**Scroll down for important updates to this article. (July 21, 2020) Kyushu experienced unprecedented storms over the past week with some areas, especially Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto Prefecture), Jojima (Fukuoka), and Hita (Oita), suffering widespread devastation as riverbanks were breached across the island. The number of deaths has risen quickly over the past 48 hours, with … [Read more...]
Shochu Renaissance in Shibuya
Shidax Hall in Shibuya played host once again to one of the biggest annual honkaku shochu events held in Tokyo, Shochu Renaissance. This year's event, the 18th iteration in its history, showcased products from nearly three dozen shochu and awamori distilleries on the afternoon of April 10th. And the makers were eager to show off the versatility of the drinks they brought … [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...]
August 2014 Shochu Stats
The Japan Saké and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) has released the August numbers for shochu shipments. Manufacturers shipped 15,379 kl of single-distilled potato (imo) shochu, 13,216 kl of barley (mugi), 3,338 kl of rice (kome), 636 kl of buckwheat (soba), and 44 kl of saké lees (kasutori) shochu. Additionally, 880 kl of "other" single-distilled shochu changed hands. … [Read more...]