FEATURES
All features
特集一覧 ── PLACE / HANDS / GLASS、三つの視点から焼酎を読む。
How to choose shochu — not by numbers, but by spirit
焼酎の選び方 —— 数字ではなく、魂で
Ingredient, koji, distillation, region and how you'll drink it. Five questions to find your shochu — and then, let your spirit choose.
Shochu culture: dareyame, oyuwari and 1 November
焼酎の文化 —— だれやめ、お湯割り、11月1日
In southern Japan, shochu is not a special-occasion drink. It is the evening ritual that melts the day away, shared at home and in the neighbourhood.
Shochu regions of Japan: a map from Okinawa to Tokyo's islands
焼酎の産地マップ —— 沖縄から東京の島々まで
Kagoshima's sweet potato, Oita's barley, Kuma's rice, Amami's sugar, Okinawa's awamori, the Izu islands' shima-zake. A journey through the places of shochu.
Shochu glossary: 40 words to know
焼酎用語集 —— 知っておきたい40の言葉
From koji to kusu, maewari to moromi — an A–Z of the words you'll meet on the journey through shochu.
How to read a shochu label
焼酎ラベルの読み方
Honkaku, genshu, kuro-koji, GI… The words on a shochu label tell you how it was made. Here is how to read them.
Shochu cocktails, sours and highballs
焼酎のカクテル、サワー、ハイボール
Chu-hi began with shochu. From a simple soda highball to an imo old fashioned, shochu is a quiet star behind the bar.
Shochu vessels: kuro-joka, gara and choku, karakara
焼酎の酒器 —— 黒千代香、ガラとチョク、カラカラ
Shochu isn't always drunk from a glass. Each region has its own vessels, shaped by how its people warm, pour and share.
Pairing shochu with food
焼酎と料理 —— 食卓で選ぶ一杯
Shochu was born at the table. Match the ingredient, the strength and the temperature to the dish, and both open up.
Shochu, sake, soju and other spirits: what's the difference?
焼酎・日本酒・ソジュ、そして世界の蒸留酒との違い
Brewed or distilled, one still or many, koji or malt. How shochu compares with sake, soju, vodka, rum and whisky.
A history of shochu, from Ryukyu to the world
焼酎の歴史 —— 琉球から世界へ
Five centuries of Japanese distilling, from a carpenter's complaint in 1559 to a spirit the world is beginning to discover.
Aging shochu: clay pots, tanks, casks and time
焼酎の熟成 —— 甕、タンク、樽、そして時間
Shochu is not only a young spirit. Rested in clay, steel or oak, it softens, deepens and finds its own voice.
Beyond the big four: soba, chestnut, sake lees and more
芋・麦・米・黒糖の先へ —— そば、栗、酒粕、しそ……
Buckwheat from the mountains, chestnuts, sake lees, green tea, shiso. Shochu can be made from dozens of ingredients — each a small universe.
Awamori: Okinawa's black-koji spirit and its kusu
泡盛 —— 黒麹と古酒（クース）の島の酒
Rice, black koji, water, one distillation — and time. Awamori is Okinawa's own spirit, and its aged kusu are treasures handed down through generations.
Kokuto shochu: brown sugar spirit of the Amami islands
黒糖焼酎 —— 奄美群島だけの酒
A gentle, rum-like sweetness of aroma, but no sugar in the glass. Kokuto shochu may be made only in the Amami islands.
Kome shochu: rice, and the Kuma valley
米焼酎 —— 球磨の谷の酒
Soft, round and quietly fragrant. Rice shochu is closest to sake in spirit, and its home is a river valley in southern Kumamoto.
Mugi shochu: barley, from Iki island to Oita
麦焼酎 —— 壱岐から大分へ
Toasty, nutty and easy to love. Barley shochu began on a small island in the Genkai Sea and became one of Japan's most familiar spirits.
Imo shochu: the sweet potato spirit of southern Kyushu
芋焼酎 —— 南九州のさつまいもの酒
Rich, sweet, sometimes earthy, sometimes floral. Imo shochu is the voice of Kagoshima and Miyazaki, born of a potato that arrived by sea.
How shochu is made, step by step
焼酎ができるまで —— 麹から瓶詰めまで
Koji, two mashes, one distillation, time and water. The whole journey of honkaku shochu from field to bottle.
What is honkaku shochu? The meaning of "authentic"
本格焼酎とは？ 「本格」という言葉の意味
Honkaku shochu is single-distilled shochu made only from permitted ingredients and koji. Here is what the word guarantees — and what it doesn't.
What is shochu? A bilingual guide to Japan's spirit
焼酎とは？ 日英でひもとく、日本の蒸留酒
Shochu is Japan's native distilled spirit, made with koji from sweet potato, barley, rice, brown sugar and more. Here is everything to begin the journey.
Four ways to pour
割り方の基本、四つ
On the rocks, with water, with hot water, and maewari — the same bottle becomes a different drink.
Atmospheric or vacuum
常圧と減圧
The same pot still, two very different spirits. Through fire and time, a spirit finds its character.
The unseen hand: black, white and yellow koji
見えない手仕事 —— 黒麹・白麹・黄麹
Shochu begins with koji. Change the koji, and the same ingredient tastes different.
Character begins with the ingredient
焼酎の個性は、まず原料から
Sweet potato, barley, rice, brown sugar, buckwheat — the same craft, entirely different faces.
A spirit of place
焼酎は、土地の酒
Some regions are protected by Geographical Indication — their names are the guarantee: Iki, Kuma, Ryukyu, Satsuma and Tokyo Shima-zake.
Kō and Otsu are not ranks
甲と乙は、序列ではない
“Kō” and “Otsu” are categories of method from Japan’s 1949 liquor tax law — not ranks. Our name begins here.