzu aroma. 

• Item: Spirits
• Product name: Vodka
• Ingredients: Pot distilled shochu (manufactured in Tadami Town) Yuzu peel (produced in Kochi Prefecture)
• Alcohol content: 40%
• Capacity: 500ml
• Base price: 2,200 yen