SHOCHU YOKAICHI MUGI
Rating: NNNN
Why Whisky drinkers may find familiar flavours in this barley shochu’s malty core. Aromas of dusty florals and underripe tropical fruits, especially banana, accompany a prickly and sweetish palate redolent of coffee and chocolate.
Price 750 ml/$35.30
Availability LCBO 31070
CHOYA 23 UME FRUIT LIQUEUR
Rating: NNN
Why No, those are not shrivelled heads in the bottom of the bottle they’re unripe, heavily sugared ume fruit steeped in cane spirit. Commonly used in cocktails or mixed with green tea, umeshu (liqueur made from ume) tastes like the sweet-tart Japanese equivalent of amaretto.
Price 700 ml/$29.35
Availability LCBO 332965
KIRAKUCHO TOKUBETSU JUNMAI SAKE
Rating: NNN
Why Sake categories are based on how much the rice is polished pre-fermentation to expose each kernel’s starchy core. Junmai sake is brewed from rice milled to about 70 per cent of its original size, while grains for ultra-premium junmai daiginjo can be polished to less than 50 per cent. Classic sake fragrances of ripe melon and pear silky and sweetish with a boozy finish.
Price 300 ml/$14.95
Availability Vintages 405191
ONTARIO SPRING WATER SAKE COMPANY IZUMI NAMA NAMA JUNMAI SAKE
Rating: NNNN
Why There are only three sake breweries in Canada, and one of them is right here in T.O. Lucky us. This unpasteurized sake (a relative rarity unless you smuggle some home from Japan) is super-fresh and fruity – the pinnacle of easy, enjoyable sipping.
Price 300 ml/$12.85
Availability At the brewery (51 Gristmill, 416-365-7253, ontariosake.com)
KAGURA SHUZO TENSONKOURIN
Rating: NNNN
Why Made mostly from sweet potatoes with a small percentage of rice and fermented with pungent black koji (a micro-organism widely used in Japanese cuisine), this shochu is aggressively perfumed, with musky notes of cherry and flower pollen. The potato’s almost candied earthiness asserts itself before a peppery finish sets in. Weirdly awesome.
Availability Coming to the LCBO in April
See Toronto’s best new Japanese restaurants here, and more Japanese booze ideas here.
