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Kanpai

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      • sweet potato shochu reviews
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NOTICE: Shochu’sday is Moving!

March 2, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

NOTICE: Shochu’sday is Moving!

After 40 consecutive weeks of hosting Shochu Pros Shochu’sday on Instagram, we are moving to Streamyard, which will allow us to stream to Facebook, YouTube, and eventually to our new website, JapanDistilled.com.

As always (except during daylight savings), 8pm EST on Tuesday evening, 10am JST on Wednesday morning in Japan.

We will be harmonizing our various web presences over the next few months. More to come!

KANPAI!

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Filed Under: Events

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #40: Talking Japanese Whisky

February 23, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #40: Talking Japanese WhiskyThis week Stephen will interview drinks writer Brian Ashcraft about Japanese Whisky.

Tagged With: Japanese Whisky

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #39: Origins of Japanese Whisk(e)y

February 16, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #39: Origins of Japanese Whisk(e)y In this episode we will tell a specific story from the podcast about a Japanese chemist named Jokichi Takamine who is very likely to have been the first person ever to make whisky, but he did it in Peoria, Illinois of all places.

Tagged With: jokichi takamine

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #38: Awamori Brings the Funk

February 9, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #38: Awamori Brings the Funk

February 9 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Stephen and Christopher talk the wide variety of flavors and aromas that can be expressed through rice distillates and we taste one of the wilder awamori brands on earth – awamori funk is a thing. Should be a fun one. As always on Christopher’s instagram.

Kanpai!

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Tagged With: Awamori

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #37: Kokuto Shochu v. Rum!

February 2, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #37: Kokuto Shochu v. Rum!

February 2 @ 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Following up on the latest episode of the Japan Distilled Podcast on Japanese Rum, Stephen and Christopher tackle the differences between kokuto sugar shochu and rum. Watch live on Christopher’s Instagram or after the fact on his Instagram TV. If you watch live you can chime in in the chat.

Kanpai!

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Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #36: Awamori, Baby!

January 26, 2021 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #36: Awamori, Baby!Stephen and Christopher give some love to a really unknown category of indigenous Japanese spirits: Okinawan Awamori.

Tagged With: shochu pros

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Shochu Reviews

iichiko Kurobin

My personal favorite iichiko brand available in the US is iichiko Kurobin. Kurobin is literally translated as "black bottle," which is a pretty on the nose description of this evocative packaging. It is simply too pretty to throw away after finishing.

Shochu Reviews

iichiko silhouette

This iichiko silhouette is probably the most common Japanese shochu currently available in the United States. In NYC I’ve seen it in random mom & pop liquor stores as the only shochu among a shelf of sake options. It’s most commonly available in 750ml bottles, though I’ve seen other sizes in other countries. This is a great starter shochu, which is why I’ve chosen it for my first tasting note. It was my introduction to shochu back in 2008. I’d had Korean soju before, but Japanese shochu is a strikingly different (and better) experience.

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu MUGI

The SG Shochu MUGI Label
The SG Shochu MUGI wraps several barley shochu identities into one. It's lightly barrel-aged and carries the associated sweet notes. But there's also a graininess that is revealed when the temperature of the drink drops. It's a versatile barley shochu that can be enjoyed a variety of ways.

Tasting Notes: Nankai

Nankai Shochu
At first whiff, Nankai smells faintly grassy, which is common in kokuto shochu owing to how kokuto sugar is made from fresh cut cane and that fresh grassiness is a sign of well made kokuto sugar. Sugar cane is, after all, a tall perennial grass. It is still pretty wild that they can capture that after fermentation and distillation.

Shochu Reviews

Tasting Notes: Lento Shochu

Lento is the top selling kokuto shochu in Japan, and it is available internationally as well. Try it on the rocks or with sparkling water for a refreshing taste of the Amami Islands. Kanpai!

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu IMO

The SG Shochu IMO is a clear invitation to create the classic imo cocktail. If you get it right, it will resonate and cascade around the world until you can't not have sweet potato shochu on your menu if you consider yourself a proper drinking establishment.

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu KOME

Putting your nose in a glass of The SG Shochu Kome shows you just how complex a vacuum distilled rice shochu can be. Ginjo sake aromas from the yeast, pineapple, melon, and a faint hint of dairy-like lactic acidity are all present.

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