In the bottle: The ingredients state just rice and rice koji, but what is in the bottle is much more like a kasutori shochu; the strong sake notes pour out of the bottle as if they were concentrated down to the purest essence. Licorice, lychee, peach are all up front and full of sweetness giving Nekka the feeling of a smooth and refined sake, albeit just a bit more powerful. In the end, Nekka is beautiful, just like the furusato-esk image on the front of the bottle; it just feels like the perfect glass to sip on a hot summer night in the countryside.

On the rocks: Just like on the nose, this is clearly a kasutori shochu, the sake notes are pure, clean and full of all the typical sake notes like licorice, candied fruits and a little vanilla. At first, the sweetness is a bit on the thick side but after the ice melts a little Nekko really opens up, giving way to a more balanced shochu as some of the sharper notes develop a bit giving this a bit more character. 

Straight: This drinks so much like a condensed sake, all of the key flavors are there and very much up front; peach, lychee, licorice and even a little cocoa. Drinking this a room temperature the flavors are crystal clear, with a smoothness that makes this a bit on the dangerous side, at 25% alcohol this drinks just a bit too easily, so be wary.  

Paired with dark chocolate: As wish sake, this pairs so amazingly well; the chocolate blends with the shochu to produce a flavor a bit like rum raisin ice cream. I have paired a lot of bottles with chocolate and this is by far one of the best ever, how no dessert makers are using this is still a shock. 

Enjoy Straight or On-the-rocks