Week 8 - Shoju, Shochu, or Soju?

I thought about making this post about sake, since we were in Japan after all, but let's go to something a little more obscure than that - the other native distilled liquors in Japan and South Korea. Shochu (also spelled shoju) is a liquor from Japan and soju is from Korea.

Shochu can be distilled from rice, barley, or sweet potatoes. It is primarily from the southern part of Japan. In fact, the island of Kyushu is famous for its delicious shochu made from sweet potatoes. To me, it tastes a lot like sake. It has a very light, slightly sweet taste. Like sake and wine there is a range of sweetness. Some shochu is dry and some is sweet, but in general it is less sweet than sake. I have usually had it straight or over the rocks, but it can also be served in a chuhai, which is shochu mixed with citrus juice. Another difference between shochu and sake is that shochu has a bit more alcohol content, usually around 25%. Shochu is hard to find in the U.S., but it is very popular in Japan.

Soju is the Korean traditional liquor, and it is traditionally made from rice; although, recently other starches, like potatoes, have been used to make it. To me, soju is very similar to shochu. The major difference is that one is from Japan and one is from Korea. Soju was introduced to Korea during the Mongol War around 1300 A.D. It is derived from a Mongol liquor called arak. (In turn, the Mongols had learned from the Persians how to make arak.)

So, if you are ever in Japan or Korea and you want to sample the local liquor try shochu or soju. You won't find anything like them in the west, and they are quite enjoyable.