INTRO
In episode 80, our hosts take a deeper look at The SG Shochu from The SG Group, lead by internationally recognized bartender, Shingo Gokan.
CREDITS
Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)
Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://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 are big fans of everything Shingo Gokan is doing and The SG Shochu is no exception.
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
Shingo Gokan
It’s hard to imagine another Japanese bartender who has had more international influence over the past 15 years than Shingo Gokan. Winning the 2012 Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition put him on the map, but since that time he’s grabbed the bull by the horns and turned that notoriety in to a stellar career. Between running NYC’s Angel’s Share during its heyday to opening the first speakeasy in Shanghai to winning awards around the world, he’s truly one of the most decorated modern bartenders globally.
Shingo’s SG Group now has perhaps a dozen bars (it’s honestly hard to keep track) in 3 countries on 2 continents. Today the majority are clustered in a single neighborhood in Tokyo, on a hill just northwest of Shibuya Station. Sip & Guzzle, SG Low, SG Club, and Bellwood among others. There is sitll a nice collection in Shanghai, China as well including his flagship Speak Low. Not that long ago El Lequio opened in Okinawa, but the most recent entry as of this writing is Sip & Guzzle in the West Village, Manhattan.
However, Shingo and his powerhouse bar group are never content to sit on their laurels. They recently released The SG Shochu internationally.
The SG Shochu
This trio (for now) of Honkaku Shochu were developed by Shingo and his team in cooperation with three of the titans of the shochu industry in Japan. The SG Shochu (“The” is intentional) line was designed with cocktails in mind and each of the three expressions was formulated to express completely differently from its stablemates.
SG KOME The SG Shochu Kome is a 40% ABV rice shochu created in collaboration with Takahashi Distillery in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto. This Kuma Shochu is made with 100% locally grown rice and sake yeast, giving it a beautiful bright, floral and fruity aroma. This vacuum distilled rice shochu made with premium sake yeast and only lightly filtered has beautiful aroma and a lush mouth feel.
SG IMO The SG Shochu Imo is a 38% ABV purple sweet potato shochu formulated in collaboration with Satuma Distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture. This Satsuma Shochu is made with locally grown sweet potatoes and blended into a beautifully aromatic flavor bomb.
SG MUGI The SG Shochu Mugi is a 40% ABV 100% barley shochu created in collaboration with the granddaddy of all barley shochu makers, Sanwa Shurui. The only barrel aged among the trio, this presents almost like a light whisky, but with all of koji flavor and barley aroma you’d expect from a prefectly blended barley shochu from Sanwa.
A Bartender’s Dream
If there’s been a constant refrain from bartenders over the years with regard to shochu’s utility as a cocktail base it would be “but the low alcohol” … and The SG Shochu completely strips that from the equation with 38-40% ABV honkaku shochu that gives you all of the flavor with more of the booze to give drinks the structure they deserve.
If there is a knock on The SG Shochu as it comes to market, it has to be the price. In gorgeous bespoke glass, premium labels, and high ABV, it faces a tough headwind in a world where <$1/oz is expected from virtually all bars around the US at least. But this is where Shingo’s star power may be just what the brand needs. They do not appear to be targeting your local neighborhood cocktail bar, but some of the top bars in the world that can absorb a more expensive base spirit if its going to make the drink shine.
Much More to Explore
As you can probably tell, we are huge fans of Shingo and the SG Group. Our hope is that The SG Shochu serves as a vangaurd for driving shochu into the stratosphere outside of Japan.
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