Lost Spirits introduces “Japonisme”, an American rum made from 100% Kokuto, Okinawa’s black sugar

Lost Spirits Distillery, Inc., an internationally renowned distillery, famous for its cutting-edge technology, world-class spirits, and spectacular Las Vegas show experience, announces today the launch of its rum “Japonisme”.

“Japonisme” is a heavy-pot-still rum (also known as English style) fermented and distilled from 100% Kokuto sugar. Kokuto is a highly valued culinary ingredient that has been made in Okinawa since the 17th century. Unlike refined sugar, Kokuto is obtained by drying boiled sugarcane juice into brownish-black bricks.

“Japonisme” is, to our knowledge, the only rum produced with Kokuto in the United States and possibly the only rum made with this very special ingredient outside Japan.

After distillation, the rum was aged using toasted and charred American oak using the aging technique that Lost Spirits Distillery patented in 2015. The inventor (and co-founder of Lost Spirits) Bryan Davis was the first person to demonstrate (using GCMS) that it was possible to age spirits in a laboratory setting using a combination of heat and high-intensity light. The company currently owns a portfolio of patents granted around the world for its aging process.

The rum “Japonisme” opens with intense rancio notes expressed as wet wood and fallen leaves, followed by aromas of black cherry, cedar and caramel that transform on the palate into cedar box, vanilla, baking spices, black cherry and dark chocolate.

Davis stated: “We have been working on this project for over a year and I am delighted to taste the results. It was a rewarding experience for all of us at Lost Spirits to get back to our roots”.

The bottling of “Japonisme” (batch 1) is limited to about 1000 bottles, which are currently available to Lost Spirits Distillery shareholders and critics. The remaining bottles will be available to the public at the distillery starting this December. Once the 1000 bottles are sold out, we do not expect to produce more in the short term (if ever), as the cost of the Kokuto makes this rum impractical for large-scale production.

Lost Spirits is an internationally acclaimed and award-winning distillery. It has been awarded “Best Distillery Tour in the World” by Drinks International, “Best Distillery Experience in the World” by The Spirits Business UK and “Best Distillery Experience in America” by the American Distilling Institute. The distillery also obtained a coveted “Liquid Gold Award” in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible and won the honor of “World Whisky of the Year” by Wizards of Whisky in 2019. Lost Spirits won a “Global Master” award for its Jamaican rum. Recently, Lost Spirits Distillery opened its circus show in Las Vegas, which made the Thrillist list of “Best Shows in Las Vegas” for 2023, hosting over 200,000 guests, since its opening, in Las Vegas.

Source: Lost Spirits Distillery, Inc.