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Gankutsuoh

My First Night Tending Bar

May 1, 2013 by Stephen 4 Comments

My First Night Tending BarLet 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.

Filed Under: Events, Izakayas, Shochu, Shochu Misc. Tagged With: bartending, Gankutsuoh, Gokoo, izakaya, SakaMai, Satsuma Shiranami, shochu

The Cave King – Gankutsuoh

November 7, 2011 by Stephen 2 Comments

The Cave King – Gankutsuoh

 

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”

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Reviews Tagged With: Gankutsuoh, kome, review, rice, shochu

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Retweet on TwitterawamoriXshochu Retweeted
ChrisPellegriniChristopher Pellegrini@ChrisPellegrini·
13 Aug

My #awamori of the day is Kamimura’s ‘Shurei,’ a 30% ABV expression that reveals a soft milky note when served mizuwari. To the right of the brand name it says ‘hojun roman’ which sorta indicates mellowness, but I think it may depend on service style. Kari-! @regista_NAGAOKA

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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

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: 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.

The SG Shochu Cocktail Recipes

Bartender Shingo Gokan mixes a cocktail.
The SG Shochu brand manager, Joshin Atone, talks with Kanpai.us about shochu's versatility and potential in the cocktail. He also shares three recipes for bartenders to try.

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 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.

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