Shochu rising: straight or in cocktails, the Japanese spirit is attracting fans in New York and beyond

Cheers, Sept, 2007 by Pameladevi Govinda

Word has it that Japanese young adults drink shochu and think of us sake sippers as old fogies. In a quest to get with it, I booked a tasting flight at EN Japanese Brasserie, a stunning restaurant in the West Village of Manhattan that houses a fun little shochu bar. I was in for "Shochu 101" with beverage manager Takahiro Okada.

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The first thing to know about shochu is that there are two classifications of the neutral spirit. First, there is the multiple-distilled shochu known as korui, which is usually made from several different ingredients. Then there is the honkaku category (also known as otsurui), which are single-distilled, single-ingredient shochus that are higher quality

and exude the character and essence of the distilled ingredient. It should also be noted that shochu only hovers at around 25 percent alcohol by volume. I tasted only single-distilled shochu at EN, in a variety of ways.

My first tipple was Satoh, a sweet potato shochu. Okada shares, "When I was little, people didn't like to drink sweet potato shochu because the smell and taste was too strong--it was barley shochu that was always very popular in Japan--but now sweet potato is gaining in popularity." Satoh is a small producer based in Kagoshima, where the hot climate and volcanic soil lends itself to growing the root vegetable. Now all the rage in Japan, sweet potato shochu has a distinctly earthy, slightly vegetal nose and a complex palate that's worth savoring.

Okada says that rice, soba (a cereal grain known as buckwheat in the West) and barley shochus are ones to start the uninitiated on because of their more subtle taste profile. To make his point, he pours me a rice shochu, the Gankutsu Oh. I take a sniff and the nose is obviously more floral and delicate; definitely for the more faint at heart. The third sample, a Beni Otome sesame shochu, is very distinct. It smells a little like peanut butter but has a bitter twang that might work better in a cocktail.

"Real shochu drinkers drink shochu with hot water," notes Okada as he next hands me a ceramic mug with a little of the Satoh and some hot water. I discover that this is one of the traditional ways to sip good shochu. The warm engulfing mix was subtle and digestible, which makes sense, as shochu is meant to be a digestive. Many Japanese folk like to drink it with meals, more so than sake.

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FRESH & REFRESHING

The final stage of my shochu initiation rites came in the form of one of EN's many infusions. A fan of spice, I opted for the ginger infusion. Our host explained that he originally preferred to use a less superior shochu for infusions, but after experimenting he found the rice-based Shiro did the trick the best. Macerated with crystallized ginger pieces, the taste was delicious and simultaneously sweet and spicy, a flavor that carries through in the Ginger Martini, where the infusion makes up the prime ingredient.

Shochu cocktails are an emerging trend evident at the Sushi Samba restaurants in New York, Miami, Chicago and Dallas. Paul Tanguay, corporate beverage director, sensed the zeitgeist when he first offered the spirit at Sushi Samba several years ago. One of his best sellers is a long running number called the Chu-cumber, a mix of muddled cucumbers, shochu, lime juice and a dab of Licor 43 Cuarenta Y Tres Liqueur. Another drink that he created recently while blood oranges were in season was the Chi-so, made up of shochu, orange-infused vodka, blood oranges and shiso (a fragrant green leaf from the perilla plant, sometimes called Japanese basil). Sushi Samba also offers shochu in the traditional style.

"Honkaku shochu is the single malt of shochu. One of my favorites is the Okuno-matsu Imo (sweet potato). It is produced by the famed sake producers from Fukushima and shows notes of sage and cardamom, with a voluptuous body and a cucumber finish," says Tanguay, who also mentions an intriguing new product on the market called Hebess Cool. "A shochu-based liqueur made from a rare citrus fruit called hebess that is unique to the Hyuga region in Miyazaki. It uses sweet potato as a base."

Las Vegas is also up on what's hip in Japan. Luigi Albergnanti, resident sake and shochu sommelier at Shibuya at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, says the preference there is to mix with multiple-distilled shochu and save the otsurui for serving neat, on the rocks or with warm water. He offers another way to sip the spirit: "Rye shochu can be served over the rocks with fresh slices of cucumber."

Albergnanti adds, "One of our best-selling cocktails is the Raspberry Shizuku, made with fresh raspberries, shochu and lemon juice and served in a Martini glass. It's very refreshing. I think it is a phenomenal drink."

The Chu-hai could be the next hot thing. Essentially a highball made with shochu, it is a refreshingly simple drink. The fresh grapefruit juice Chu-hai that I recently sipped at Izakaya Ten, a Japanese izakaya-style (small plates) eatery in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood, proved to be the perfect prelude to their excellent savory dishes.