Raw Material

One thing that sets shochu apart from other alcoholic beverages is the variety of raw materials used to make it. Twenty different shochu producers could all use the same raw material and the result would be 20 shochu--each with a distinct taste.  These distinct flavors range from fresh and crisp to sweet and earthy. Some even have a whiskey-like tinge to them.

It is said that shochu is produced from over 60 different raw materials. Although this is true in some instances, only a handful of raw materials are typically used:

Sweet potato waiting to be steamed at part of shochu production.

Some more abstract raw materials include: Japanese basil (shiso), corn, chestnuts (kuri), milk (gyunyu), pumpkin (kabocha), green pepper (pimon), and carrots (ninjin) just to name a few.

Honkaku Shochu
As mentioned above, there are over 60 different raw materials used in the production of shochu. Honkaku shochu can be produced by any one of them, although occasionally two raw materials are used. Each raw material brings forth a distinct aroma and flavor; the most commonly used raw materials can be characterized as follows:

Rice fields of Kumamoto, Japan.

Sugarcane on the island of Amami Oshima, Japan.

The above characterizations are merely a guideline, as it is fairly difficult to anticipate the flavor of any given shochu. Not only are there considerable differences in flavor between shochu of different raw materials, but also between shochus created from the same raw material. 

Kourui Shochu
Kourui shochu is typically made from grain and is often characterized as a somewhat flavorless and odorless spirit, much like vodka. The most common raw materials used to produce Kourui shochu include: