Hello! We’re the nerdy voices on the Japan Distilled Podcast. Our simple goal is to inform the world about Japanese spirits (the kind you drink). It’s a good idea to listen with a drink in hand because we love to kanpai!
Reporting from Japan.
Stephen Lyman (co-host)
Christopher Pellegrini (co-host)
Rich Pav (sound engineering)
Meet the hosts!
With close to three decades of shochu and awamori experience between us,
this podcast is the culmination of everything we’ve tasted and learned.
Stephen Lyman
Co-host
Stephen discovered Japan’s indigenous spirits at an izakaya in New York City. He was so enthralled that he now lives in Japan and works in a tiny craft shochu distillery every autumn. His first book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks, was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Award.
Christopher Pellegrini
Co-host
Vermont born and bred, long-term Tokyo resident, and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours spreading the word about awamori and shochu. Kanpai!
Stephen and Christopher are routinely mistaken for one another in Kagoshima’s famous Tenmonkan drinking district despite neither of them living in the prefecture. They are passionate about film-making, education, and baseball. Both are professors at Japanese universities.