Podcast

EPISODE INTRO

In the 18th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman turn their noses into the wonderful style that they’ve taken to calling aromatic shochu.

CREDITS

Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)

HOSTS

CHRISTOPHER PELLEGRINI Vermont born and bred, long-time Tokyo resident and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a beer brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours convincing strangers that shochu and awamori are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before. 

STEPHEN LYMAN 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.

Stephen and Christopher spend far too much time seeking out uncommon shochu styles.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode of Japan Distilled, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Twitter. We would love to hear from you. 

SHOW NOTES

Approved Aromatics

Honkaku shochu can be a confusing spirits category due to the wide breadth of ingredients that it can be made from. Unlike, for example, mezcal, which must be made with agave, authentic shochu can be made from over 50 different ingredients and that is a gross oversimplification since there are approximately 50 different potatoes that can be used as well as over 100 different rice varieties.

As we learned in previous episodes, sweet potato, barley, and rice are the most popular ingredients, comprising of between 90% and 95% of domestic sales by volume. Two other styles, kokuto sugar and soba (buckwheat) make up a lion’s share of the remaining sales volume. Everything else comprises about 1% of annual sales. That includes sake lees shochu and what we have taken to calling aromatic shochu. While some of the ingredients we consider aromatics will contribute starches or sugars to the fermentation and will raise the total alcohol production, they are primarily used for their flavor and aroma characteristics.

Without further ado, here is a complete list of the approved ingredients:

cereal grains (e.g., rice, barley, buckwheat)

tubers (e.g., sweet potatoes, potatoes)

kokuto sugar

sake lees

acorn

adzuki bean

aloe

arrowroot

ashitaba

bamboo fronds

butterbur sprout

cactus

carrots

chestnut

enoki mushrooms

gingko nuts

ginseng (multiple species)

green peas

green pepper

green tea

kelp (konbu)

leeks

lily bulbs

lotus root

matcha tea

milk

mugwort

onions

oolong tea

palm dates

peanuts

plum pits

pumpkin (kabocha)

radish

red algae (tsunomata and tsurutsuru)

safflower

saffron

seaweed

sesame seeds

shiso

shitake mushrooms

silvervine (matatabi)

skim milk

sunflower seeds

tomato

wakame seaweed

water chestnuts

water hyacinth

whey powder

No other ingredients can be used to make authentic honkaku shochu and at least for now, no more ingredients will be approved. We suspect that will be the case until there is a demand for a new ingredient. Ginger, perhaps?

Aromatic Shochu

These aromatic shochu are most often made with a rice or barley koji fermentation with more rice and/or barley added to the main fermentation. At some point during the main fermentation, the aromatic ingredient is added. This may be done from the start of the main fermentation or just a day or two before distillation depending on what aromatic profile the master brewer-distiller is hoping to achieve.

These aromatic shochu are nearly always vacuum distilled to preserve the light aromas and mute the grainy expression of the rice or barley.

What is never done is adding the aromatic to the distilled spirit. That is strictly prohibited.

AROMATIC SHOCHU MENTIONED ON THE EPISODE

BENIOTOME

Perhaps the most popular aromatic shochu overseas, Beniotome sesame shochu has a telltale roasted sesame aroma. Sweet and rich. Almost like dessert.

MIZU GREEN TEA AND MIZU LEMONGRASS

Made by Munemasa Distillery in Saga Prefecture, these aromatic expressions are simply brilliant. The lemongrass, while not an approved ingredient, is lovely and the green tea is exactly what a green tea shochu should be. Made with Ureshino Green Tea.

RIHEI GINGER SHOCHU

Another non-approved expression, Rihei is a ginger shochu made by Ochiai in Miyazaki Prefecture. At 38% ABV, its clearly designed for cocktails.

MATATABI

Silvervine (matatabi) is a relative of catnip. This vacuum distilled expression is bright and expressive and very much like a light digestif, but without any added sugars.

