Spotlight On Barley Shochu
We started featuring shochu years ago our our blog with Washi Washino's Shochu Stop column in 2011, and we are so excited to finally sell this very special Japanese spirit on our shelves and online (ships within California)!
Today, we highlight mugi shochus, made with barley. These shochus are very smooth and easy to drink, and like whisky, it shares the main ingredient of barley. Also, many barley shochus are amber-hued, as they are aged in oak. But don't be confused – barley shochus are not whiskies at all, in that shochus use koji as an ingredient during the fermentation process, that sets this drink apart from whiskies and other spirits. Enjoy this versatile spirit on the rocks, with water, or in cocktails!
Enjoy the lightness of this barley shochu by drinking it mizuwari style (with water). Or drink it oyuwari style (with hot water) to enhance the cocoa and caramel aromas. Both styles are 4 parts shochu to 6 parts water. Kuroki Distillery specializes in barley shochu.
BUY NAKA NAKA
This shochu is aged for three years, giving it an amber hue and whisky-like flavor. If you are a whisky lover venturing into shochu, this is the one for you. Try it neat or on the rocks.
BUY KANNOKO
We brought this in because one of our trusted regulars said he couldn't stop thinking about how much this reminded him of a perfectly toasted slice of bread! Capture the toasty aroma by having it oyuwari style (with hot water).
BUY TSUKUSHI KURO
Hyakunen no Kodoku Aged Barley Shochu
Named after the famed novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, this is a statement shochu that is limited in quantity. Using 100% locally-grown organic barley, this shochu is aged in oak casks for 3-5 years to develop a rich complexity akin to whisky. Enjoy a spectrum of aromas, from coconut to pipe tobacco. Try this neat or as oyuwari (with hot water) to uncover all the levels of flavor.
BUY 100 YEARS
