Ingredients

shōchū

Also known as “shoju”. Shōchū is a popular but poorly-defined class of Japanese distilled beverages. Shōchū can be made from a variety of mashes, including rice, barley, buckwheat, potato, sugar, and even more peculiar ingredients. Shōchū can be aged, but much isn’t. Shōchū is sometimes sold blended or infused with fruit juices and other flavorings. Shōchū can be described as “Japanese vodka”, but it tends to be lower proof and significantly more flavorful and individualistic than what is commonly thought of as vodka in the West. Shōchū is the traditional Japanese expression of arab distilling technique imported to Asia by the Mongols, similar to the Korean soju tradition.