What is Shochu?

Shochu is a Japanese spirit distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar. It can even be made from chestnuts, sesame seeds, potatoes, or carrots too, but far less commonly. At around 25% ABV, it is not as strong as Chinese Baijiu but stronger than Sake. In comparison to Sake, Shochu is far less fruity and has more of an earthy character.

At the turn of the 21st century, Shochu has seen a resurgence in popularity and is now making waves in parts of America. Some of this is down to perceived health benefits in that it can prevent diabetes and heart attacks. There was also a Japanese man who lived to 120 and had it as part of his daily diet. We can't say for sure it was the Shochu, but you can see where the "health benefits" view has come from.

Styles of Shochu

• Multiple Distilled - As the name suggests, it has been distilled more than once and must meet certain conditions such as it cannot be filtered through charcoal.
• Singly Distilled - Clue is in the name again, and due to the singluar distillation this style retains the flavour of its base ingredient giving it a stronger taste and aroma.
• Moromitori Shochu - Mostly single distilled, this style is named after the production process. The main contributor is Koji, a mold spore, that massively influences the final flavour. Yellow Koji provides a rich, fruity taste, White Koji a sweet, gentle flavour and Black Koji a slightly sweet, mellow taste that extracts the flavours of the base ingredient the best.
• Kasutori Shochu - Made by distilling leftover sake lees, it has a distinctive character with floral, fruity and earthy flavours.
• Blended Shochu - Singly and Multiply distilled Shochu can be blended to create a softer version of singly distilled with a bit more flavour than multiply.

It is also worth looking into Awamori, thought to be the predecessor to Shochu.

Other Asian Spirits

• Arrack
• Awamori
• Baijiu
• Sake
• Soju
• Umeshu
• Japanese Whisky