Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/391612
october 2014 / the tasting panel / 1 1 1 it's not often that you get a room full of beverage profession- als who admit to knowing nothing about the liquor at hand. But such was the case recently at Takara, a saké brewery in Berkeley, CA. Its parent company, Takara Shuzo, is both Japan's leading saké maker and the top producer of shochu, the traditional Japanese distilled beverage. The company's American arm, Takara Sake USA Inc., imports many Japanese spirits. In the center of the tasting room were ten bottles of shochu—the labels were in Japanese and the only information we were given was the base ingredient for each: rice, barley, buckwheat, sweet potatoes and grain. It's rare for those of us whose job it is to taste booze to encounter something new. Not that shochu is new—the Japanese have been distilling it for over 400 years ("since the Edo Period," says Izumi Motai, Takara's Marketing Manager). But in the U.S., it's been largely ignored. "I don't really know anything about it," admits Angel Valdez, a long-time Bay Area bartender who is eager to incorporate shochu into the bar program at Iyasare, a Japanese restaurant in Berkeley. Like any distilled spirit, there are varying degrees of quality of shochu. The ones we are tasting today—and the ones that Takara hopes will gain ground in the U.S.— are mostly single- or pot-distilled: As in any good gin or whiskey, the character of the base ingredient and the terroir, shine through. There are also multiple- or column- distilled shochus, which are cleaner, more neutral and typically used as a cocktail base (especially in California), commonly diluted to 48 proof or less in order to skirt liquor laws. The Real Deal But the real deal, the single-distilled shochu, is an incredibly complex and balanced product with distinctive characteristics, as we discover. "I had no idea they could be so different," says Christopher Moreno, a bartender at Bar Agricole in San Francisco. "It's not just a single note, says Valdez. "They can be fruity, they can be perfumey or earthy. It has a lot of complexity." Jessy Slim, also of Bar Agricole, agrees: "It's almost like you can taste the different regions." Besides the dramatic difference in the base ingredients—we find the barley to be grassy and smoky like a rye whiskey, while the sweet potato offers up more roundness and fruitiness—the type of koji (mold) used to ferment the base ingredient (like whis- key, shochu starts with a fermented mash) adds another layer of complexity. A black koji mold gives one of Takara's sweet potato shochus, KuroYokaichi, a distinctive earthy nose, like a root vegetable decomposing in rich, dark soil. This may not sound entirely pleasant, but Christian Geideman, owner of Ippuku, a hip yakitori-style restaurant in downtown Berkeley, puts it best: "The same people who appreciate whiskey appreciate the effort that goes into shochu." Traditional vs. Modern Concepts At Ippuku, where the majority of the menu is grilled or fried, Geideman offers more than 50 shochus—many of them served on tap— and only about 20 sakés. "Shochu is a better match with grilled meat than saké," says Geideman. Stronger flavors from both the wood charcoal they use on the grill, as well as the umami-rich sauces, call for a stronger beverage: "Shochu is more palate-cleansing," he says. Here, shochu is mainly served neat, on the rocks or diluted with a little cold or warm water. Geideman is not a fan of mixing it in drinks (although they do serve Chu-Hi, a simple cocktail made with fresh fruit and soda water that is popular among young people in Japan): "It's such a unique product, I don't want to dilute the experi- ence," he says. But the bartenders who attended the tasting, who are accustomed to using high-end, complex products in their drinks, were excited by the potential shochu has behind the bar. "These are some really interesting flavors," says Moreno reflecting on the possibility of substituting barley shochu (which is often aged in old whiskey barrels) for whiskey in classics like the Old Fashioned or Manhattan. Martha Chong, who has been working with Takara to create cocktail recipes with shochu for the last couple of years (see sidebar), warns against overpowering or diluting the shochu. "It can be difficult to work with because it has a very delicate quality. You don't want to stir it; just serve it over ice." Motai and his colleagues at Takara are open to just about anything as long as it means getting it in front of more drinkers: "It's a very undervalued product," he says. In today's spirit-savvy world, the potential to turn guests onto something they haven't had before is compelling. "Shochu is about discovery and exploration," says Motai. Sampling shochu (left to right): Takara's consulting mixologist, Martha Chong; author Courtney Humiston; Christopher Moreno and Jessy Slim, both of Bar Agricole in San Francisco. Shochu paired with cuisine from Ippuku, a yakitori-style restaurant in Berkeley, CA. Mixologist Angel Valdez is eager to incorporate shochu into the bar program at Iyasare in Berkeley, CA.