Distillery: 黒木本店 Kuroki Honten
Address: 776 Kitatakanabe, Takanabe, Koyu District, Miyazaki 884-0002
Website: https://www.kurokihonten.co.jp/
Additional Content: Short video in Japanese showing the production process for their sake, unfortunately it doesn't cover anything about this shōchū.
Name: 野うさぎの走り Nousagi no Hashiri
Type: 米焼酎 Rice Shōchū
常圧蒸留: 常圧蒸留 (Atmospheric)
Ingredients:
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米 Rice
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米麹（国産）Rice Koji (Domestic)
Alcohol: 37%
Enjoy on the rocks
In the bottle: Soft and light to start but with a bit of oxygen Nousagi no Hashiri opens up with a bit of a nutty aroma, along with a bit of a sharp rice shochu that reminds me of fresh cut Granny Smith apples. If you nose this deep enough you can find the alcohol, which here is 37 degrees, it is there, but not something that overpowers, or takes away from the experience. While there is not a lot going on here outside of the initial observations, this shochu remains incredibly inviting.
On the rocks: The first thing that comes to mind is that Nousagi no Hashiri is a bit on the smoky side, I think this is the first time I have ever had a shochu with this characteristic. Overall, the smoke is very subtle, not like a smoky or peated whiskey, just there enough to make its presence known. Aside from that, this is an amazing glass to sip after dinner, it is sweet and smooth in all the right places, with some mature vanilla and a bit of bitter chocolate on the finish, very nice.
Straight: Smooth and rich, my instant feeling was this was like an after dinner drink, the sweetness is warm and welcoming and thankfully never feels over the top. After the first sip you start to catch a bit more of the rice along with some mature vanilla and a bit of chocolate; it was interesting that I did not find any smokiness like on the rocks, a little water must unlock this. The finish here is a real standout, the rice shochu notes come across with a nice freshness that balances really well with the initial sweetness. Overall, a great way to enjoy this shochu.
Paired with Chocolate: Kaldi 70% chocolate, after the first wave of intensity from the shochu subsides, there is an beautifully rich dark chocolate that comes pouring through that reminds me a chocolate ganache with a dark cherry compote. The finish stays for quite some time and builds on the initial layer with some vanilla and a bit of that smokiness, overall a nice pairing.
Reflections on this shōchū
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I really like the shape of the bottle, it gives the feeling like this is just off center which works well with the simple stripe label on the front and clear sticker lable on the back.
Bottle label and Information
Front Label
Back Label
Name: 爆弾ハナタレ Bakudan Hanatare
Type: 芋焼酎 Potato Shōchū
常圧蒸留: 単式蒸留 (Pot Distillation)
Ingredients:
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甘藷 Sweet Potato (Miyazaki)
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米麹（国産）Rice Koji (Domestic)
Alcohol: 40%
Enjoy on the rocks
In the bottle: Crisp with a subtle sharpness that quickly transitions to a beautiful sweet potato that is fragrant and full of impact vapours. What really gives this such an inviting character is that fresh broken maple branch note that melds so perfectly with the sweet potato, this combinations provides a great background for to softer accents to rise to the top; most notably a bit of cherry, black tea and dried fruits. Overall, Bakudan Hanatare feels like a bottle that you have been longing to try but just could not get your hands on which creates the perfect level of anticipation for that first sip.
On the rocks: Much like the name Bakudan, this absolutely explodes on the tongue and somehow still remains relatively smooth. The balance between the rich sweetness side featuring a strong set of sweet potato notes like mature vanilla, dried fruits, and a bit of dried sweet potato and the fresh, slightly sharp side made up of mostly floral notes makes this one of the best bottles I have had in quite some time. As the ice melts a bit, Bakudan Hatsudare mellows quite well and the sharp and sweet melds together in perfect harmony, leaving a finish that keeps giving and giving.
Straight: Certainly smooth even at 40% AbV, interestingly the second sip was significantly sharper which a bitter herbal taste on the back of the throat, not off putting but just surprising. Sipping this slowly I noticed some hidden earthiness that was connected a bit to the prickly notes from the first sip. The finish here was quite enjoyable as Bakudan Hanatare comes across a bit rich, warm with a very much unsweet brown sugar vibe that switches back and forth to a mature sweet potato.
Paired with Chocolate: Malaysian 80% single origin dark chocolate. At first this feels like a bit of a bust as the sharpness does not pair well with the chocolate at first; however, once that first hit passes there is a really nice cacao that expands quite well with the alcohol and rich sweet potato, not the best but certainly not the worst.
Reflections on this shōchū
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I really like the shape of the bottle, it gives the feeling like this is just off center which works well with the simple stripe label on the front and clear sticker lable on the back.