On my recent trip to Japan, with my daughter in tow, I was able to confirm a few things about shochu: that while drinking it with soda is all the rage, I still love an oolong-hi, especially in the summer heat, and it continues to...
Every Tuesday, I host Shochu’sday at our bar and guess what’s the most popular drink, week after week? After each shift, the recycling bin is full of tiny club soda cans, proof that I had just made a gajillion sodawari (spirits...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly subscription service with 80+ members throughout the country. Join today! We’re starting 2024 with a big bang here at Shochu Gumi HQ! Yoko and I are fresh off the heels of a trip to Okinawa, where we toured...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly subscription service with 80+ members throughout the country. Join today! Looking back at 2023, we had some amazing club bottles, didn’t we?!? These past few quarters I have brought in shochus from Japan...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly subscription service with 80+ members throughout the country. Join today! We are in peak produce season here in the Bay Area and I am constantlyinspired by all the radiant, bulbous fruit and vegetables that I find at the farmer’smarkets and...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly subscription service with 80+ members throughout the country. Join today! Originating over 600 years ago, awamori predates shochu and is the original zenkoji spirit. This refers to a style where the entire moromi (mash) is made of koji...
Every March at Umami Mart we celebrate women – from little girls for Girl’s Day on March 3, to our fellow small business owners of Oakland, and of course, for both Sake and Shochu Gumi. It’s a month of reflection and a look into the future for women in the...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly subscription service with 80 members throughout the country. Join today! As I write this under a full autumn moon, I contemplate all of the wacky natural wonders in our world. Yeast is one of them....
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly sake subscription service with 70 members throughout the country. Join today! Filtration, or roka in Japanese, is a vital part of any brewing and distillation process. However, it is little talked about, or even mentioned, because it is a snoozeville...
Shochu Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 70 members throughout the country. Join today! Take a stroll with me, glass in hand, down the white sand beaches of... Barley Shochu Island! Every year for the summer Shochu Gumi drop we...
Shochu Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 70 members throughout the country. Join today! Welcome to the first edition of Female Frontrunners for Shochu Gumi! This is a theme that is dear to us at Umami Mart, as a women-led company: Yoko has been...
We’re celebrating two years of Shochu Gumi this month! Thank you members for all your support of our little club, now with nearly 70 members nationwide. This is an exciting drop for Shochu Gumi, as it’s the first time we’re featuring bottles that are not the...
It was only a matter of time for Yoko and me to collaborate on a Shochu/Sake Gumi mash-up theme. For September, we are excited to present shuzo (alcohol makers) that make shochu and sake. So you’ll see bottles by Kitaya and Akita Seishu Brewery in both Sake and Shochu Gumi...
Welcome to our first Awamori Bazaar! This summer, the awamori will flow through Umami Mart with special events, recipes, and spotlights on our favorite bottles of Okinawa’s beloved beverage. I’m excited to feature two distinctive bottles for this month’s selections that demonstrate the range,...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! We are thrilled to spotlight Saga prefecture this month, with extra special bottles from this region in southern Japan. Located in Kyushu, Saga is...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! To kick off the New Year, we had an event on Zoom in which we talked about these shochus, learned to make some groovy cocktails, and...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! Since this pandemic began, there has been nothing more depressing than to cross out all the vacations in your calendar, one by one, month by month....
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! Barley is a grain used to make beer, whisky, and other spirits, so it is no surprise that it is one of Japan’s most popular shochu categories. And who could resist this light,...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! Rice is the heart of Japan’s cultural pride and agriculture. It accompanies most meals in Japan, and has signified opulence in the country’s long history. It was most certainly the...
We're proud to introduce Shochu Gumi! This is the first installment of what I hope will be a dynamic, exploratory, and ever-expanding club. My name is Kayoko Akabori, and I’m the Co-Founder and Shochu Director of Umami Mart. I first...
