black koji

Kozuru Kuro

February 1, 2013 by Stephen 9 Comments

Hard to explain why I haven't reviewed Kozuru Kuro sooner. Perhaps in some way I wanted to keep it secret. It's an affordable, luscious black koji imo shochu from Kagoshima. It's the basic product from Komasa Shuzo, which I visited this summer.

Satsuma Kuro Godai

December 23, 2012 by Stephen 3 Comments

Kuro Godai, with the rich, dirty flavor so prevalent in black koji sweet potato shochus, adds a dimension to this richness by opting for an unfiltered approach. Nigori (unfiltered) sakes are cloudy, white, and sweet. Nigori shochus are still clear, but have a overtly rich, buttery mouthfeel not found in filtered shochus. The only telltale sign that this is a nigori are the droplets of spirit that cling to the walls of the bottle.

Jidai Kurahachi

November 10, 2012 by Stephen 1 Comment

Jidai Kurahachi, with its lovely rice paper label, is an uncompromising rice shochu, foregoing the smooth light taste that many kome shochu strive for while attempting to deliver a robust, rich taste using black koji and clay pot aging. It was worth the effort.

Ginza No Suzume Kuro Koji

September 19, 2012 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Like most "kuro koji" versions of white (shiro) koji shochus, the black koji really opens up the flavor profile. While Ginza No Suzume, which we haven't yet profiled, has a nice light neutral mugi flavor, this Ginza Kuro is much bigger. A dirty, earthy, fatty nose opens up the promise of a large taste and unexpectedly for a non-barrel aged mugi shochu it delivers.

Aka Mosaku

September 13, 2012 by Stephen Leave a Comment

This is the first in a series of shochu reviews that will review products that we tried or obtained while in Japan in July on our Shochu Tour 2012. This particular bottle was a gift from my guide and translator's partner, who is from Kumamoto Prefecture and is justifiably proud of this local shochu.

Kitaya Shuzo

July 31, 2012 by Stephen 3 Comments

Kitaya Shuzo is a nihonshu (sake) and shochu producer in Fukuoka Prefecture and the first stop on our shochu distillery tour. Seikai Ishizuka and I traveled nearly an hour south of Hakata (main station in Fukouka City) on a commuter train to reach Yame, a city of less than 40,000 people in southern Fukuoka Prefecture. There we were met by a Kitaya representative who drove us to the distillery.

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