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kokuto shochu

Tasting Notes: Nankai

November 10, 2020 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Tasting Notes: NankaiAt 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.

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Reviews Tagged With: kokuto shochu, nankai

Tasting Notes: Lento Shochu

September 4, 2020 by Bill Gunther Leave a Comment

Tasting Notes: Lento ShochuLento 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!

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Reviews Tagged With: amami kokuto shochu, honkaku shochu, kokuto shochu, Lento, shochu, shochu reviews

Kokuto: Japan’s Delicious Dark Sugar

August 31, 2020 by Christopher Pellegrini 2 Comments

Kokuto: Japan’s Delicious Dark SugarKokuto sugar is Japan's top-quality dark sugar tradition. It is one of the world's great "unrefined" sugars, and it's used in cooking, consumed as a snack, or added to the second fermentation when brewing kokuto shochu in Japan's Amami Islands.

Filed Under: Shochu Tagged With: amami kokuto shochu, kokuto, kokuto shochu, kokuto sugar, sugarcane

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

Hoppy + Kokuto Shochu = Happy

October 23, 2015 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Hoppy + Kokuto Shochu = HappyHoppy Beverage Company, which only recently began selling in the New York market, recently hosted their 2,500th radio show (as a post-war phenomenon a radio show was a natural form of advertising) at SakaMai in the Lower East Side. At this invite-only private party an ice flume was used to pour Hoppy’s sweet potato beer (not yet available in the US market) and the hundreds of guests enjoyed Hoppy, a rokugo performance (traditional Japanese “stand-up” comedy performed in kimono kneeling on a cushion), and live music.

Filed Under: Shochu, Shochu Misc. Tagged With: Amami, Black Sugar Shochu, Hoppy, kokuto shochu, Lento, SakaMai

Hoppy – postwar nostalgia in a bottle

April 19, 2015 by Stephen 2 Comments

Hoppy – postwar nostalgia in a bottleHow do you describe Hoppy? The straightforward, technical way, is an ultra-low proof (<1% ABV) malt liquor from Japan. But that doesn't come close to what Hoppy really is.

Filed Under: Izakayas, Shochu Tagged With: Azasu, Hoppy, Hoppy Black, Hoppy Traditional, Japan, kokuto shochu, NYC, postwar nostalgia, shochu, soju, Wasn

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Shochu Reviews

iichiko Saiten

After winning some awards on the international spirits circuit (including double-gold at the 2020 San Francisco World Spirits Competition), there's ample evidence that iichiko Saiten deserves serious consideration by bartenders everywhere.

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: 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.

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.

Shochu Reviews

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 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.

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.

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