I wasn’t in crazy-busy Tokyo. I wasn’t in Kyoto, with its calming temples and shrines. Rather, I was in Kyushu, an island located in southern Japan. Though I might have been here for the surfing or the plentiful onsen (hot springs), I arrived in search of shochu, one of Japan’s native distillates.
Nearly all honkaku (authentic) shochu is made in Kyushu, home to more than 280 distilleries. Indeed, the highway that winds from one often-remote distillery to another is nicknamed “the shochu highway.”
This expressive spirit, which can be made from more than 50 base ingredients such as rice, barley, buckwheat, sweet potato—and more unusual ingredients like bell peppers, seaweed or pumpkin— outsells sake in its home country. Most Americans, however, are only just starting to discover it.
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What Is Shochu?
A traditional Japanese distillate with roots that can be traced back to the 1500s, shochu (pronounced show-chew) can be made from more than 50 different agricultural products and is fermented using koji (a type of mold also used to make miso and soy sauce), then distilled. Many are bottled at relatively lower alcohol levels, around 25–30% abv, compared to 40% or higher for vodka and other spirits.
The result is a particularly expressive liquid that reflects the underlying ingredient and often has a faint touch of umami, thanks to the koji fermentation. Shochu made from black sugar (kokuto) from the Amami Islands can have a distinct brown sugar note, and even a funky grassiness that suggests agricole rhum; sweet potato shochu is often super-earthy; barley shochu can have a nutty, toasty character, almost like whiskey or beer; and rice shochu often is the most delicate of all, showing floral, citrus, or light tropical fruit tones.
To avoid confusion, here’s what shochu is not: It’s not “Japanese vodka,” nor is it sake (a brewed beverage made from rice) or soju (a Korean distillate).
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How to Drink Shochu
In Japan, shochu is enjoyed neat or diluted with water in some way. That might mean served on the rocks, mixed with hot water to release extra aroma (oyuwari) or topped up with carbonated water into a chilled highball (mizuwari or chu-hai, a casual portmanteau of “shochu-highball”) along with other flavorings like fruit juice or green tea. During my visit, chu-hais seemed to be everywhere—from izakaya menus to canned versions at convenience stores and train station concession stands.
“The Japanese drink very seasonally,” explains Kyle Davis, bar manager at Brooklyn Kura, a taproom and sake brewery in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood, which also makes kasutori (sake lees, a byproduct of making sake) shochu. “When it’s cold, they’ll have an oyuwari, versus when it’s very cold, they can have a shochu and soda, a highball.”
Further, shochu is valued for its food-friendliness. “It’s similar to wine,” Davis notes. “A bolder, barley-based shochu might pair well with roasted meats, while a lighter shochu, like a sweet potato with more floral notes, would go really well with fish or chicken.” Meanwhile, the savory, toasted notes of a buckwheat shochu make a fine match for chocolate and fruit desserts, especially when topped up with hot water.
However, in the U.S., shochu is viewed as a cocktail ingredient, as bartenders build creative drinks around the spirit.
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Shochu Sours & Broth-Tails
“Shochu leans into my personal drinking type, which tends to be more on the low proof, low acid side of things, like highballs,” explains Julia Momosé, partner and creative director at Chicago’s Kumiko. It’s also a versatile ingredient, mixing easily with other spirits, citrus and liqueurs, because the flavor profiles within the category are so distinct and diverse, she adds. For example, her Midori Shochu Sour elevates the ’70s classic with a delicate green tea shochu.
While the lower alcohol levels are appealing, it can be challenging to add it to traditional cocktail structures, Momosé notes; it’s not as simple as swapping out vodka or whiskey for the same amount of shochu. Instead, it’s about “finding things that draw out the flavors you find when drinking it straight,” she explains.
