Kanpai

Disaster Relief for Kyushu Floods

by Leave a Comment

The floods in the Hitoyoshi region are believed to have killed more than 50 people and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. This is deeply personal to us a www.kanpai.us since we count several Hitoyoshi shochu makers as our friends. The damage has spread further over the past week as Kyushu floods continue around the region.

iichiko Kurobin

by 2 Comments

My personal favorite iichiko brand available in the US is iichiko Kurobin. Kurobin is literally translated as "black bottle," which is a pretty on the nose description of this evocative packaging. It is simply too pretty to throw away after finishing.

What is a Satsuma Imo?

by 4 Comments

Kagoshima is the southernmost of the mainland prefectures, located on the south end of Kyushu Island, and about as far as you can get from Tokyo without being in Okinawa. How did this remote place known for Satsuma Imo become so central in the shochu world? Good question. Shochu has a history of about 500 years, so let’s start in the middle.

Shochu Pros – Shochu’sday

by Leave a Comment

Every week Stephen Lyman & Christopher Pellegrini are coming to you live from Japan via Instagram Live for Shochu Pros Instagram TV. For each episode (weather permitting) one host will be "on location" somewhere interesting. The on-location host will give some backstory about the location and then the discussion will kick off. Once the topical discussion is finished, we will open the floor for questions from the live viewers. You can join through Christopher's instagram (or Stephen's when he is the host).