Shochu Diet: Week-8

We started the imo tastings with the easily drinkable, unassuming Kuro Kirishima. Neither of those words would be used to describe Kaikouzu. This is a single distilled imo using the golden chestnut sweet potato local to this region of Japan. This shochu smells like sweet potato in an oddly earthy way – almost unwashed.

Taiso, a relative newcomer to the US market, packs a robust smoky, but traditional Iki Island punch which pairs well with meals. Similar to its fellow ikijochu, Yamanomori, Taiso is made with a 2:1 ratio mix of barley to rice.

Nakanaka is the main brand of barley shochu from the very well respected Kuroki Honten in Miyzaki, which makes a wide range of delicious shochu across two different distilleries, but under the same ownership. Their premium barley shochu, Hyakunen no Kodoku, a 40% ABV barrel aged barley shochu, is arguably the most famous barley shochu in Japan. Nakanaka takes a more straightforward approach with atmospheric distillation and 100% barley.

Hard to explain why I haven’t reviewed Kozuru Kuro sooner. Perhaps in some way I wanted to keep it secret. It’s an affordable, luscious black koji imo shochu from Kagoshima. It’s the basic product from Komasa Shuzo, which I visited this summer.

Bunzo Kome is a polished rice shochu, which, as with other shochus of this style, results in a sweet, mellow drink. There is a light, neutral, slightly alcoholic nose – not much going on at all with the scent of this shochu. The flavor is a sweet first impression, not unlike some sake, and that’s followed by more sweetness – a mellow sweetness. Not quite sugar, but not molasses or honey either.