Shochu Tengumai Style!

I know what you are all thinking

"Shochu? I thought this was a sake blog...You traitor!"

Well maybe not quite those words, but hear me out.

This is not your average Shochu.

Tengumai / 天狗舞

Jiroukaja / 次郎冠者

Shochu / 焼酎

Alcohol: 41% / Aged 5 years

Shata Shuzo / Ishikawa Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very fragrant, lots of Ginjo-ka (that beautiful fragrance you get from a good Ginjo Sake!). Hints of dark honey, and a little bit of a fruity sweetnes.

On the palate: Very round, Explosive flavor. Dark honey and Fruity notes carry through, Sake like characteristics, strong bite from alcohol. Very fragrant inside mouth.

Other notes:

• Shata Shuzo has played around with making shochu in the past, but this is the first time I have encountered anything of this high a level under the Tengumai shochu label.
• This is a Kome Shochu, or Rice Shochu, and is made using the "Sake Kasu" (pressings left behind after the solids are seperated from the liquids in the sake making proccess) from a Ginjo class sake, so You get a lot of the characteristics of a Ginjo sake coming through in both the Nose and the Palate.
• This Shochu was made using two distillation methods, the first creates a depth of flavor and a sharper taste profile, while the second creates a much rounder mouth feel and a smoother taste. The two are then blended until the desired taste and smell are achieved.
• This Shochu has been aged for 5 years, giving it an extra layer of complexity and making it slightly smoother.

If you have a chance I highly recommend trying this one out. It is a new creation from the masterminds of Shata Shuzo, and I for one look forward to more shochu out of the Tengumai Label.

I didn't have a chance to update from America as I had planned (T_T) but I will be posting updates about what happened in the coming weeks.

Thanks for sticking around,

Until next time,

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin