It's nice to see shochu and awamori squeezing their way into more menus these days. It wasn't so long ago that most Japanese-themed or -fusion establishments outside of Japan only stocked nihonshu (saké), but it appears that our favorite drink's versatility is finally gaining recognition. In many cases, that recognition comes in the form of cocktails. Mixologists across the … [Read more...]
October 2014 Shochu Stats
The Japan Saké and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) has released the September numbers for shochu shipments. Honkaku potato shochu shipments retook the lead in October after falling behind barley shochu shipments in September. The 19,696 kl of potato shochu shipped represented a 8.3% jump year over year (YoY) when compared to October 2013. Barley shochu was second with 17,236 … [Read more...]
September 2014 Shochu Stats
The Japan Saké and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) has released the September numbers for shochu shipments. Honkaku (single-distilled) barley shochu shipments led the way in September with an official tally of 15,697 kl. This represented a significant improvement over August shipments and a 4.6% jump year over year (YoY). Potato (imo) came in second with 15,253 … [Read more...]