INTRO
In episode 81 our host Stephen Lyman is joined by founder of Nankai Shochu, the first kokuto sugar shochu developed specifically for the US market.
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 have a deep admiration for people who chase their dreams of bringing Japanese spirits to foreign markets.
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
Special Guest Paul Nakayama
Los Angeles native Paul Nakayama worked in tech before he and his wife Mai honeymooned on her home island of Amami Oshima. That 2015 trip changed everything when they happened to meet the chairman of Machida Distillery at an izakaya after a day of outdoor adventure. Within three years they had given up their day jobs to start Nankai Shochu.
Nankai Shochu
As a nod to the California shochu laws (listen to episodes 40 and 77) when they launched the brand, Nankai Shochu was born as a 24% vacuum distilled kokuto sugar shochu. They soon followed with Nankai Gold (barrel aged, undiluted, 43% ABV) and Nankai White Oak (barrel aged, proofed down to 24%). All 3 expressions have won gold or double gold at Los Angeles, World Spirits, or Spirits Business competitions.
Early on cocktails have been a big part of their sales strategy and that continues through to today with dozens of recipes available on their website and Instagram.
They have found an excellent partner in Machida Distillery and have no plans to move beyond them for their kokuto shochu offerings.
Nikaido Shochu
Of course, success begets success and they were approached by Nikaido 100% barley shochu out of Oita, the first national shochu brand in Japan back in the 1970s. Despite this early success, Nikaido has never had a particularly strong presence in the US market. They turned to Paul and Mai to correct that oversight.
And did they ever hit the ground running, placing Nikaido in the club level lounge at Dodgers Stadium, to our knowledge the first ever shochu available at a Major League Baseball stadium. As big baseball fans, we at Japan Distilled podcast are super excited about this!
Much More to Explore
As always, there is more to learn from listening to the episode or following Stephen, Christopher, and Paul on social media.
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