Name: ゴールド秘酎 Gold Hichū
Type: 粕取り焼酎 Kasutori shōchū, aged in oak barrels for at least 1 year
Ingredients: 清酒粕、清酒 Sake Lees, Sake
Alcohol: 30%
Distillery: 栄川酒造 Sakaegawa Shuzō
Address: 3 Chome-13-20 Yahata, Saeki Ward, Hiroshima, 731-5116
Website: http://www.eisen.jp/
Additional Content: The only thing I could find on youtube was a really old commercial for sake from Sakaegawa Shuzō, certainly fun to watch and only 15 seconds long.
In the bottle: There is a bright sweetness that hits first before the beautiful fresh oak fragrance takes center stage, what follows are hints of vanilla, cherry (cherry vanilla) cream soda. If you nose it long enough, you get some subtle cracked black pepper, persimmon and another round of more matured oak; highly enjoyable.
On the rocks: This is a great example of a shochu where what you find on the nose comes through on the palate; and wow, does it come through with the oak is front and center which provides a great base for the vanilla, cherry and cream soda notes to shine. Gold Hichū is just simply a joy to drink, especially if you are a fan of oak aged shochu.
水割り Diluted with water
4:1, 3:2 ratio, the intensity is really dialed back along with the vanilla, cherry and cream soda notes; however, the oak becomes clearer and more up front which adds a really nice sweetness. While I prefer this on the rocks, letting the ice melt enough gives Gold Hichū another life, so deffintely worth trying a few different variations.
Enjoy on the rocks
Reflections on this shōchū
-
I like how this bottle comes with a "bottle keep" tag, while I did not have a chance to hit an Izakaya while in Fukushima, this really feels like a bottle you would find lined up and waiting for the owner to return.
-
Another great chance find that was recommended by the shop staff, certainly been pretty lucky on that over the past few years.
-
Kasutori shochu has fast become one of my favorite types to enjoy and by adding the oak aging this just becomes sublime, truely a lucky find and I would go so far as to say a top 10 discovery for 2023.
How I came across this bottle:
This bottle was a recomendation from the staff at 地酒の森 located in the S-Pal Fukushima shopping mall at the station. The shop staff were really knowledgeable and talked me through the available bottles from the local area, I only wish I have a few minutes more to look over what they had before getting on the train to head home.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
