In the bottle: Initially Ikkosha feels very, very neutral with not a lot going on; however, once this opens up a bit you can find some nice earthy, damp hay, and wet clay notes that are backed by a very soft sweetness. Aside from that, there is not much here to find other than a slight prickle from the alcohol, considering I have had other shochu from this series at the local Izakaya, I was still moderately interested in getting this into a glass. 

On the rocks: The first sip delivers a striking wave of clay-like earthiness, it is crisp and almost mineral-sharp before settling evenly across the palate. As the intensity subsides and the ice melts a bit, a subtle, clean sweetness emerges toward the finish, this provides a gentle contrast and makes this much more enjoyable. This bottle uses potato kōji and from what I have seen it gives a distinctive prickly, black-pepper note that lingers at the back of the throat and along the sides of the tongue. It is certainly not bad and becomes quite mellow as the ice melts a bit more. 

水割り Diluted with water

Ratio 3:2: Like with the melting ice, a modest amount of water here really improves the drinkability with the initial earthy sharpness softened slightly giving the understated sweetness has a chance to rise to the surface and steal a little of the spotlight. 

Enjoy on the rocks