INTRO
In episode 79 our hosts are back in the studio to talk about gateway shochu brands and simple service styles to help introduce these spirits to unfamiliar drinkers.
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 never tire of introducing these spirits to new fans.
If you have any comments or questions about this episode, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Instgram. We would love to hear from you.
SHOW NOTES
Gateway Shochu
Given how unfamiliar a single pot distilled spirit made from agricultural products that many outside of Japan do not usually drink (think sweet potatoes, radishes, carrots, and seaweed), we decided to introduce 6 brands that may be good gateway shochu for those unfamiliar with the category or that those of you who are already fans of the category can use to introduce your friends and fmaily.
Stephen’s 3 brands were:
iichiko (100% barley shochu, Sanwa Shurui, Oita Prefecture, 25% ABV) The best selling barley shochu brand in the world, iichiko was literally Stephen’s gateway shochu. The first one that he ever tried and he still drinks it today.
Kawabe (100% rice shochu, Sengetsu Distillery, Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, 25% ABV) This vacuum distilled rice shochu made with premium sake yeast and only lightly filtered has beautiful aroma and a lush mouth feel.
Daiyame (sweet potato shochu, Hamada Distillery, Kagoshima Prefecture, 25% or 40% ABV available) This is one of the modern style of sweet potato shochu made with a vacuum still and intended to play well with sparkling water in a highball. Daimaye may be a prefect gateway shochu for sweet potato, because it has none of the funk we know and love in traditional sweet potato shochu. Instead it tastes of lychee and lychee only.
Christopher’s 3 brands were:
Aokage (100% barley shochu, Yanagita Distillery, Miyazaki Prefecture, 25% ABV) Aokage is a full bodied (read: atmospheric distilled) barley shochu that expresses as a roasted barley shochu, but the grain itself is not roasted. Robust, but with highly familiar flavor and aromas reminiscent of dark chocolate and coffee.
Shigemasu (sake lees shochu, Takahashi Shoten Brewery, Yame, Fukuoka Prefecture, 30.5% ABV) Shigemasu is a vacuum distilled sake lees, or kasutori, shochu made with premium daiginjo sake lees, which are re-fermented over yellow koji-inoculated steamed rice for 4 days before distillation. A ginjo-bomb.
Nankai (kokuto sugar shochu, Machida Distillery, Amami Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, 24%) This vacuum distilled kokuto sugar shochu is privately bottled for the US market and imported directly to Los Angeles, but is beginning to gain a larger footprint in the US. Very easy drinking and a nice representation of the style. If higher proof or barrel aging are more your thing, Nankai Gold (43% ABV) is a thing of beauty, though its priced a fair amount above the main Nankai brand due to the angel’s share and higher excise taxes on higher proof spirits.
Simple Serves
If you have listened long enough you know that Christopher and Stephen adore traditional shochu service, but we have also realized that this is not always the best way forward when trying to create new fans. Therefore, we have a few recommended service styles that should be easy and fun.
Boilermaker The classic shot and a beer. In this case, a crisp Japanese lager (Orion from Okinawa or Sapporo from Hokkaido would be our top choices) along with a big full bodied shochu or awamori. Our current obsession is Yokka Koji from Chuko Distillery served as a frozen shot. So good. But really anything works, though freezing the bottles definitely makes for a more memorable experience.
Highball This should come as a surprise to nobody, because highballs have become extremely popular, but this was not even really considered a standard service style a decade ago. Today every izakaya in Japan has sparkling water available for shochu dilution.
Simple Cocktail Riffs Even at 25% ABV, many shochu stand up as a low alcohol cocktail alternatives for base spirits. Stephen loves putting sweet potato shochu or roasted barley shochu as a gin replacement in his negronis. Much less booze with great flavor. Shingo Gokan has started serving sweet potato shochu martinis at his bars. Christopher introduces a riff on an iceless tea punch on the episode as well.
Pre-diluted, served chilled. Ever since episode 33 when Joshin Atone described shochu as a “risky spirit” Stephen’s been thinking about this challenge. What he’s recently hit on is a riff on a very traditional serve. The “maewari” or pre-diluated shochu serve. Typically maewari is heated before service or poured over ice in Japan, but in this case Stephen recommends chilling the bottle and serving it in a white wine glass. This works great for food pairing experiences. Just need to play with the ratios for each brand to find where it expresses best.
Much More to Explore
Quick question. What are your favorite gateway shochu or simple serves for these spirits?
Really loved this episode guys, it’s great to hear the ways you have evolved your “first-serve” method. Have definitely had challenges offering shochu to first timers and it was satisfying to hear your explanations why, especially Stephen’s comments about dilution. I will definitely try the chilled maewari technique, sounds delicious