A Katsuobushi Rum?! KOKUTO DE LEQUIO Smoky Umami Rum from Okinawa
2026.10.05
In short: KOKUTO DE LEQUIO Smoky Umami Rum is an Okinawan rum made with katsuobushi (dried bonito) — created to help save Okinawa’s only katsuobushi factory. Smoky umami with fruity rum notes and a sweet, toasty finish. Our suggestion: with soda, paired with kombu chocolate. From Bar Little Happiness, Hiroshima.
People are surprised: “What, katsuobushi?!”
“KOKUTO DE LEQUIO Smoky Umami Rum.”
But this isn’t just a gimmick.
It really, truly smells of katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes).
But when you drink it, you’ll be even more surprised!!
What unfolds is an “unknown taste” — a marriage of Japanese wisdom and Okinawan ingredients.
Why katsuobushi, of all things?
“Umami” has become a word understood all over the world.
Did you know that Okinawa consumes about four times the national average of katsuobushi, making it Japan’s number-one “katsuobushi prefecture”?
But today, Okinawa’s only katsuobushi factory faces ageing facilities and a lack of successors.
This rum is a “challenging rum,” born from the wish to rescue that Okinawan traditional industry through the world’s bar scene.
“Flavour magic” on the tongue
True to its name, “Smoky Umami,” this rum brilliantly overturns conventional wisdom.
Official tasting notes
A smoky aroma from katsuobushi and flavours suggestive of umami, with fruity rum notes rising through the nose. A sweet, toasty finish.
[The Little Happiness way] A surprising pairing
What I’d like to suggest is pairing it “with soda” and with “kombu chocolate.”
When the katsuobushi in the rum (animal umami) meets the kombu in the chocolate (plant umami), it is a magical experience — like making “the ultimate dashi” in your mouth.
Please try this new sensation of “smoky umami”!
Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.
[About the author]
Mika Tanimoto
CEO, Little.m Inc. / Owner-bartender
Since 2006, I have run Bar Little Happiness, a whisky and rum bar in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima. I visit distilleries in Japan and around the world and write about the people who make the spirits. Recipient of the Hiroshima City Excellent Skilled Worker Award.
“Whisky and rum taste even better when you know the hearts of the people who make them.”
[Visit the bar] 📍 Bar Little Happiness
Rolling Nagarekawa 1F, 5-14 Nagarekawa-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Mon–Sat 7:00 pm – 12:30 am / Sun 7:00 pm – 12:00 am (closed when I travel to visit distilleries)
No cover charge, no reservation needed
