Cool Shochu in Japan (Ep. 20)

EPISODE INTRO

In the 20th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman explore cool shochu (read “cold”) service styles for the traditional Japanese spirits of honkaku shochu and ryukyu awamori. While other styles exist these days, cool shochu service is most common throughout most of Japan.

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 do not always agree on how best to enjoy these drinks.

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

Cold Service Styles

While traditional honkaku shochu was often served diluted with hot water, that’s the next episode. This week we tackle cool shochu service styles, which are now predominant both in Japan and overseas when it comes to both shochu and awamori

On the Rocks

The simplest cool shochu service, simply pour shochu over ice in a rocks glass. Give it a few stirs to begin the dilution and you are good to go. If you want less melt, start with a chilled glass, chilled shochu, and/or a large single ball of ice. This way takes more preparation and time, but will stay cool longer with less dilution.

Mizuwari

In Japanese “mizu” means water and “wari” means cut so mizuwari shochu or awamori is simply cut with cold water, usually over ice as well. This is the most common service style in most of Japan. In fact, you can get a “mizuwari” set when you order a bottle of shochu, which will come with a bucket of ice, pitcher of cold water, glassware, and a swizzle stick.

Sodawari

This one should be easy. Cut with soda, again usually with ice. Be sure not to stir too much or you’ll lose the bubbles, which would be sad. Sodawari sets can also be had with bottle service in Japan, but expect to pay extra for the sparkling water.

Chilled

While this is generally uncommon, there are two styles that are often served chilled. Very low proof shochu (around 5-15% ABV) has begun to appear on the market and those are often designed to be served chilled like a white wine. Alternatively, hanatare, the head’s of a distillation run, are so pungent that chilling the bottle and pouring if over a big ball of ice serves to make it more palatable. In fact, hanater is best kept in the freezer where the spirit become viscous, which makes for a fun service experience.

Bachiwari

Not a common service style, but it had a moment in NYC a few years ago when Aburiya Kinnosuke made this a service style option. Take a punch bowl, fill it with ice, pour in a bottle of shochu, toss in some citrus rounds or other fruits or aromatics, and voila, you have a shochu punch bowl for communal service. A great way to hang out with friends!

KANPAI!