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Kanpai

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black sugar

Amami Island: Week One

February 24, 2018 by Chuck Malone 1 Comment

Amami Island: Week OneHad I known it was the last time I’d be sleeping in a bed for the next 10 weeks, I would have enjoyed the moment more. I found myself at 5 a.m. wide awake staring at the ceiling in my small hotel room in Amami City. It still hadn’t hit me how much different Amami is than the Japanese mainland.

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Adventures, Shochu Misc. Tagged With: Amami, amamioshima, Atreyu!, Billy Joel, black sugar, Chuck Malone, chuhai, House of the Rising Sun, Jazz, Just the Way You Are, Kana, kokuto, Mayasco, Nishihira, onigiri, Rock, Sango, squid ink soup, Sukiyaki, sushi, yakitori, Your song

Amami: The Journey Begins

January 25, 2018 by Chuck Malone 1 Comment

Amami: The Journey BeginsI arrived in Amami still jet lagged and confused on where to go. My phone wasn't working. I had no place to stay. No English translations to rely on. No idea which bus to catch (there are no trains in Amami).

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Adventures, Shochu Misc. Tagged With: Amami, amamioshima, black sugar, Black Sugar Shochu, brown sugar, Chuck Malone, habu, Jazz, kokuto shochu, Okinawa, pit viper, Ryukyu, Ryukyu Islands, shochu, Tokyo, US Navy, World War II, Yonaguni

A New Shochu Adventure

January 17, 2018 by Chuck Malone Leave a Comment

A New Shochu AdventureI just spent 2 months in Amami-o-shima, an island off the coast of Kagoshima Prefecture in southern Japan. I went there to learn how to make kokuto, or black sugar, shochu. How did I get there? Well, that’s kind of a long story. Let me start at the beginning. In fact, before that.

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Adventures, Shochu Misc. Tagged With: Amami, amamioshima, black sugar, Chuck Malone, chuhai, Jazz, Kagoshima, kokuto, shochu

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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

iichiko silhouette

This iichiko silhouette is probably the most common Japanese shochu currently available in the United States. In NYC I’ve seen it in random mom & pop liquor stores as the only shochu among a shelf of sake options. It’s most commonly available in 750ml bottles, though I’ve seen other sizes in other countries. This is a great starter shochu, which is why I’ve chosen it for my first tasting note. It was my introduction to shochu back in 2008. I’d had Korean soju before, but Japanese shochu is a strikingly different (and better) experience.

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.

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.

Shochu Reviews

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.

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 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.

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