In the bottle: At the start Shiranami Genshu has a really beautiful sweet potato forward nose, with a nice bit of sweetness that balances against the sharpness of the alcohol that while 37% is not overly in your face. Overall, you get a pretty good idea of what to expect in the glass.

On the rocks: The first sip swells with an intense sweet potato that really hits the ground running; at first it is a bit overwhelming until you adjust, but when you do, Satsuma Shiranami really starts to shine. As the ice melts a bit, the intensity cools off giving you the chance to enjoy some of the softer, more well-balanced notes of vanilla, toasted rice and oats, all of which blend perfectly with the sweet potato. For 37% alcohol, it is very well behaved and does a great job of carrying the softer flavors through in the finish

Straight: Surprisingly smooth with a burst of sweet potato on the front end that feels a little less intense then on-the-rocks; Satsuma Shiranami still carries some weight but even for a genshu it never overpowers. Once the initial blast fades, there is a nice black pepper that settles in on the back of the throat which hangs around for a bit. After this subsides, you are treated to an extended finish that weaves between vanilla and toasted rice & oats. For 37% alcohol, the alcohol is never in the front and really only shows up on the finish as it does a great job of carrying some of the sweeter notes through to the end.