Name: なまけ者になりなさい Namakimononarinasai

Type: 芋焼酎  Sweet Potato Shōchū
蒸留方法: 減圧蒸留と常圧蒸留のブレンド
Ingredients:

• 芋(国産) Sweet Potato (Domestic)

• 米麹 Rice Koji (Thailand)

Alcohol: 25%

In the bottle: Sweet and fragrant, with hints of lavender, caramel and wet hay, there is also a nice splash of vanilla in there as well which reminds me of those vanilla tootsie rolls. Maybe I am a bit influenced from my breakfast in Taiwan this morning, but I also find a little brown sugar, like a steam bun (matun). Overall, Namakimononinarinasai comes across as quite sweet at least on the nose, and makes me feel like this is more of a dessert shochu which is certainly not a bad thing. 

On the rocks: The sweetness really pops as it hits the tongue before spilling over into some of the mature brown sugar and vanilla, along with the sweet potato to round things out. The wet hay also makes an appearance and adds some much needed depth to the sweetness, which is good because the sweetness stays with really up front even on the finish. Fortunately, as the ice melts a bit the sweetness mellows out quite a bit and gives the accompanying notes a bit of room to open up, especially the contrast between the earthy hay and the vanilla. Overall, Namakimononinarinasai is very much a comfort drink (hence the be lazy).

水割り Diluted with water

Ratio 4:1: I think I was too lazy to write down what I felt when diluted with water, what I remember was basically a smoother version of what was on the rocks, nothing new popped out with a little water.