Elsewhere, Davis says he often leans into the umami flavors found in some shochus by mixing them into savory or smoky cocktails, such as a robust barley shochu infused with black sesame, nutmeg and orange oil. He also mixes Brooklyn Kura’s housemade shochu with vegan “bone broth” and porcini mushroom salt. “It’s a full-blown broth-tail,” he explains, “served as a little mini cup of soup.
Which Shochu Is for You?
At Boston-based Koji Club, the emphasis is on sake and shochu, both made with koji. While owner Alyssa DiPasquale leans toward rice-based shochus for “clean” flavor and similarity to sake, she encourages those getting to know shochu to sample across a wider range.
“The greatest advice given to me was: Remember there can be many ingredients that can make shochu,” she recalls. “If you try a shochu and maybe don’t like the way that it tastes, remember what the base was and don’t give up yet. Try another one. If you’re a sake fan, try a rice-based shochu. If you want something darker, heartier, try sweet potato or barley.”
To help guests select a shochu, Kura’s Davis uses familiar cocktails as a reference point. For example, for those who prefer drinks with a relatively neutral vodka base, he’ll recommend a crisp rice shochu, while gin lovers might like the floral notes of a sweet potato shochu. “If someone enjoys a more robust, smokier spirit like mezcal or Scotch, I’d steer them toward barley shochu,” while “if someone’s into tequila or a sweeter agave, vanilla flavor profile, the crème brûlée-like taste of black sugar shochu might go well with that.” And rum lovers might take to the fruity, tropical notes of awamori, a Thai rice shochu made only in Okinawa.
Meanwhile, Momosé’s advice for finding a shochu you’ll love is straightforward: “Start simple. Get to know it on its own, and mix with various forms of water,” whether hot water, club soda or tonic water. And if you don’t find the perfect match right away, “keep looking,” she urges.
“There are so many different types,” says Momosé, “and there’s probably something out there that you’ll love.”
Sample These Shochus
Colorful Honkaku Shochu
Distilled from sweet potatoes and rice, this is a savory, lush and food-friendly shochu. Bold flavors include mushroom, roasted chestnut, carrot peelings and walnut. 95 Points.
$55 Wine.com
MUJEN Original
This lively, bracing rice-based shochu offers a mild, citrusy aroma and clean, crisp palate that reflects a grapefruit peel zing. 95 Points.
$ Varies Wine-Searcher
Iichiko Saiten Shochu
A barley-based shochu, this is one of Julia Momosé’s recommendations. It’s “funky and wild,” she says. “It’s wildly nutty and flavorful at the same time.” Best Buy. 94 Points.
$28 Total Wine & More
Mizu Shochu Lemongrass
Distilled from rice and a small portion (5%) of lemongrass, this zingy, mildly sweet shochu is Alyssa DiPasquale’s pick for creative cocktails, like a clarified lychee martini that’s a top seller at Koji Club. “The lemongrass adds a hint of acidity without citrus,” she says. Best Buy. 93 Points.
$32 Total Wine & More
Nankai Gold
Whiskey-lovers might also enjoy this oak-finished shochu, distilled from black sugar cane and rice. Look for gentle raisin, chocolate and honey notes.
$74 Total Wine & MoreThat Shochu is Made from What Now?
In addition to the usual suspects (rice, barley, etc.), some distillers make shochu with bolder—and sometimes surprising—ingredients. For example, Ochiai Distillery specializes in sweet potato shochu, but also makes Rihei Ginger Shochu, which has a pleasing sweetness and bite like chewy ginger candies. Master brewer and distiller Ryohei Ochiai, a self-described “mad scientist,” has also made shochu using vegetal bell pepper, incense-like mugwort, mushroom, even garlic. Among the few failed experiments: a variety of mountain potato (“it smelled like a swamp”) and togarashi, a spicy red pepper. He had to wear goggles to make it, he recalls; “It makes you cry.”
This article originally appeared in the April 2024 of Wine Enthusiast magazine. Click here to subscribe today!
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Published: April 9, 2024
