A History of Kibuchi Drink and How to Make Your Own

Kibuchi drink have a long history of over 1,000 years. They are a type of traditional Japanese home distilled alcohol made from potatoes and sweet potatoes, which originated in the Kibi region of Okayama prefecture. Today, Kibuchi Drink can be found across Japan and there is even a Kibicchi Mujinten festival that takes place every year to celebrate this unique drink. However, their popularity has declined significantly over the last few decades as people are more acquainted with other types of alcohol. There are almost no places that sell Kibuchi Drink directly, so you need to find a specialist store or visit an old-fashioned general store to get them. In this article we will explore the history of kibi drinks along with how to make your own at home.

A Brief History of Kibuchi Drink

For the first few hundred years, Kibuchi Drink were made using a large pot called a kibidaira. There are plenty of records of people making kibuchi drinks using this method, but it is rare to find any information about the types of sweet potato or potato used. The first mention of sweet potato in relation to kibuchi drinks is from 1461, where it is noted that people were already growing this plant on a large scale. Over the next few hundred years, there were many more records of people growing sweet potato and using it to make kibuchi drinks. However, it was also around this time that people started using the smaller sized shoribiki (kettle). As people grew more accustomed to the taste and smell of shoribiki made kibi drinks, the popularity of kibidaira fell.

Why are Kibuchi Drinks Famous?

Kibuchi drinks have always been famous for being a cheap alcoholic drink that is easy to make at home. As people in Okayama Prefecture began growing more sweet potatoes, they needed a way to use all of them. Kibuchi drinks are cheap to make, using mostly sweet potatoes and only a small amount of komekoji (Japanese sake rice), which is the key ingredient. A large portion of the Japanese population at the time were poor, so Kibuchi Drink were a cheap way for people to get drunk. Kibi drinks are also famous for their unique smell, which is commonly described as a sweet potato smell. Kibi drinks also have a unique taste that some would describe as a mix between sweet potatoes and Japanese sake. As Kibuchi Drink become more popular, people have started to make them with different ingredients.

What’s special about kibi drinks?

Kibuchi Drink are famous for being a type of cheap homemade alcohol that is easy to make at home. They have a sweet potato taste, which is a very unique flavor that is unlike any other type of alcohol. When drinking kibi drinks, you will notice that the sweet potato taste is present in your mouth for a few hours afterward. This is why it is common for people to eat something salty to neutralize the flavor after drinking. Another thing that is special about kibi drinks is the unique smell that fills the room as they are being made. It’s not something that most people would describe as a pleasant smell.

The Good and the Bad of Kibuchi Drink

The Good

Kibuchi Drink are a very unique drink that many people have never tried before. They have a very distinct sweet potato taste that is unlike anything you would get from other types of alcohol.

The Bad

The sweet potato taste is very strong, so it is not for everyone. If you don’t like sweet potatoes, then you probably won’t like kibi drinks. Kibuchi Drink are also not very good to drink on their own. They are better suited to be used as a mixer for other drinks or in cooking.

A Delicious Dish Made from Kibuchi Drink

If you want to make an even tastier dish using kibi drinks, then you have to try sweet potato oden. Oden is a hot pot dish that is traditionally eaten during winter in Japan. Sweet potato oden is a variation of this dish that is made by adding kibi drinks to the pot instead of water. The sweet potato flavor goes really well with the oden ingredients and the dish is both filling and delicious. You will need a large stock pot or oden pot to make this dish. First, you need to make the kibi drinks, which you can use as the broth. Next, add the oden ingredients to be cooked in the pot, followed by the kibi drinks to complete the dish. You need to make sure that the kibi drinks are hot when you add them to the pot.

The 3 Varieties of Kibi Drinks

These are the three varieties of kibi drinks that you can make at home.

Komekoji kibi

This is the original kibi drink recipe, which is made with a combination of komekoji and sweet potato. This drink is the strongest in flavor and smells the strongest out of all three.

Grated sweet potato kibi

This is one of the milder alcoholic drinks, which can be made with either brown or yellow sweet potato.

Grated potato kibi

Potato kibi is the mildest tasting drink, which is made with either white or yellow potato.

Conclusion

Kibuchi Drink are a very unique home-made alcohol made from sweet potato, which originated in the Kibi region of Okayama prefecture. Kibi drinks have a long history of over 1,000 years and have been around since the Kamakura period. They are a type of traditional Japanese home distilled alcohol made from potatoes and sweet potatoes, which are cheap to make and can be drunk on their own or used as a mixer for other drinks. There are almost no places that sell Kibuchi Drink directly, so you need to find a specialist store or visit an old-fashioned general store to get them.