CHIRAN TEA CHU

A wild one. Made with both local sweet potatoes and local green tea, Chiran Tea Chu is an extremely flavorful aromatic shochu.

Makiba no Yume

A premium rice shochu with a twist – milk. Makiba no Yume carries a nice lactic finish and is beautiful with bubbles.

DABADA

Chestnut shochu is primarily made on the island of Shikoku, just to the northeast of Kyushu. This is a very popular brand in Japan and can sometimes be found overseas.

Do you have a favorite aromatic shochu not mentioned on the show? Please let us know!

Kanpai!

EPISODE INTRO

In the 17th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman take a look at an environmentally and historically important, but uncommon style of shochu. That is kasutori shochu made from the sake lees, or the solids remaining after sake production.

CREDITS

Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)

HOSTS

CHRISTOPHER PELLEGRINI Vermont born and bred, long-time Tokyo resident and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a beer brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours convincing strangers that shochu and awamori are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before. 

STEPHEN LYMAN 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.

Stephen and Christopher both have their sake certifications, but spend almost all of their time thinking about spirits instead.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode of Japan Distilled, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Twitter. We would love to hear from you. 

SHOW NOTES

Sake Lees

As you may remember from episode 10, there are clear differences between sake and shochu even though both are native to Japan and both use koji for saccharification. The finished sake fermentation is pressed to extract the alcoholic beverage and the solids that remain are predominantly rice that was not completely dissolved during the fermentation.

These lees have high nutritional value and can be used as fertilizer. However, the lees contain residual alcohol that would be damaging to soil and the root systems of crops. As such, the alcohol needs to be removed prior to use as fertilizer.

Sake Lees Shochu

Fortunately, the residual alcohol can be extracted through distillation. This is most often done today by rehydrating the lees with additional water. Some sake breweries will restart the fermentation at this point adding fresh rice koji and yeast to the rehydrated lees. This creates a fresher, brighter kasutori shochu.

An old style kasutori shochu is known as sanaburi shochu, which was traditionally made at rice harvest festivals. The farmers would bring their rice to town to get it polished and the sake brewers would bring out their lees. The lees and rice bran would be mixed and distilled in an old seiryo mushi, or wooden steam still.

These unctuous styles require long term aging. In fact, Morinokura ages their sanaburi shochu for 13 years before bottling.

OTHER KASUTORI SHOCHU MENTIONED ON THE EPISODE

DASSAI

Dassai has taken the sake world by storm with their simple, elegant packaging and simplified numbering system replacing the complicated premium sake labeling standards. They’ve now begun making kasutori shochu in high enough quantities to start selling outside of Yamaguchi Prefecture where Dassai is made. For a long time you could only get the bottles at the brewery or nearby sake shops.

HAKKAISAN

Hakkaisan in northern Niigata Prefecture makes some beautiful sake and as one of the largest sake producers in the prefecture they have plenty of sake lees to bring out a variety of kasutori shochu. Timothy Sullivan of UrbanSake.com and the Sake Revolution Podcast spent a year working at Hakkaisan. He has wealth of knowledge about sake in general and the Niigata region where Hakkaisan is made.

KINPEIBAI

This uncommon 35% alcohol kasutori shochu is made in Saga Prefecture by Gochida Brewery. The high alcohol makes for a rich mouthfeel and the label is resolutely targeting Chinese tourists as its named after a popular erotic novel in China.

NIHON NO KOKORO

The only kasutori shochu we can confirm has US distribution is Nihon no Kokoro from Kitaya Berwery and Distillery in Yame, Fukuoka. This excellent example is made from daiginjo sake lees and aged for 5 years after vacuum distillation.

SHIGEMASU

As we mentioned on the show, there are not many kasutori shochu available with wide distribution so we do not have too many brands to specifically recommend.

Kanpai!

EPISODE INTRO

In the 16th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman take a closer look at Japanese gin. While gin was first made in Japan over 200 years ago, it has really only taken root in the past few years.

