Distillery: 太久保酒造 Okubo Shuzō
Address: 1319-83 Onomi, Matsuyamacho, Shibushi City, Kagoshima
Website: https://ookuboshuzo.com/
Additional Content: There is nothing in English but there is a 16 part series on making potato shōchū, each video around 30 minutes each with lots of information.
Name: 杜の妖精 Mori no Yousei
Type: 焼芋焼酎 Roasted Potato shōchū
Potato: さつま芋 Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
-
さつま芋(鹿児島県産)
-
米麹 Sweet Potato, Rice Koji
Alcohol: 25%
Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks
In the bottle: Nice clean nose that really keeps what is inside a secret. Which, in a way is unfortunate, as this has such a beautiful taste and flavor profile that it would have been nice to have some of these notes carry through. If you give it a good enough inhale, you can catch some earthy and light damp hay notes, which adds some weight to the finish.
Straight: I am really starting to warm to shochu straight, and Mori no Yousei hits all the right notes without ever overpowering your tastebuds. The big roasted sweet potato flavors are up front and match perfectly with the slight earthy flavors that appear toward the finish, it really reminds me of summer, BBQ (Japanese style not American BBQ) and cracking open some roasted sweet potatoes with my kids at the end of the evening.
On the rocks: The moment this hits the tongue it just screams roasted sweet potato, big, bold, with a sweetness that really up-front before fading to sublime smoothness, this includes a very light but still present fire roasted almost charcoal note on the finish
水割り Diluted with water
4:1 ratio: So smooth, so easy to drink, that initial punchiness gives way, allowing some of the more subtle notes open; however, this is best enjoyed straight or on the rocks in order to enjoy all that this bottle has to offer as it loses a bit too much when watered down.
Reflections on this shōchū
-
The next time we BBQ, I need to try some of this with some roasted sweet potato just to see how this pairs.
-
This was one of the better bottles I opened in 2023, well balanced and smooth in a way that not many roasted sweet potato shochu can compare to, it will be hard not to open another bottle this year.
-
Looking forward to trying my next bottle and whatever else I can find from this distillery.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
Back Label
Name: 安納いも Anno Sweet Potato
Type: 焼芋焼酎 Roasted Potato shōchū
Potato: 安納芋 Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
-
安納芋(鹿児島県産) Anno Sweet Potato (Kagoshima)
-
米麹 Sweet Potato, Rice Koji
Alcohol: 25%
Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks
In the bottle: Soft and subtle, slight hints of lavender, toasted rice, vanilla and damp hay, which at first seems a bit heavy; however it never detracts from the experience . The sweetness on the nose masks any scent of alcohol which gives the lighter notes a chance to appear even if only for a short period.
On the rocks: The sweetness from baked sweet potatoes really takes center stage, but not in a sickly sweet sense, it balances nicely with the prickly black pepper notes on the back of the palate, and fades nicely into the lighter vanilla, toasted rice and what reminds me a little of baking spice. Overall, this drinks really nice; however, I would probably not want to drink this all night due to the high sweetness level.
水割り Diluted with water
4:1 ratio: The sweetness remains really forward albeit a little softer, and the splash of water allows the black pepper notes fade out a bit so that the light vanilla and toaster rice notes come to the surface a bit more. There is a slight sharpness on the finish, which I didn't really notice when I tried this on-the-rocks; overall I enjoyed this a bit more with ice and unfortunately, I did not try this neat in the glass.
Reflections on this shōchū
-
Even though Anno Imo leans heavily on the sweetness of the roasted potatoes it remains quite drinkable if you want to enjoy more than one glass.
-
It's a bit like a desert shōchū, I found myself enjoying this after dinner as something to sip and relax with
-
Similar to the other bottles, the price range tends to be in the 1500 JPY level, putting it a bit over a typical bottle of shōchū
-
Another solid offering from Ookubo, if you have not tried anything from this distillery, it is worth giving them a chance.
Bottle label and Information
Box
Name: 紫粋 Shisui
Type: 焼芋焼酎 Roasted Potato shōchū
Potato: さつま芋 Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
-
さつま芋(鹿児島県産)
-
白麹ゴールド White Gold Rice Koji
Alcohol: 25%
Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks
In the bottle: Overall, at first is appears quite neutral; however, there are some nice floral and ripe fruit notes that show up near the end, with biwa, peach and grape as the most pronounced. In addition to the fruit notes, there is a subtle hint of wet hay that is a bit earthy and gives a little more complexity to what at first seemed quite neutral. The alcohol is very light on the nose and really allows the subtle flavors to shine if you them give chance.
