• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kanpai

Find us on Facebook Find us on Twitter Find us on Instagram
  • Shochu
    • What is Shochu?
    • How to Drink Shochu
    • The Shochu Diet
    • Shochu Tasting Notes
      • Awamori
      • sweet potato shochu reviews
      • mugi (barley)
      • rice shochu reviews
      • Aromatic Shochu Reviews
  • Izakaya
    • What is an Izakaya?
    • Izakaya Cuisine
  • How to Izakaya
  • Events
  • About Us

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu IMO

August 26, 2020 by Christopher Pellegrini Leave a Comment

Details

Brand: The SG Shochu IMO
[Editor’s note: The all-caps ‘KOME’ indicates the importance and quality of the main ingredients.]

Distillery: Satsuma Distillery

Location: Makurazaki, Kagoshima, Japan

Ingredients: sweet potatoes (imo), rice koji

Koji: white (shiro) koji

Distillation: atmospheric

Alcohol: 38% ABV (76 proof)

Price: $$$$

Introduction

The team here at Kanpai is still shocked that imo shochu hasn’t made its way onto more bar and restaurant menus. Given its flavor profile, there’s little (good) reason that it has remained cooped up in Japan. Granted, it is routinely argued that Japan’s most popular shochu style (by volume sold) is largely impervious to mixing–at least in the minds of inexperienced or unadventurous mixologists. Enter world-renowned bartender Shingo Gokan and his preternatural ability to make the time-consuming and complicated come off as manifest and utterly classic.

The SG Shochu IMO is mixed by tea master, Shinya Sakurai.

The SG Shochu IMO is the “middle” label of the trilogy released in early 2020, nestled right in between the KOME (rice) and MUGI (barley) brands. And when you see the three of them lined up side by side, you will understand just how considered this all is. I find myself particularly drawn to the use of the word ‘imo’ in all-caps (and the largest font on the bottle) towards the top of the label. It’s a remarkable and conscious decision that belies immense confidence in the drink’s inherent quality.

Translated literally, ‘imo’ means potato. But since we’re sipping imo shochu, the correct translation is actually sweet potato. And Gokan-san isn’t just preaching to the choir with this (and we must admit that we were incredibly gratified by IMO’s intentional prominence), he is instead inviting the rest of humanity to discover how an unknown 500+-year-old Japanese spirit made from imo is a very different experience from potato-based distillates made elsewhere.

Tasting Notes for The SG Shochu IMO

Nosing The SG Shochu IMO neat, there are clear purple sweet potato notes surrounded by candy corn, butterscotch, and caramel sweetness. For all the imo lovers out there, this brand is a smile-inducing reminder of how diverse the category can be. On the palate, there’s dried fruit (raisin) and spiciness that brings whisk(e)y to mind, before a strong and lasting finish. It’s a little hot going down, so sip slowly.

With a teaspoon of water (choimizu), the purple sweet potato notes take charge, and a similar effect is experienced on the rocks or in a highball. Outside of creating a proper cocktail with The SG Shochu IMO, I loved sipping it oyuwari (hot water mix). The nose becomes bready and develops a vinegared pomegranate accent. The earthy and musty notes play well with the heat, and this was easily my favorite way to drink it.

The Verdict: Highly Recommended

Shingo Gokan and brand manager Joshin Atone have created something that is peerless in its intent and execution. The SG Shochu IMO is a clear invitation to create the classic imo cocktail. If you get it right, it will resonate and cascade around the world until you can’t not have sweet potato shochu on your menu if you consider yourself a proper drinking establishment. As unapologetic and tireless imo enthusiasts, we couldn’t be happier that bartenders now have a formidable new tool in their arsenal to help make imo shochu go global.

Kanpai!

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Reviews Tagged With: honkaku shochu, imo shochu, sg shochu, sg shochu imo, shochu

« Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu KOME
Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu MUGI »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

Shochu Reviews

iichiko Kurobin

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.

Shochu Reviews

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu IMO

The SG Shochu IMO is a clear invitation to create the classic imo cocktail. If you get it right, it will resonate and cascade around the world until you can't not have sweet potato shochu on your menu if you consider yourself a proper drinking establishment.

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu KOME

Putting your nose in a glass of The SG Shochu Kome shows you just how complex a vacuum distilled rice shochu can be. Ginjo sake aromas from the yeast, pineapple, melon, and a faint hint of dairy-like lactic acidity are all present.

Tasting Notes: Nankai

Nankai Shochu
At first whiff, Nankai smells faintly grassy, which is common in kokuto shochu owing to how kokuto sugar is made from fresh cut cane and that fresh grassiness is a sign of well made kokuto sugar. Sugar cane is, after all, a tall perennial grass. It is still pretty wild that they can capture that after fermentation and distillation.

Shochu Reviews

Tasting Notes: Lento Shochu

Lento is the top selling kokuto shochu in Japan, and it is available internationally as well. Try it on the rocks or with sparkling water for a refreshing taste of the Amami Islands. Kanpai!

Tasting Notes: The SG Shochu MUGI

The SG Shochu MUGI Label
The SG Shochu MUGI wraps several barley shochu identities into one. It's lightly barrel-aged and carries the associated sweet notes. But there's also a graininess that is revealed when the temperature of the drink drops. It's a versatile barley shochu that can be enjoyed a variety of ways.

Mizu Lemongrass Shochu

Mizu Lemongrass Shochu may not be an authentic honkaku shochu due to the use of lemongrass, but this is a case where a beautiful spirit breaks the rules.

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro & The Genesis Framework