CREDITS

Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)

HOSTS

CHRISTOPHER PELLEGRINI Vermont born and bred, long-time Tokyo resident and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a beer brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours convincing strangers that shochu and awamori are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before. 

STEPHEN LYMAN 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.

Stephen and Christopher both prefer their martinis up and very dry.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode of Japan Distilled, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Twitter. We would love to hear from you. 

LINKS

Time Out Tokyo’s Best Japanese Gins List

Punch Drink’s Essential Japanese Gins List

SHOW NOTES

Gin Origins

The earliest known use of juniper in distilled alcohols was from Italian monks who steeped juniper berries in wine before distillation for a tincture. The Dutch were the first to make a juniper spirit with genever, which was a malted grain spirit infused with juniper berries and other botanicals. Genever was first enjoyed by the English in the Thirty Years War and a few decades later England began making their own genever, which was quickly anglicized to gin.

The introduction of the Coffey Still in 1830 quickly gave rise to London Dry Gin, which is the predominant style even to this day.

Japanese Gin

The Dutch were importing genever to Dejima Port in Nagasaki for their own enjoyment and in 1812 what is believed to be the first Japanese produced gin was made by a Japanese bureaucrat who was trying to keep the Dutch traders happy when a naval blockade prevented the delivery of their genever shipment.

However, the first dedicated gin distillery was not opened in Japan until 2015 when the Kyoto Distillery began operations. They released Kinobi Gin in 2016 and the Japanese gin wave began. By 2017 both Suntory and Nikka had released their own gins and today there are dozens of Japanese gins made throughout the country, but perhaps unsurprisingly, most often in Kyushu where over 300 shochu distilleries are located.

JAPANESE GINS MENTIONED ON THE EPISODE

KINOBI

Kinobi Kyoto Dry Gin is really the OG of Japanese gins. It’s extremely well made at the dedicated Kyoto Distillery.

NIKKA COFFEY GIN

Nikka’s coffey still made gin is quite well regarded, though in pretty minimalist packaging. In true Nikka fashion, the gin does the talking.

ROKU GIN

Suntory, as usual, goes with the flashy packaging packed with meaning. Roku means 6 in Japanese for the 6 botanicals (one of which is cherry blossoms in case the picture wasn’t obvious enough). The bottle also has 6 sides. Clever marketing from the world’s largest spirits maker.

YUZU GIN

Yuzugin from Kyoya Distillery in Miyazaki may have been the first gin made by a shochu maker, at least in recent memory. It did not take long for others to join the wave.

KOMASA GIN

Komasa, one of Kagoshima’s largest shochu producers, and the maker of the newly released Kanosuke Malt Whisky, has now released 3 different gins. The original is made with local komikan citrus, the 2nd with green tea, and the 3rd with strawberries.

424 GIN

Wakashio Distillery in Kagoshima zigged when others zagged. Their 424 Gin is only made with juniper rather than the pervasive Japanese citrus approach.

JIN 40

The Shinozaki Distillery in Fukuoka used local lemongrass as the predominant botanical in Jin 40, their first experiment in the gin world. It will not be their last.

SAKURAO GIN

Sakurao has 2 different gin expressions. The pink “limited” bottle has oyster shells in the mashbill! Please see Whisky Richard’s review on Nomunication.jp for much more info.

DENNOSHIN 1812 EXTREME JUNIPER GIN

Dennoshin 1812 was the revival of a genever made in 1812 by a local government bureaucrat to amuse the Dutch stationed at Dejima in Nagasaki. They claim 3x the usual juniper quantity in the mash bill. It is made palatable with the addition of sugar after distillation as is sometimes done in genever or Old Tom Gin.

OSUZU GIN

And last but not least, Stephen’s current favorite Japanese gin, Osuzu from Osuzuyama Distillery. Whisky Richard’s review is a must read on this original relase from this well regarded distillery.

