Delving Into The 5 Main Styles Of Shochu

Falling down the wonderful rabbit hole of Japan’s national spirit

Credit: the author

In recent years, the spirits category has experienced great change, with vodka, whisky and gin having their time in the sun.

In an age where consumers are becoming more open to trying new experiences, there’s an exciting opportunity for new spirits to move into the limelight and Japanese shochu is at the forefront of the conversation.

Japan’s national spirit is made from a wide range of starch-based starters that are combined with koji and water to produce distilled alcohol.

Let’s take a look at the five most common styles of honkaku (single-distilled) shochu.

Image credit: the author

1. Imo (Sweet Potato)

Sweet potato is generally considered to be the most common ingredient used for producing shochu. There are dozens of varietals dispersed across Japan, with Kagoshima being the most popular region for growing what is known as satsuma imo. (Up to 40% of domestic supply).

A few of the most common kinds of sweet potato used in shochu production include…