鶴空 Tsurusora Premium

In the bottle: At first you get some smooth vanilla or what I would describe as wet vanilla, which could be more fresh than wet, also there is a bit of caramel that sneaks in at the end. The sweet potato notes are a bit grain forward, with hints of toasted rice and wheat, overall this is really pleasant. Once this opens up a bit more, you start to get some floral notes with lavender being the strongest, very inviting.  

On the rocks: Super floral, actually more like intensely floral; lavender, honeysuckle and wild flowers burst across the palate, which is an amazing contrast to the nose which filled with more caramel, vanilla and ethanol. Once you let this sit a little the floral notes fade a bit and some of the vanilla and caramel flavors make an appearance, not strong but they are there. At 35% you can really feel the alcohol quite well, it never gets in the way, but you can tell it's there. The finish is quite interesting as there are some candied orange and black pepper that kind of hang around at the end, which adds a nice bit of depth to this bottle.  

Straight: Much more mellow than expected; the floral notes are powerful, but not in an overpowering way, more like they are there, but not intending to crowd the scene. Even the sweetness makes an appearance on the initial splash, with some nice vanilla and caramel notes. What I really enjoyed was the finish, that candied orange is still there as is the 35% alcohol, which gives a nice warm feeling.

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鶴空 Tsurusora 50/50

In the bottle: Nice and warm, there is a smooth sweetness, like vanilla and custard that settles in at the start before fading into some subtle wildflower and lavender notes; overall, a really good start. If you really get in there and nose it, you can get a pinch of the alcohol, which is 30%; however, it never really gets in the way, Tsurusora 50/50 comes off fresh and ready to be enjoyed.

On the rocks: Not as floral as the premium but you can still catch a little, what really dominates on the 50/50 are the caramel, toasted rice, vanilla and somewhat earthy notes, which are the right balance between sweet and dry. The finish on this is also quite pleasant as the sweeter flavors fade out slowly and the alcohol does a great job of carrying them and giving them some room to breath and expand. As the ice melts, the dryness fades a bit and the sweeter flavors start to become more dominant giving the 50/50 a bit more life over the course of the glass. All three bottles have a nice drinkability, with this one landing as my favorite on in this interesting tasing set. 

Straight: Super smooth and really sweet, the caramel, toasted rice, and vanilla notes are there along with a much more earthy side to it, overall this is really a great way to enjoy this shochu and absolutely delicious. At 30% alcohol it feels like this should be a bit heavier but overall quite soft.

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鶴空 Tsurusora 

In the bottle: Really fresh at the start, there is a slightly woody scent at the beginning that reminds me of a fresh broken tree branch, as you get a little deeper you can find some cherry, vanilla, reminds me a bit of cherry coke. This was the last of the three that I tried and it was quite interesting to observe how different each was, especially considering that the base ingredients are the same.  

On the rocks: Right from the first sip you are greeted with some really nice sweet grain notes, with a lot of the familiar flavors present. I have said this more than a few times, but these types of shochu really remind me of Oh's cereal, the oats, toasted rice, and sweet vanilla/caramel are balanced so perfectly and this makes for a really nice glass to sip over the course of the evening. After letting the ice melt a fair amount I felt that the sweetness starts to fade away and this version starts to become a bit dryer with a much shorter finish, which contrasts quite a bit with the 50/50 with started dry and ended up on the sweet side. 

Straight: Nice and smooth with the sweet grain notes a bit sharper on the palate, the vanilla, caramel and slightly cocoa flavors ride out nicely on the finish making this one to enjoy.