If we missed anything, please let us know, but this should keep you busy for a while.

Kanpai!

EPISODE INTRO

In the 14th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman take a deep dive into sweet potato shochu. This continues a multi-part series breaking down the various subcategories of honkaku shochu, which are classified by ingredient type in the main fermentation.

CREDITS

Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)

HOSTS

CHRISTOPHER PELLEGRINI Vermont born and bred, long-time Tokyo resident and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a beer brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours convincing strangers that shochu and awamori are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before. 

STEPHEN LYMAN 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.

Stephen and Christopher are both enormous sweet potato shochu fans and probably drink more of it than all other styles combined.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode of Japan Distilled, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Twitter. We would love to hear from you. 

LINKS

Maya Aley’s excellent summary of sweet potatoes in Japan.

SHOW NOTES

Sweet Potato Shochu Origins

Sweet potatoes are not native to Japan. They aren’t even native to Asia. In fact, they were brought to Asia by Portuguese traders who sold them to the Chinese, who sold them to the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa), who sold them to Riemon Maeda, a Japanese fisherman, who brought the spuds back to his home in the Satsuma Domain in 1703.

It is no surprise that the name of the fisherman who brought sweet potatoes to Japan is remembered more than 300 years later when virtually all other Japanese commoners of the time are completely lost to history. In 1732, a massive grain crop failure resulted in mass starvation throughout Kyushu. But not in Satsuma. There, the lives of thousands of citizens were saved thanks to the abundant sweet potatoes that grew very well in the rocky, volcanic ash-laden soil. Riemon Maeda was given credit.

Japanese Sweet Potatoes

In most American supermarkets, you might find 1 or 2 varieties of sweet potatoes for sale. At Whole Foods, there might even be 3 or 4. In Japan, there are over 500 varieties of sweet potato cultivated, and more than 50 of those are used for shochu production in southern Kyushu. Rice doesn’t grow very well south of the Hitoyoshi Basin, which we described in the rice shochu episode. Therefore, plenty of farmland in Southern Kyushu (or Minami Kyushu as the region is known in Japanese) is devoted to sweet potatoes.

Harvest occurs in the late summer to early winter, depending on the variety. Distilleries usually begin production in August or early September (smaller distilleries have a hard time sourcing early harvest potatoes, so they tend to start later) and are usually winding down in December or January unless they are aging the potatoes before distillation, in which case production can continue through early spring. A few of the largest distilleries have developed methods for freezing steamed sweet potatoes, which allows them to distill all year long.

The most common sweet potato used in shochu production is kogane sengan. These large, white-fleshed potatoes have been cultivated specifically for shochu. They are not usually consumed but are favored for shochu production due to their high crop yield per acre, high starch content (more alcohol potential), and the aromas and flavors they impart to the spirit.

Purple, red, and orange sweet potatoes, which are much closer to the sweet potatoes Americans can expect to find in their grocery stores, are used to make more premium sweet potato shochu since these are considered food items so prices are higher due to market competition. These are often referred to as satsuma imo (imo being the Japanese word for potato) throughout Japan. For many Japanese, the smell of a roasted satsuma imo evokes childhood memories of the pushcart salesman walking through their neighborhood sing-songing “yakiimo” over and over again (yaki being the Japanese word for grilled as is used in yakitori [grilled chicken] or yakiniku [grilled meat]).

Murasaki imo, or purple potatoes are often called Okinawa Imo as they are most often associated with Okinawan cuisine, but they are used in shochu production as well.

Sweet Potato Shochu

As with barley shochu, sweet potato shochu can begin with a rice koji or barley koji fermentation, but they are also occasionally made with sweet potato koji. By production volume, a vast majority of sweet potato shochu begins life as a rice koji fermentation. We would hazard to guess that this represents more than 99% of the market, though both Japanese short-grain rice or Southeast Asian style long-grain is used depending on the flavor goals of the distillery (and their price sensitivity since short-grain rice can sell for many times more than long-grain rice in Japan).

