Shochu
Japanese: 焼酎
A Japanese distilled spirit made by fermenting rice, barley, sweet potato, or brown sugar with koji and yeast, then distilling. It preserves the flavor of its base ingredient.
Shochu is made by saccharifying starch with koji (white, black, or yellow), fermenting with yeast, then distilling. Despite being a distilled spirit, it distinctly preserves its base ingredient's character: sweet potato shochu's rich aroma, barley shochu's clean taste, rice shochu's delicate flavor. The type of koji dramatically changes the profile. Black koji, in particular, produces abundant citric acid, enabling stable brewing even in Kyushu's warm climate by preventing spoilage. Kyushu hosts numerous distinctive distilleries, with each brewery's koji use and distillation methods creating unique character. Shochu is highly suited as a mealtime drink, prized for compatibility with both Japanese and broader Asian cuisine.