Henrickson was a 17-year-old girl from Squamish who went missing after a house party on Bowen Island, during the then unusually warm summer of 2009.
Once illegal, this Japanese alcohol is making a comeback
Japanese-produced whisky, nihonshu (sake), and beer are popular around the world.
But one bar in Tokyo has been trying to reintroduce to locals and visitors alike a taste of doburoku, one of the oldest and most controversial drinks in Japanese history.
Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery is in the Nihombashi neighbourhood in eastern Tokyo. During the Edo period (1603 - 1868), this area flourished with activity due to boats carrying shipments of sake.
With that in mind, Heiwa Shuzou (Brewery), which since 1928 had been producing sake in Wakayama prefecture, chose to open this rare doburoku specialty bar in one of the city’s upscale neighborhoods.
Before venturing into the bar to try a glass, here’s what to know about this historic, controversial tipple.
What exactly is doburoku?
The history of doburoku is as murky as the drink itself.
Often considered to be the ancestor of today’s sake; it is no coincidence that the characters comprising the word, 濁酒, signify “cloudy,” or unrefined, liquor. To distinguish this type of turbid Japanese alcohol from that of the ubiquitous and transparent sake, there are two distinct if slightly misleading categories: seishu (清酒), or clear sake, and doburoku (濁酒).
Consequently, sake and doburoku have one key difference in their respective productions.
Typical sake calls for a yeast starter, called shubo, and adding three main ingredients –steamed rice, kouji (moldy rice fungus) and water – over a period of days.
However, when making doburoku, they are all simultaneously placed in with the yeast starter, causing the resulting mixture to be comparatively overflowing with sugars. The sugars then start to break down the yeast, which halts fermentation much earlier on. Ultimately, what remains is a sweeter liquid with a much lower alcohol content, formally known as doburoku.
Japanese-produced whisky, nihonshu (sake), and beer are popular around the world. But one bar in Tokyo has been trying to reintroduce to locals and visitors alike a taste of doburoku, one of the oldest and most controversial drinks in Japanese history. (KPS / iStockphoto/ Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
Why has doburoku been considered controversial?
For nearly as long as rice has been cultivated in Japan, doburoku has existed. It was the brew of choice for farmers and Shinto priests alike. With a relatively simple recipe – i.e. throwing everything into the proverbial crucible at once – doburoku was a common sight throughout the countryside.
The open practice of homebrewing continued unabated for centuries.
According to Utsunomiya Hitoshi, director of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS), in 1855 there were 459 doburoku producers in Edo (present-day Tokyo) alone.
Yet, as a result of the end of the Edo period (1603 CE - 1868 CE), all feudal lords were forced to abandon their regional domains in the name of the centralized Meiji government, based out of the new capital Tokyo. Borne out of the 180-degree shift in governance came highly structured institutions, including an empowered and regimented tax collecting body.
Realizing that licensed breweries and distilleries were a vital source of income for the new government, measures to limit homebrewing began to take effect.
Utsunomiya says that 1880 is when the quantity of homebrewed liquor started to be restricted, while in 1882 a licensing system was introduced. Then, in 1896, a liquor tax was imposed on all homebrewing, culminating in the complete prohibition of homebrewed liquors in 1899.
In essence, all doburoku made from then on came to be called mitsuzoushu (密造酒), “secretly produced alcohol,” or moonshine.
However, even during that prohibition, doburoku could still be found in Japan. Tellingly, Shinto shrines were able to carry on using the beverage for rituals. After World War II, due to a shortage of sake, the Korean beverage , an unfiltered cousin of doburoku made of rice, wheat, malt and water, was a popular alternative.
In spite of the fact that homebrewing is still illegal, the Japanese government allowed for inns and restaurants in , primarily in regions where economic growth had stagnated, to commercially sell doburoku in 2003.
As of 2021, there are 193 establishments around the country authorized to sell doburoku.
The state of doburoku today
Opened in 2015, Tokyo’s Sake Hotaru was the first legal spot to offer doburoku in Japan’s capital. But bar owners only started selling it to the public in late 2016.
Since then, more options have appeared. Most prominently, in June 2022, the previously mentioned Heiwa Doburoku Kabutocho Brewery opened a bar near Nihombashi.
Norimasa Yamamoto, President of Heiwa Shuzo, estimates that half the bar’s visitors are from overseas.
“We often receive questions about the difference between sake and doburoku, how many days it takes to make it, and how it’s produced,” he says of the bar patrons.
In addition to doburoku, the brewery’s own sake and beer labels are available. However, keep in mind that if you want to order anything, the brewery does not accept cash.
The flavor is intense, with samplers comparing it to both cheddar cheese and noni, a unique-tasting Polynesian fruit.
And travellers unable to make it to Japan can sample doboruku closer to home. In Brooklyn, Kato Sake Works sells small amounts of the drink.
However, owner Shinobu Kato says “the context doesn’t exist here,” as Americans are less likely to have heard of doboruku.
“Apart from a few sake shops that are very familiar with and interested in our doburoku,” Kato says, “most of the sales are at the taproom for both bottle to go and drink by the glass.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Main takeaways from Saskatchewan's provincial election results
Scott Moe earned his second mandate as premier and his Saskatchewan Party held onto government for a fifth-straight majority, 麻豆影视 declared Monday night. But the party did not hold onto all its seats.
An expert stands firm on his U.S. election win prediction. Here's what he says happened after
An American presidential historian is maintaining his previous prediction of a Kamala Harris presidency as the U.S. election hits the one-week mark.
Poilievre says it would be 'not fair' for Liberals to replace Trudeau as leader
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre thinks it would be 'not fair' for the Liberals to oust Prime Minister Justin Trudeau now, as in his view they are 'morally obligated' to keep him.
A new report says when the province deregulated electricity generation in 2001, it forced Albertans to pay billions more for their power.
'I'm ready for an election': Bloc beginning talks to topple Trudeau gov't as ultimatum expires
Bloc Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet is starting to talk to other opposition parties about bringing down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberal government.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour has lifted its stop-work order at a Halifax Walmart more than a week after the body of 19-year-old Gursimran Kaur was discovered in an industrial oven in the store’s bakery.
N.S. teen charged for allegedly making threats to school
A Nova Scotia teen is facing numerous charges related to a complex swatting investigation. On Oct. 25, Nova Scotia RCMP, with the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police, arrested a 14-year-old male at his home in Bridgewater, N.S.
Senior Modi cabinet minister linked to India-supported violence in Canada: officials
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison has confirmed a report that Canada is alleging an Indian cabinet minister and close adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered intelligence-gathering operations of Canadians.
Local Spotlight
Epcor says it has removed more than 20,000 goldfish from an Edmonton stormwater pond.
Witches and warlocks have been flocking to New Brunswick waterways this month, as a new Halloween tradition ripples across the province.
New Brunswicker Jillea Godin’s elaborate cosplay pieces attract thousands to her online accounts, as well as requests from celebrities for their own pieces.
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night – with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.