Sweet potatoes are added to the main fermentation. These potatoes are washed and trimmed before being either steamed or roasted before being added to the main fermentation. The skins are rarely removed as that is where much of the flavor lives. Steamed sweet potato-produced shochu represent a vast majority of the market.

With approximately 80 shochu distilleries in Kagoshima Prefecture (plus 28 in the Amami Islands making kokuto sugar shochu, but we will save that for the next episode) and another 40 or so distilleries in Miyazaki Prefecture, a huge majority of sweet potato shochu is made in Southern Kyushu.

Shochu made in Kagoshima from locally grown sweet potatoes qualifies for the WTO Geographic Indication of Satsuma Shochu, just as Kumamoto made rice shochu qualifies as Kuma Shochu and Iki Island made barley shochu can qualify as Iki Shochu.

Mentioned Sweet Potato Shochu Brands

IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE ON THE SHOW

KURO KIRISHIMA, AKA KIRISHIMA

The black labeled Kuro Kirishima is by far the best-selling shochu in Japan. It’s made in Miyazaki Prefecture with black koji but is resolutely inoffensive. The red labeled Aka Kirishima is considered more premium and is often given as a gift. Made with red sweet potatoes.

SATSUMA SHIRANAMI

The OG in the minds of many Japanese people, Satsuma Shiranami was the first shochu brand to go national in the country. It has since been eclipsed by Kirishima. As you might have guessed by the name, this qualifies as Satsuma Shochu. The iconic wave label is instantly recognizable on bars throughout Japan.

YASUDA, FLAMINGO ORANGE

These new fruity styles have been gaining in popularity. Komasa has also been making these styles using different kinds of yeast.

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IKKOMON, BENIIKKO

The Ikkomon series is made with sweet potato koji. Tasting through these will give drinkers the sense of what the potato brings to the spirit without rice included. The blue and red labels are widely available in overseas markets. Sadly, the purple label is not.

THE HOZAN SERIES

An alternative tasting exploration is to try 3 different shochu made with 3 different koji types: black, white, and yellow. The Hozan Series helpfully color codes the labels. The yellow koji Tomi no Hozan is the best-selling yellow koji sweet potato shochu in Japan.

TENSHI NO YUWAKU

This barrel-aged full proof (40%) shochu is a beautiful spirit (in beautiful packaging) from Nishi Distillery, makers of the Hozan line. At 40% ABV this is higher than most sweet potato shochu, which usually starts life at 36-38% alcohol.

MAHOKO

Not aged in oak, but 16 years old at bottling, Mahoko is a handmade sweet potato shochu from Furusawa Distillery in Miyazaki. At 35% ABV it is only slightly diluted as the angel’s share has reduced the stored genshu to under 36% ABV. Newly available only in the U.S.

TOJI JUNPEI

Another handmade shochu from Miyazaki is Toji Junpei, made by a toji (master brewer-distiller) fittingly named Junpei. Available in the US market despite this being a tiny distillery.

YAMATO ZAKURA

Yamato Zakura is the smallest shochu distillery in Kagoshima and makes only white koji expressions. The main brand is the brand that Stephen helps make every fall.

ROKU DAIME YURI

The shochu Stephen was sipping on during the episode. Very hard to find anywhere in Japan. Made on Koshiki Island, home to only 2 distilleries. Won best of the best in a blind tasting in Dancyu Magazine, beating out all of the more famous brands.

MANZEN, MANZENAN, MANAZURU

Christopher was sipping on Manazuru during the show. These shochu are all made by Manzen Distillery. The main brand, Manzen, uses black koji while Manzenan uses yellow and Manazuru uses white. Manazuru is made just one time per year, so it is extremely hard to find leading Christopher to hunt it on auction all the time.

Rumor has it Christopher’s booze closet floor looks a little bit like this.

If we missed anything, please let us know, but this should keep you busy for a while.

Kanpai!