EPISODE INTRO
In this bonus episode addendum to the 58th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, guest host Matt Alt joins Stephen Lyman to reveal and discuss the finalists for the 1st ever Japan Distilled Koji Spirits Cocktail Competition.
CREDITS
Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)
Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)
HOSTS
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.
MATT ALT Author of numerous books including his most recent, Pure Invention: How Japan Made the Modern World, is an exploration of Japan’s incredible post-war rise to commercial diplomacy juggernaut. He’s also an accomplished drinks writer and cocktail historian.
If you have any comments or questions about the competition, please reach out to Stephen or Matt via Twitter. We would love to hear from you.
SHOW NOTES
The Rules
- Create an original cocktail using a koji spirit base. Any koji spirit is welcome, though honkaku shochu and Ryukyu Awamori are preferred.
- Needs to be simple enough to make that a well stocked cocktail bar can make the drinks if provided with the appropriate base spirit.
- 5 finalists will be selected to have their cocktails made by a professional.
- Judges will rate the drinks based on “would I order another one now or in the future” on a scale of 1 (no) to 5 (absolutely).
The judges were Japan Distilled co-host Stephen Lyman, frequent Japan Distilled guest host Matt Alt, graphic designer and friend of the podcast Pablo Pineda, and Fukuoka denizen and shochu fan Yuko Nonaka.
The Finalists
Out of the dozens of submissions we received, we chose 5 finalists to be made at Bar Ugle in Fukoka by Takuma Tsutsumi.
Tsutsumi-san prepared all of the various juices, syrups, and other ingredients over the course of the week before the final judging for the competition, which was held on April 15, 2023.
All of the cocktails were very enjoyable.
The Untitled Cocktail
Ingredients:
½ oz satsuma tangerine vanilla syrup
mist of 1:5 mixture of fish sauce and heavily peated scotch whisky
satsuma tangerine rind, thinly sliced
Instructions:
shake shochu and syrup on crushed ice.
Served up, pour over candied tangerine rind, mist with peated fish sauce concoction
Creator: Ben Samuelson, Monroe, Maine
Feedback: Sadly, Mizu Lemongrass Shochu is not a domestic product here in Japan and we were unable to source it in time for the finals. A vacuum distilled rice shochu was substituted, but that did not rescue the drink. The vanilla did not have the lemongrass to offset its strong flavor.
Shochu Want Me, Baby!
Ingredients:
2 oz Goro Satsuma Shochu (sweet potato)
¾ oz orange curaçao
¾ oz lime juice
¾ oz ginger syrup
½ oz cucumber juice
⅛ tsp yuzukosho (the green stuff)
Garnish: lime wheel (dehydrated if you got it) and a few sprigs of cilantro
Instructions:
Low ball whiskey glass, 1 large ice cube.
Add all ingredients to shaker, shake and double strain over the large ice cube.
Creator: Garrett Ryan, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feedback: The lime juice and yuzukosho partnered to overpower the rest of the drink. The shochu barely showed through at all. Could definitely be delicious if the ratios were work-shopped a bit more.
Kyushu 75
Ingredients:
50ml vacuum distilled rice shochu
20ml yuzu juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
90ml champagne
3-5ml red shiso syrup
Instructions:
Combine shochu, sugar, yuzu juice and ice in an ice shaker
Shake and pour into a champagne glass
Top up with champagne!
Pipette red shiso syrup into bottom of glass.
Creator: Sam Seager, Parts Unknown
Feedback: Not a bad riff on the French 75, but the shochu got lost and the yuzu juice ended up overpowering all but the bubbly. Could definitely work with a little work-shopping on the proportions and choosing just the right champagne and shochu combo.
The Basil Crush
Ingredients:
1.5 oz rice shochu
4 fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons simple syrup
4 cucumber slices
club soda to taste
splash of elderflower liqueur
Instructions:
Muddle the basil, cucumber, syrup, and lemon juice in a tall glass.
Add shochu, elder flower and ice, mix well top with club soda.
Creator: Carrie Connin, Continental, Ohio
Feedback: Imminently crushable. A near perfect summer refresher. While the rice shochu was great, the drink was elevated by the use of Yokka Koji awamori. We judged based on the rice shochu per the recipe, but the awamori added body and texture lacking with a vacuum distilled rice shochu.
Shiri Shiri
Ingredients:
2 oz Kumejima’s Kumesen Awamori Koshu
2 oz carrot juice
1 oz shikuwasa juice
0.5 – 0.75 oz kokuto sugar simple syrup
1/8 tsp could konbu dashi
1 egg white
Shikuwasa zest
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and dry shake until thoroughly combined
Add ice to shaker, shake again until cold
Pour into chilled Ryukyu glass and let rest for a few moments until foam rises to the top
Zest a bit of shikuwasa on top of the foam for decoration
Creator: Andrew Schutts, Brooklyn, NY
Feedback: very complex drink. The consensus among the judges is that this was best described as “soup” and we mean that in the best way possible. It was chewy, rich, decadent, and fascinating. Had to replace Shikuwasa with an alternative citrus due to availability. Like the Basil Crush above, this drink was also improved with the use of Yokka Koji. That spirit’s girth really helped balance everything.
The Winner!?
When all the scores were tallied, we had 2 drinks that rose to the top. The Basil Crush and Shiri Shiri were runaway favorites with both receiving average scores of 4.5 among the judges (2 4s and 2 5s for each of them).
Both drinks garnered by far the most discussion and in both cases Tsutsumi-san was asked to make the drinks again with different base spirits.
The head to head battle was a study in contrasts. The light, refreshing, summery Basil Crush versus the rich, heavy viscous, wintry Shiri Shiri. It’s a little ironic that a drink based on Okinawan food would be the most warming.
Ultimately we had to pick a winner and we went back to the foundational principles of the competition – a home cocktail competition. The Basil Crush was awarded the top prize based on that distinction. The Shiri Shiri called for using egg whites in a home cocktail and that is probably too tall a task for many home bartenders.
Neverthless, both of these cocktail creators will be receiving prizes from the Japan Distilled Podcast.
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