Podcast

INTRO

In episode 67, Stephen delves into the origins of Mizu Shochu with founder, Jesse Falowitz. Believed to be the 1st shochu ever developed specifically for the export market, Mizu has been a trendsetter for over a decade now.

CREDITS

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

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyrobotpodcast.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 love talking with entrepreneurs with a passion.

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

SHOW NOTES

Jesse Falowitz, Marketing Exec.

Jesse Falowitz grew up in south Florida before ending up in product marketing in Asia for nearly a decade. His travels to Japan brought him face to face with shochu and it was with his Japanese college buddy and now business partner, Jeremy Kono, that they decided to set out to create a shochu brand designed for the international market.

When people talk about starting an alcohol brand, they often think it will be easy. Jesse knows as well as anyone that starting an alcohol brand it hard and even harder when doing so in an unknown category. Mizu Shochu took several years to develop before it was even bottled. Once bottled, the packaging needed to change, and ultimately the entire sales strategy evolved out of necessity.

Jesse began as a man with a bag in New York City where he self-distributed Mizu Shochu in the early days. Jesse was soon joined by partner Taeko Ichioka who joined the brand as a partner to assist with sales, promotion, and marketing. After bouncing around a couple of smaller distributors, they’ve ended up in the Sazerac constellation of brands, which has resulted in a 30 state distribution network and the ability to ship direct to consumers in 40 US states.

Munemasa Distillery

Jesse’s partner in Mizu Shochu is the Munemasa Distillery. And it really is a partnership. They work together to create new expressions. Jesse’s marketing and branding sense coupled with Munemasa’s creativity and innovative passion has led to some very interesting new brands for Mizu Shochu.

One of only 12 distilleries in Saga Prefecture, Munemasa was an unlikely partner, but a lucky twist of fate brought Jesse face to face with a Munemasa salesman in a local liquor store in Karatsu City, Saga.

Mizu Shochu

Jesse launched Mizu Shochu with a 35% ABV barley shochu built off of an Iki-style mashbill. 1/3 rice koji (black koji if you’re curious), 2/3 local Saga barley. Single pot distilled and then aged in an neutral vessel. Rather than going down to the Japan domestic standard 25% ABV, Jesse wanted a higher proof spirit. Vacuum distillation keeps the product clean, but the black koji, rice, and barley give it plenty of flavor.

Their 2nd product to release was made with locally grown organic lemongrass. Again, 35%, this is not an approved honkaku shochu ingredient, but still qualifies as an otsuri, or old-style shochu due to the use of koji and single pot distillation. Made with white koji and rice, this shochu lets the lemongrass shine through while the koji and rice play supporting roles.

The 3rd product release was the Green Tea expression made with green tea from Ureshino, Saga Prefecture. black rice koji, barley, and 10% green tea make up this mash bill. The green tea shines through while the other ingredients give the spirit excellent mouth feel and body.

The most recent release is a Sakura Cask finished barley shochu. Jesse claims this is the first Japanese spirit ever aged 100% in sakura casks and we have not yet found evidence to discount that claim.

How to Enjoy

All of the Mizu Shochu expressions are excellent on the rocks or with soda, but bartenders and the Mizu team have developed dozens of chu-hai and cocktail applications for these beautiful, flexible spirits. Given their national direct to consumer shipping in the US, it seems ordering a 4-pack may not be a bad idea.

Kanpai!

INTRO

In episode 66, Stephen chats with former professional skateboarder Jason Rogers, founder of Yabai Chuhai.

CREDITS

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

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyrobotpodcast.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 love talking with entrepeneurs with a passion.

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

SHOW NOTES

Jason Rogers, Skater

Jason Rogers grew up in San Diego, California, the son of an American father and Japanese mother. His interest in computer design and architecture was permanently sidetracked when he became a profesional skateboarder at just 16 years old. This brought him to Japan as a young man when he first tried canned chuhai, which began a relationship that has lead to Yabai Chuhai today.

His pro skating career was over by age 22, but that’s when he transitioned to running a succcessful skateboard company, which prepared him well for a career in entrepeneurship. His wheel brand, Autobahn, in particular was quite successful.

Jason Rogers, Yabai Chuhai Brand Owner

A few years ago, Jason found himself drinking with a skater friend after a session and remininsicing about dirnking chuhai in Japan. They were shocked to find no chuhai available at local Asian markets in LA, which led to a last minute trip to Japan to explore the wonders of chuhai. By the time he’d returned to Japan, he was sold on the idea of starting his own chuhai brand and Yabai Chuhai was born.