On the rocks: This hits first on the back of the throat with a nice prickly black pepper that quickly spreads across the palate with a lot of the floral and fruity notes that were on the nose. Once Shisui opens up you get a lot more lavender which really make this interesting as it matches well with the sharp sweet potato shochu notes which carry through to the finish and hang around for a bid. Overall, this is a great shochu for a hot summer evening and is perfect if you are in the mood to drink more than one glass.
水割り Diluted with water
4:1 ratio: This was so nice, I didn't bother to try and water it down, just serve over ice and enjoy. I also regret not trying this neat in the glass, maybe next time.
Reflections on this shōchū
-
Perfect summer shochu, floral and fruity with a nice balance of sweetness.
-
I am pretty happy overall with all of the bottles I have trice from Ookubo, they range for sweet to crisp and with each you can feel a good sense of quality on what you are drinking.
-
The price I paid on the Ookubo was around 1700 JPY, a bit more than an average bottle, but worth the extra.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
Name: 古酒侍士の門 3yr Samurai no Mon
Type: 焼芋焼酎 Roasted Potato shōchū
Potato: さつま芋 Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
-
さつま芋(鹿児島県産)
-
米麹 Sweet Potato, Rice Koji
Alcohol: 25%
In the bottle: Big and bold nose full of dried fruits, especially raisons, dates and prunes. There is a nice hint of vanilla that ties together the sweet notes and the aged, mature sweet potato scents into something that really adds to the overall enjoyment of this shōchū.
On the rocks: As soon as it hits your tongue you know you are drinking something special; what comes through on the nose, explodes on the palate with dried fruit and an earthy clay finish. The finish is actually quite intense and lingers for a while as the clay fades to a slightly musty hay which I enjoyed, but from my experience may not be for everyone. The sweet potato is really up front and Samurai no Mon certainly gives you a full ride for the price of entry, as this is one of the first aged sweet potato shochu I have tried, I cannot compare it to much but, if you have the chance this is worth trying.
水割り Diluted with water
4:1 ratio: Much like other bottles that start out quite intense, this really benefits from some mellowing, especially for the clay notes which become much more subtle and blend nicely with the dried fruits, the sweetness also really takes a back seat with only a hint of vanilla remaining.
Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks
Reflections on this shōchū
-
I have a bottle of the non-aged Samurai no Mon and I need to do a side-by-side comparison to see what the aging really adds.
-
I am a bit torn on which way is best to enjoy this (on-the-rocks or diluted with water), both ways present an interesting experience, and it really depends, one glass or two.
-
As a higher-end bottle (I think I paid 3000円+) it might be a hard sell if you are new to shōchū
-
So far everything I have tried from Okubo Shuzo has been quite good, and I have three more bottles left to try, so more coming soon.
Bottle label and Information
Box
Back Label
Name: 侍士の門 Samurai no Mon
Type: 焼芋焼酎 Roasted Potato shōchū
Potato: さつま芋 Sweet Potato
Ingredients:
-
さつま芋(鹿児島県産)
-
米麹 Sweet Potato, Rice Koji
Alcohol: 25%
Enjoy straight or on-the-rocks
In the bottle: Not as bold as the 3yr version, but it still has a beautiful nose full of dried fruit, vanilla and sweet potato. There is also a very slight earthiness which adds a nice bit of texture and balances out a bit of the sweeter notes. While not as fragrant as other bottles by Okubo, this still packs a nice punch and gives you a good sense of what you will find in the bottle.
On the rocks: Nice and bright with clear sweet potato forward profile that really works on the rocks; there is a perfect amount of bite that makes you want to drink this on a hot summer night (in this case I am enjoying this on a cold Hiroshima night in November). In the 3ry bottle of Samurai no Mon I could find some nice dried fruits which are noticeably absent here; however, this bottle has some interesting floral notes, mostly lavender and honeysuckle that open up as the ice melts a bit which gives this a great drinkability when enjoying more than one glass.
Straight: Incredibly smooth, and the brightness found on-the-rocks is replaced by a sublime sweetness that perfectly brings the sweet out of the sweet potato without getting too heavy (really bummed I did not try the 3yr neat in the glass). The finish is also something to take note on as you end up with some candied vanilla and a bit of a grainy cereal which is really quite enjoyable. Overall, this version of Samurai no Mon works really well neat in the glass, so definitely worth trying.
Reflections on this shōchū
-
The standard Samurai no Mon has a lot of the same characteristics of the 3-year aged version, the only major difference is that some of the deep flavors are not as developed, which is expected.
-
This version has a nice freshness that is really sweet potato forward, this really captures the spirit of what is in this bottle.
-
Neat in the glass works very well here as well, a pity I did not try the 3-year like this, that would have been a nice comparison.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
Back Label
