Kanpai

Gankutsuoh

My First Night Tending Bar

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Let me preface this by saying I've never operated a cash register and I've never worked in the food service industry a day in my life. But that didn't stop the fine folks at SakaMai (157 Ludlow Street, NYC) from opening up their Pour Bar for me to host their first Shochu Tuesday Happy Hour last night, April 30th from 6-8pm.

The Cave King – Gankutsuoh

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Gankutsuoh

Brand: Gankutsuoh (巌窟王)

Distillery: Takara Shuzo Co., Ltd.

Location:  Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu Island, Japan

Grain: 100% polished (to 55%) Japonica rice

koji: unknown

alcohol content: 25%

price: $$$

 

Tasting Notes

Gankutsuoh is an aged rice shochu, but not in the Awamori style. It uses Japanese rather than Thai rice, polished just as rice is polished in sake production. Once processed and placed into clay jars, this shochu is stored in a cave to age. This gives us its unique name, which means “Cave King” … incidentally it’s very close to the Japanese translation for The Count of Monte Cristo, which made research on this shochu pretty challenging.  … Read More “The Cave King – Gankutsuoh”