Satsuma Kuro Godai Sweet Potato Shochu

Happy Shochu'sday! Kayoko here, Co-Founder and Shochu Director of Umami Mart. Every Tuesday, I'll be posting something here about shochu. It may be about a shochu I'm into at the moment, or a distillery I want to highlight, or a new shochu we've just brought to our shelves or bar. I'm really excited to hop on the Shochu'sday bandwagon - started many moons ago by Stephen Lyman of Honkaku Spirits and Japan Distilled. He and Christopher Pelligrini, author of The Shochu Handbook, post live FB/IG videos on Tuesdays (Chu-sday, get it?!) about shochu and the videos are super fun + informative about this venerable Japanese spirit.

I'm keeping it super basic for my first Shochu'sday post with Satsuma Kuro Godai Sweet Potato shochu from Yamamoto Shuzo of Kagoshima. This is a fantastic expression of Koganesengan sweet potatoes, made with black koji, that won't break the bank. I get notes of toasted pecan and some roasted cherries on the back end. I like it on the rocks, and when it's chilly out, oyuwari (with hot water).

We've just added this shochu on our shelves! Enjoy with something earthy, like steamed broccoli with Taberu Rayu (Japan's chili crisp). And Oscar Peterson Trio.

Special extra credit photo of the fermentation tanks at Yamamoto Shuzo by Tomoko Tamura! 

xxkayoko

Join Shochu Gumi, our quarterly shochu club, to get to know Japan's distilled spirit. Curated by me!