The Full Story
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sake, there is a reason why its called nihonshu (日本酒), meaning Japanese alcohol as it pairs naturally with sushi, sashimi and a range of Japanese dishes and drinking snacks. Unfortunately, these days a lot of sake brewers add alcohol to the finished product in an effort to appeal to younger Japanese drinkers. To me, the added alcohol drastically takes away from the pure flavor of sake, masking the beautiful flavors that make is so appealing in the first place. The other down side for me at least is that it is just too easy to drink too much which led to more than a few nights of stumbling drunk around Tokyo when I was younger.
My discovery of shōchū started in my early 30s. While out drinking with some colleagues at a small Izakaya in Nihonbashi, I was introduced to shōchū, and the first type I tried was called Tantakatan, made from Japanese Shiso (Perilla). I was completely amazed by the flavor and the aroma, which was nothing like I had ever encountered. I remember going to a liquor store soon after and being amazed at all the different types and being a little overwhelmed since I could not read what any of them were. At that time, I was coming to Japan about four times a year, so I didn't venture outside of this brand and often brought home a few bottles to share with friends.
Some years later, I moved to Japan, which gave me more opportunities to try other types of shōchū made from different ingredients and locations all around Japan and Okinawa. The main shōchū types I have explored are potato (Imojochu), which is often made of different kinds of sweet potatoes. After that, there are barley, rice, and the aforementioned shiso, as well as niche types like chestnut, brown sugar, buckwheat, and others. It has been more than 20 years since my first experience with shōchū, and I am still exploring new brands and continue to be fascinated by the many small craft distilleries I find on my travels
Tantakatan
Ryukyu glass, perfect for drinking Awamori
This website is just a passion project to share something that does not get a lot of attention and is often overshadowed by sake in terms of its visibility and association with Japanese alcohol. I initially thought about including information on how shōchū is made and what regions of Japan are famous for a specific type; however, in the end, other websites have done this better than I would do. Also, I really just wanted to make a space to keep track of what I have tried and my tasting notes. Hopefully, this site might even get some traffic and connect me with other shōchū drinkers. This site is mainly dedicated to exploring potato and rice-based shōchū including Awamori from Okinawa. However, recently, I have an working on an "others" page with anything else interesting I come across. Regarding my reviews, I typically drink everything "on the rocks", straight or mixed with water, so I apologize in advance for the lack of variation in my suggestions.
Shochu Community
Please feel free to reach out, I am always happy to talk about Shochu and discover new bottles to try.
