Shochu tasting

The production process of Shochu is specific to Japan. It is made from different ingredients such as sweet potato, rice and barley. An example is sweet potato shochu (imo-shochu). Made with fermented sweet potatoes and then distilled into a flavorful, mostly transparent drink with complex flavors and aromas.

Shochu has been extremely popular in Japan for years and, together with sake (Nihonshu) and beer, it is one of the most consumed drinks in Japan. Nowadays we also see a huge increase in interest in the rest of the world.

Here is a brief summary of the main differences between shochu and sake made from rice. Sake is a general term for alcoholic beverage in Japan:

• Sake is fermented, shochu is distilled.
• Sake is made from rice, while shochu can also be made from sweet potato (imo), barley (mugi), rice (kome), soba, sesame and other ingredients.
• Shochu is usually stronger (25-40% alcohol on average) than sake (14-17% alcohol).
• Shochu is generally drunk like most spirits; pure, on ice, in cocktails to name a few examples.

Your tour guide for our first shochu tasting will be Simon Hofstra, who has been introducing us to sake since 2009. He gained in-depth knowledge of sake as sommelier at the Okura hotel, then brought quality sake to Dutch supermarkets working for Vinites. Currently, he is one of the powers behind sake.nl as the owner of Taste of Sake.

You can visit the Japanese Liquor store “Ma Sake” on Tuesday and Friday from 13:00 until 17:00 in Oldebroek, their online shop is 24/7 open at www.sake.nl

If you want to dive even deeper into the world of sake, you can also take one of the sake courses of the Wine & Spirit Education Trust, where you will meet Simon as instructor. Learn more about this sake course at www.tasteofsake.com