Discovering Japanese spirit

The crisp taste of sake makes it a popular choice of alcoholic beverage for most visitors to Japan. Not so familiar are Japanese spirits called shochu. Produced in a distillation process similar to most spirits, shochu has been around for nearly 500 years. Its cheap price makes it popular among many Japanese, particularly those in the 20 to 40 age bracket.

Shochu's popularity lies in the flavour and aroma retained from the base ingredient used in its production. This can be rice, rye, buckwheat, sweet potato or even brown sugar - each delivering its own unique shochu flavour.

There are many ways to drink shochu. Many mix it with water. In some regions, hot water is used to create a warm drink. By law, single distillation shochu has to be less than 36 per cent alcohol and multiple distillation shochu less than 45 per cent alcohol content.

Japan experienced a boom in the shochu market in 2003, with many premium shochu popping up around the country. For several years, some bottles were selling for a price equivalent to several hundred Australian dollars.
Brown sugar shochu is a unique product of the Amami Islands in the south of Japan. In the post-World War II period, when these islands were experiencing a shortage of white rice, brown sugar extracted from sugar cane became the preferred substitute for shochu production. Since then, it has become Amami Islands' local specialty export to the rest of the nation.

Brown sugar shochu can be drunk with warm water in a three-to-two ratio of shochu to water. Because the alcohol is natural, it will retain its flavour and aroma even when diluted. Brown sugar shochu is soft on the palate and despite its base ingredient, is not as sweet as one might expect. Many also regard brown sugar shochu as an ingredient for good health, as Amami Islanders are known to live to a very old age.

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