This is the official list of new korui shochu (multiply-distilled in a column) and konwa shochu (blended shochu — korui and otsurui) released last year.
This list is adapted from the Japanese government’s official numbers as published in May of this year.
| Brand + Maker | Category + ABV | Vol. + MSRP | |
| Mar. | かのか Kanoka (flavor + label update) — Asahi Beer | Ko-Otsu Konwa — 10%/20%/25% | 11 Variations — Open |
| 5.29 | 冷やしかのか2018年夏限定パッケージ Hiyashi Kanoka 2018 Summer Limited Packaging — Asahi Beer | Ko-Otsu Konwa — 15%/25% | 300 ml (bottle) + 1.8 L (carton) — Open |
| May | そふと新光 レモン酎ハイ用 Soft Shinko for Lemon Chuhai — Akita Ken Hakko Kogyo | Korui [edit: Ko-Otsu according to the website] — 25% | 600 ml (bottle) — ￥680 |
| Aug. | そふと新光 飲みごろ Soft Shinko Perfect Timing — Akita Ken Hakko Kogyo | Korui — 12% | 200 ml (PET) — ￥165 |
| Sept. | あいぼう ピンク Aibo Pink — Akita Ken Hakko Kogyo | Korui — 20% | 720 ml (bottle) — ￥745 |
| 9/19 | 紅 かのか Beni Kanoka — Asahi Beer | Ko-Otsu Konwa — 25% | 1.8 L (carton) — ￥1,480 |
| 10/30 | 紫 かのか Murasaki Kanoka — Asahi Beer | Ko-Otsu Konwa — 25% | 1.8 L (carton) — ￥1,480 |
All of the products in the above table are made by two macro distilleries. Importantly, “ko-otsu” means that at least 50% of the contents of those products is korui shochu. And likely much more than 50%. That is the best explanation for why the MSRPs are so low.
[…] As we did last year, here is a list of the korui and konwa shochu products that were released in 2019. […]