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Year in Review: Parent Teacher Conference (ep. 26)

December 6, 2021 · 4 Comments

In the 26th and final episode of season one of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman reflect on the the year in review and muse about what might happen in season two.

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 are very glad to have the first season finished and are happy to bring you this year in review.

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

Year in Review

Thank you.

As we reflect on season one and the journey from our 1st pronunciation guide to our unexpectedly fun 25th episode on chuhai, our primary realization is how much we appreciate you, the listeners. Your feedback and encouragement over the past year has been fantastic.

Rich Pav

As you know if you listened to the episode, our editor Rich Pav appeared as our first guest on the show. This was to get his feedback on how the show has been, let folks get to know him a bit, and to practice interviewing. His own reflections on our year in review are enlightening and encouraging. Have a listen.

rich pav
Rich Pav on location somewhere in (uncanny) Japan.

For those of you who would like to reach out to him for assistance with your own podcasts or other audio projects, you can reach him at rich dot pav at gmail dot com or through Twitter at HelloFrmJapan (his DMs are open).

Much More to Explore

We look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting back to work with new episodes coming to you in January 2022. Next season will include deeper dives into some topics we have already covered as well as a series of interviews with industry professionals from across the globe.

KANPAI!

Podcast

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tavis Allen says

    January 15, 2022 at 11:17 am

    This was an excellent close to an already very well done first season! The pulling back the curtains that Rich did was both informative and interesting.

    Reply
    • Stephen says

      January 29, 2022 at 2:09 pm

      Very glad you enjoyed it. We enjoyed recording it and it gave us invaluable experience in interviewing someone for the show. We are now lining up several interviews for season two! Cheers.

      Reply
  2. Lance says

    January 19, 2022 at 6:24 pm

    I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at an episode as when the replay of the “drinking mixing sound effect” segment was played. It was good the first time around, and even better now.

    Reply
    • Stephen says

      January 29, 2022 at 2:08 pm

      Thank you for the feedback! Hopefully this encourages Rich to take more audio editing risks in adding humor to our show!

      Reply

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japandistilled

Episode 54 tackles the topic of dilution in spirit Episode 54 tackles the topic of dilution in spirits. With the obsession with cask strength something may be lost. And that is the texture that can be brought to a spirit with really nice spring water, which is abundant in Japan. Cheers!
Episodes 52 & 53 were a 2 part episode on the life Episodes 52 & 53 were a 2 part episode on the life and legacy of Jokichi Takamine, easily the most influential Japanese immigrant to ever inhabit America. @altmattalt & @shochu_danji cover Takamine’s life from his early days in Japan to his fateful trip to New Orleans to his life in Chicago and then New York. If you flip through these you’ll see some of the places he lived from Denis House in NOLA to @sho_fu_den in the Catskills to his current resting place in @thewoodlawncemetery in the Bronx. We are obsessed with this man. No doubt. 

Why is a Japanese spirits podcast obsessed? Because he was the first Japanese person to ever make whisky. A full generation before Taketsuru. Takamine was the OG.
Episode 51 was about a year of drinking less dange Episode 51 was about a year of drinking less dangerously. @shochu_danji and @christopherpellegrini discuss mindful drinking and how to pace yourself. One way, of course, is copious amounts of hydration. Drinking other fluids helps slow you down. Another is to drink premium products and savor them for what they are rather than rushing through as many glasses as possible. One great drink is worth far more than many lesser ones. Kanpai!
Episode 50 was our 1st ever Q&A episode. You can t Episode 50 was our 1st ever Q&A episode. You can trust us, we’re authors. Have a listen in your podcast feed if you haven’t already. Our next Q&A episode will probably be at the end of 2024 so you’ve got plenty of time to get your questions submitted. 

Rare photo of us together during a joint book signing @tales_of_the_cocktail #totc2023

📸 @gigi_gaoyang
Event Alert! Our first ever in-person Japan Dist Event Alert! 

Our first ever in-person Japan Distilled whisky tasting. Come out to Travel Bar in Brooklyn this Thursday 7/20 6-8pm to meet our co-hosts, sample some 8 & 16 year old Takamine Koji Whiskey, and try our favorite Takamine cocktail from one of our favorite bartenders, Jane Nam. 

Come on out and lift a glass to the most epic Japanese human to ever live in America. 

Tickets available through eventbrite (link in profile). 

#whisky #whiskey #whiskytasting #brooklyn #travelbar #kojiwhisky #kojiwhiskey #koji #takaminewhiskey #japandistilled #podcast #podcastlife
Stephen reporting live from @shochu_fes 2023 in Fu Stephen reporting live from @shochu_fes 2023 in Fukuoka!
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