Liquor Innovation Co., Ltd. stepped into new territory when the company opened its first all-you-can-drink shochu bar, HAVESPI, on the edge of Shinjuku's lively 3-chome (pronounced san choh may). Just a two second walk from exit C6 of Shinjuku Sanchome subway station (Toei Shinjuku Line), this sixth floor bar has enough space for 60 shochu drinkers. There's also plenty of … [Read more...]
Shochu Scope: KURO, Daikaya, and Nihonshu Shochu and Sake Bar
Following up on last month's introduction of new places around the globe to enjoy shochu, Shochu Scope is back with some fresh finds. If you know of any good shochu bars in your area that you'd like us to feature, then send a link and brief description our way. We're especially interested in recently opened venues that haven't received that much press yet, but tried and … [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...]
Koan TOKYO (Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Koan TOKYO is right in the middle of Shinjuku's lively 3-chome neighborhood, but it's more relaxed than most of the bars that are on street level. The bar boasts a modest selection of shochu with a focus on imo (potato). They also usually have a maewari available (Sekitoba the last few times we visited), and it's definitely worth your time if you have at least two people in … [Read more...]