Spirit
Shōchū
Shōchū is Japan's traditional distilled spirit, a single-distilled honkaku liquor made from barley, sweet potato, rice or buckwheat and fermented with koji mould, then distilled to a soft, low strength of around 25 percent alcohol. Distinct from sake, which is brewed rather than distilled, it is earthy, savoury and umami-rich, its character shifting sharply with the base material — clean and grainy from barley, funky and rooty from sweet potato, delicate and floral from rice.
Dry & cleanAlcoholic
At a glance
Signature
Roasted sweet potato & Koji
Earthy
Strength
Alcoholic
by taste profile
Dry and savoury with a soft, watery weight from its low strength, shōchū leads with the character of its base — biscuity toasted grain in barley mugi, a rooty, earthy, sometimes floral or tropical funk of roasted sweet potato in imo, clean steamed-rice fragrance in kome, or mellow nuttiness in soba — over a distinctive koji-driven umami and a faint mushroomy, mineral depth. The palate is savoury rather than sweet, with little of the oak or caramel of Western spirits, and the finish is clean and warming; cutting it with hot water in an oyuwari softens the alcohol and opens the earthy, savoury aroma, which is why it drinks so well through a meal.
Taste balance
BitternessSmooth
SmoothBitter
StrengthMedium
LightStrong