What does shochu taste like?
Shochu tastes clean and gently earthy, a Japanese spirit smoother than vodka whose flavor depends on its base: toasty barley, earthy sweet potato or soft rice.
Shochu
clean, earthy Japanese spirit
Shochu is a distilled Japanese spirit, usually about 25% alcohol, made from barley, sweet potato, rice, buckwheat or brown sugar. Most good shochu is distilled just once (it's called honkaku), so it keeps the flavor of what it's made from. Barley shochu is toasty and nutty, like a light whisky. Sweet potato shochu is earthy, a bit floral and funky. Rice shochu is mild and soft, close to sake in flavor but drier. In Japan it's drunk on the rocks, with water (hot or cold), or with soda.
Where you’ll see it
On izakaya (Japanese pub) and restaurant menus, on the rocks, with water or with soda as a chuhai or sour (shochu with fruit juice or lemon). Some bars infuse it with fruit or use it in cocktails.
Order it if you like sake and whisky highballs and want something lighter than a cocktail with Japanese food.
Quick questions
- Is shochu the same as soju?
- They're related but different. Shochu is Japanese, around 25%, and the good stuff tastes of its base ingredient. Most soju is Korean, lighter, sweeter and more neutral.
- Is shochu the same as sake?
- No. Sake is brewed from rice, like beer or wine. Shochu is distilled, so it's stronger and drier, and it can be made from many ingredients.