Made with korui (multiply distilled) shochu from Nagoya, Japan, Yabai Chuhai is currently the only domestically produced Japanese chuhai in America. Currently available in 5% ABV offerings, a 9% strong Yabai Chuhai is on its way.

Using local distribution and viral marketing, Yabai Chuhai has seen slow and steady growth that now seems on the verge of exploding with a test market opening up over 150 Target stores throughout California and Hawaii.

We wish Jason and Yabai Chuhai all the best in theier efforts.

Kanpai!

INTRO

In episode 65 of the Japan Distilled podcast, we discuss something that is often overlooked in discussions of distilled spirits production. What’s happening inside the pot still?

CREDITS

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

Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyrobotpodcast.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 sometimes pretend to be chemists even though they are not.

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

SHOW NOTES

The Pot Still

When it comes to distilled beverage alcohol, there are two primary still designs. The pot still and the column still. A column still is what’s used to turn crude oil into high-test gasoline and that’s about as much as you need to know about how its used to make beverage alcohol. Think vodka, soju, and most budget minded gins, rums, and whiskies.

The pot still is where things get interesting (and more expensive). The fermentation is boiled and evaporated out of the still one time for each run. In this batched process, the alcohol yields are lower, but much more interesting flavors and aromas are retained. Think Jamaican pot still rum, single malt Scotch, mezcal, and, of course, Honkaku Shochu and Ryukyu Awamori.

What’s Happening Inside the Pot Still?

This is where things get endlessly complex, confusing, and interesting. This is also where many people decide to just enjoy the beverages rather than understanding their production process in a deeper way. And that’s okay.

A fermentation, whether it be a “simple” rum molasses fermentation, a “beer” for whisky making, or a porridge-like sweet potato shochu fermentation, is a complex community of living organic matter, dead organic matter, liquids, solids, sugars, starches, proteins, fats, and myriad other things.

Each and every one of these things has a vapor point, or the temperature at which is will convert from liquid form to gaseous form. This is what will determine when that particular compound will escape through the neck of the pot still only to be re-liquified in a cooling apparatus to become part of the resulting spirit.

As you may recall from high school chemistry class, the boiling point (vapor point) for water is 100 degrees Celsius. For ethanol (the “goal” of beverage alcohol distillation), it is around 78.4 degrees Celsius. Therefore, to extract the spirit from the fermentation, you want the temperature inside the pot still to be somewhere between 78.4 and 100 degrees Celsius.

This is not to say that anywhere between those two temperatures is fine. It’s not. All of the other compounds inside the pot still will be evaporating or not depending on the temperature and this can change the flavor and aroma of a spirit in profound ways. And this is where the art comes in. The distiller who knows what she’s doing will optimize the temperature inside the still to capture the maximum ethanol yield in perfect harmony with the ideal flavor and aroma profile for what they are trying to make. That’s where the magic lies. Everything else is just chemistry.

Just Scratching the Surface

To learn more, check out the Moonshine Distiller website, which is chock full of some of the best English language descriptions about what’s happening inside the pot still.

Kanpai!

INTRO

In episode 63, Christopher Pellegrini takes the interviewer’s chair as he welcomes his friend and fellow Tokyo Swallows fan, Mac Salman of premier Japanese drinks youtube channel Kanpai Planet.

CREDITS

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

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

HOST

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. 

Christopher and his guest, Mac, have been exploring Tokyo’s drinks scene for decades.

If you have any comments or questions about this episode, please reach out to Christopher or Mac via Twitter, or X or whatever they’re calling it these days. We would love to hear from you. 

SHOW NOTES

Mac Salman

Christopher’s longtime friend and constant Tokyo Swallows emotional support network member, Mac Salman, is originally from the UK, but moved to Japan to continue his career in banking. That’s all behind him now that he’s become a successful entrepreneur.

Maction Planet

Mac’s first independent business in Japan was founded in 2017 with the very popular Maction Planet tour agency. Mac provides bespoke tours throughout Japan and these tours are extremely popular. You need to book months in advance.

Of course, the pandemic required a big old pause button be pressed on that business so Mac, a tireless workaholic, created Kanpai Planet on YouTube.

Kanpai Planet

With over 60 very well made videos and 6,000+ YouTube channel subscribers, Kanpai Planet is absolutely the best Japanese beverage alcohol content available on YouTube. Sake, whisky, shochu, and much more. Such a great resource.

The 9 Part Making Sake on Sado is definitely a must watch as are his brand reviews for various Japanese whiskies. Our favorite, of course, is for Takamine 8 Year Koji Whiskey.

We highly recommend you subscribe to Kanpai Planet and if you find yourself in Tokyo on vacation, take one of Mac’s tours – just book well in advance.

Kanpai!