Exploring the good of Shochu with Tetsuro Miyazaki from Iichiko

Cocktails Distilled

When most people think of Japanese spirits, they often think of sake, but it is in fact shochu that is the national spirit of Japan.

Outselling sake in Japan for the past decade, shochu is a clean, crisp white spirit that is rich in flavour that has been distilled and drunk in Japan since the 16th century.

Iichiko, has been Japan’s best-selling shochu producer for the past 30 years or so, which makes sense as the word literally means “it is good”.

Although shochu is unique among spirits in that it can be made from a variety of materials including rice, sweet potato or buckwheat, Iichiko made all their shochu from barley, which gives it rich malty notes.

To find out more about the spirit and iichiko’s variations, we talk to Tetsuro Miyazaki, General Manager of iichiko USA about nature, taste and of course the cocktails you can make with their liquids.

Kapitel

1. Exploring the good of Shochu with Tetsuro Miyazaki from Iichiko (00:00:00)

2. iichiko is the result of a true harmony between nature and science, what does that mean exactly? (00:01:56)

3. Now, how important is the environment in which the Shochu is made? (00:03:07)

4. Now your Shochu is distilled only once. How important is that to the flavour of the liquid? (00:04:03)

5. If someone hasn't tasted Iichiko shochu, can you describe exactly what the flavour is for us? (00:04:51)

6. Now you spoke of the barley, why is it that you've chosen barley as the base of the liquids? (00:06:04)

7. Now, what does two row barley mean? (00:06:42)

8. Now I believe the water is that you use is naturally filtered through over a thousand feet of volcanic rock. What difference does that make? (00:07:20)

9. Now you mentioned Koji. Can you tell us the secret behind it and what it does to the barley as well as its links to umami? (00:08:20)

10. Now we've spoken about the liquid being distilled only once, but can you explain the blending process? (00:09:35)

11. Now Iichiko has been around since the early fifties. How has production changed in that time? (00:11:02)

12. How important is the concept of wa or harmony in creating shochu? (00:12:28)

13. Now, if we talk about iichiko saiten, it has been produced with bartenders, particularly in mind. What makes it so perfect for cocktails? (00:13:15)

14. Can you go into a little bit of detail about the aroma and flavors of that expression? (00:14:21)

15. I believe the expression has won a number of awards since its release. Do you want to tell us a little bit about those? (00:14:52)

16. Now, what cocktails do you believe that the saiten works best in? (00:15:38)

17. When you drink the expression, what cocktails do you make with it? (00:16:23)

18. Now, the Saiten sounds fairly adaptable, but why should people choose it over other clear spirits, like a gin or a tequila in their cocktails? (00:17:03)

19. Now, another of your expressions, the silhouette can also be used in cocktails. What is the difference with this variation? (00:17:51)

20. Now, compared to the Saiten, are there drinks that the silhouette expression is better suited for (00:18:38)

21. Now, are there any cocktails that bartenders have made for either of the expressions that you perhaps didn't expect? (00:19:29)

22. If someone was starting to use one of your shochu expressions for the first time, how would you recommend they begin (00:20:04)

23. Now I imagine that both expressions are available throughout the U S (00:21:08)