Name: 山ねこ Yama Neko
Type: 芋焼酎 Potato shōchū
Potato: 甘藷（ジョイホワイト）Joy White Sweet Potato
Ingredients: 甘藷（ジョイホワイト）、米麹（山田錦）
Alcohol: 25%
Distillery: 尾鈴山蒸留所 Osuzuyama
Address: 656-17, Kuratani, Ishikawauchi, Kijo-cho, Koyu-gun, Miyazaki
Website: https://osuzuyama.co.jp/en/
Additional Content: Nothing that could be found at this time
About Yama Neko (Website)
The freshness of the citrus fruit derived from the sweet potato, the sweetness of the potato, and the fragrant aroma of the malt. It has a clean mouthfeel and the sweetness of the potato, but leaves a refreshing aftertaste. Soda, water and rocks are recommended.
Enjoy on the rocks
In the bottle: Bright and slightly sweet, hints of lychee and syrupy fruits, not overly complex but still quite nice. There is a slight hint of alcohol and sourness on the nose, but not overpowering.
On the rocks: Spicy and tingly in the mouth and in the back of the throat, there is a subtle sweetness on the finish like slightly overripe fruit and a little sourness that reminds me of dark chocolate. The finish really stays with you but not in an unpleasant way.
水割り Diluted with water
4:1, 3:2 ratio: The sharpness really mellows out as would be expected, but there is a nice little sweetness that comes forward that was hidden on the initial tasting, on the back end the ripe fruit and chocolate notes are not washed out completely, but enough that they don't really add any complexity.
Reflections on this shōchū
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I tried the two other versions of Yama Neko before this and each one is unique in what it offers, the original version at least to me is less sweet than the two special offerings.
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Osuzuyama hits again, everything I have had from them is good quality and has great drinkability, making it a good go-to if its on the menu.
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The price point for all of the bottles from Osuzuyama are in the range of 1800 JPY, which puts them in a slightly higher price point than the typical under 1500 JPY for the majority of most bottles, but still not prohibitably expensive.
How I came across this bottle:
Picked this up at my local bottle shop, they have all three types from Osuzuyama and all priced pretty similarly. No special adventures to get this bottle, maybe next time.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
Top Label
Back Label
Osuzuyama [Yamaneko] Potato
Osuzuyama Distillery, located deep in the mountains where water springs from the ground.
The distillery was built in a secluded area abundant with high-quality water and surrounded by forest trees, deep in the mountains, which are said to contain more than 30 large and small waterfalls on Mount Osuzu. The ingredients are carefully cultivated and harvested by local and contracted farmers.