Shochu 101: Discovering Japan's Best-Selling Spirit

There’s so much more to Japanese spirits than whisky and sake. For instance, there’s shochu. It’s the best-selling spirit in Japan — it even outsells sake, which isn’t a spirit because it’s brewed, not distilled, but that’s another story. It’s all but unknown in the rest of the world, which accounts for only 1% of its sales. Like most non-Japanese, I ignored the whole category until I tried Iichiko Saiten, a high-proof shochu made for mixing. Its intense, savory flavor was unlike anything in my liquor cabinet. I quickly became obsessed and started mixing up “umami daiquiris,” subbing out shochu for rum. It’s a weird drink, to be sure, but I still enjoy them every now and then. Check out my article for Japanese spirits retailer dekanta, and find out both what shochu is and what it isn’t (spoiler alert: shochu and soju are not the same thing).