Not to be confused with soju, the neutral Korean spirit that sneaks up on you during gluttonous galbi sessions and sells better than almost any other beverage alcohol on earth, shochu is… well, what exactly?
During a recent seminar at the IWEG Drinks Academy, sake expert Michael Tremblay asked the class, a mystified group heavily peppered with industry professionals, if we had any clue what shochu was. He was met with wide eyes and crickets until some brave soul blurted, “Distilled sake!”
That’s not entirely wrong, but there’s a lot more to it. As with many things Japanese, shochu is impossible to talk about without delving into its complexities.
Shochu, which means “burnt liquor,” is often misunderstood as vodka-esque, but its alcohol content is slight compared to most spirits. Most commonly bottled at 25 to 30 per cent, it’s an ideal accompaniment for food – which is how it’s consumed in Japan.
“Japanese food is incredibly hard to pair with wine, because you’ve got all these components like soy, wasabi and ginger on the sushi plate,” notes Tremblay, who is also the beverage director at Ki Modern Japanese in the financial district. “Shochu is very much like sake in that you’ve got savoury notes that really help support rather than take away from the food, which is very subtle and not in your face.”
Shochu’s heartland is southern Kyushu, where individual prefectures produce different styles. It can indeed be distilled from an unfinished version of Japan’s famous fermented rice beverage, sake, but it can also be made from a staggering variety of other ingredients: cane sugar, barley, sweet potatoes, chestnuts, mushrooms, milk, tea and tomatoes.
Koji, that gloriously near-omnipotent microbe so essential to Japanese gastronomical wonders like miso, soy sauce and sake, kick-starts fermentation, helping to define a shochu’s aromas and flavours.
Shochu labelled honkaku ior “authentic,” is distilled only once in pot stills, allowing the finished product to showcase the characteristics of whatever it’s made from. Korui, produced using continuous distillation, is most often used for mixed drinks like chu-hai, or shochu highballs. Otsurui is a blend of the two.
Shochu’s lower ABV makes it extra-approachable in the context of dinner, especially because it’s rarely served neat but, rather, on the rocks, with warm water and a traditional plum garnish or in long cocktails like chu-hai. Shochu features prominently in the cocktail program at Ki, but Tremblay also suggests appreciating it with a simple slice of cucumber or ginger.
“A lot of shochu experts say one of the reasons people get into it is because of its versatility, the diversity of flavours and styles, so it’s a great spirit for those who want to take a leap and try something new,” he says.
Depending on the key ingredient, shochu can run the gamut from earthy to floral, from fruity to almost umami.
“With sweet potato you get more of that pungent, earthy, savoury aroma,” Tremblay says. Rice shochu can have a sake-like quality, expressing fruity notes like melon and banana.
Barley shochu can occupy a familiar middle ground, tasting malty and somewhat like white (unaged) whisky. And then there are distinct rum characteristics that come out in black cane sugar shochu – molasses, maple syrup and a hint of dried fruit.
“That’s a huge range right there, though of course they’re only the tip of the iceberg,” Tremblay says. “But the more people get excited about it, the more it’ll spread. Shochu now is like sake was 10 years ago.”
Where can you find it? Restaurants like Ki Modern Japanese (181 Bay, 416-308-5888, kijapanese.com), newly opened Imanishi (1330 Dundas West, 416-706-4225, imanishi.ca) and Miku (10 Bay, #105, 647-347-7347, mikutoronto.com) have a few on offer, but it’s not widely available here. If you really want to tumble down the shochu rabbit hole, book a trip to Japan.
See Toronto’s best new Japanese restaurants here, and more Japanese booze ideas here.
drinks@nowtoronto.com | @S_Parns
