Kanpai

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #11: An Interview with Victoria Vera

August 5, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Join Christopher Pellegrini as he interviews Tsunami Panhandle's bartender extraordinaire, Victoria Vera.

Mizu Lemongrass Shochu

July 30, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Mizu Lemongrass Shochu may not be an authentic honkaku shochu due to the use of lemongrass, but this is a case where a beautiful spirit breaks the rules.

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #9

July 21, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Join Stephen Lyman for a conversation with Jesse Falowitz of Mizu Shochu on his journey from marketing manager for a multinational agency to entrepreneur with the first and most successful export-only shochu brand in the U.S.

Mizu Green Tea Shochu

July 20, 2020 by Christopher Pellegrini Leave a Comment

Mizu's Green Tea Shochu is the most recent addition to the Mizu Shochu lineup.

Shochu Pros Shochu’sday #8

July 15, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Stephen and Christopher give an update on the Kyushu flooding, introduce TeaCult (a tea start-up in Fukuoka), and geek out over one of our favorite aromatic shochu brands, Mizu Shochu, featuring both their Green Tea and Lemongrass products.

Disaster Relief for Kyushu Floods

July 11, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

The floods in the Hitoyoshi region are believed to have killed more than 50 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. This is deeply personal to us a www.kanpai.us since we count several Hitoyoshi shochu makers as our friends. The damage has spread further over the past week as Kyushu floods continue around the region.

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.

iichiko Saiten

After winning some awards on the international spirits circuit (including double-gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition), there's ample evidence that iichiko Saiten deserves serious consideration by bartenders everywhere.

Shochu for the Summer Months

Humid evenings wearing a jinbei or yukata, fireworks over the water, and being reminded once again that old-school strawberry kakigori doesn’t taste much like strawberries at all. These are the indelible hallmarks of summer for many. But I am happy to propose a new addition, Japan’s summer shochu and awamori category.

Semi-officially known as natsu (summer) shochu, the seasonal sub-category is an industry newcomer, interfacing smoothly with the trend toward carbonated drinks such as chuhai and highballs. Summer versions of various sweet potato shochu brands have been joined on the market by rice, barley, kokuto, and awamori (also made with rice) to name a few.… Read More “Shochu for the Summer Months”

Nakanaka – a pleasant surprise

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.