In the bottle: The oak is quite soft here. By the slight tint of what’s in the bottle, it’s clear the time in the barrel wasn’t very long; however, what is there is quite nice as the rice and oak meld together beautifully. Once it opens up a bit, you get some cherry, vanilla, and a bit of dried apricots along with a brisk sweetness. Overall, Jyurin has a lot going for it, especially if you enjoy oak-aged rice shōchū. The nose is clean, balanced, and inviting, building good anticipation for the glass.

On the rocks: Bright and full of creamy oak notes. Jyurin starts with a nice punch of sweetness that quickly fades before becoming too heavy, giving way to a beautiful range of oak, vanilla, and a bit of cherry. As the ice melts, the cherry becomes a bit more like cherry cream soda, and the oak fades a little to the background, letting the rice shōchū rise to the surface a bit—not a lot, but you can finally find it. The result is smooth, layered, and very drinkable over ice.

Straight: Nice and smooth to start. The oak has a really nice balance that isn’t too forward but certainly lets you know it’s the star of the show. What I like about Jyurin is that you can still taste the rice shōchū—a lot of times with oak aging the base gets lost in the wood; however, here both play really well together. As with most oak-aged rice shōchū offerings, these usually work quite well neat in the glass, and Jyurin is no exception. The lower alcohol (25%) gives a lot more room for the vanilla, cherry, and dried fruit notes to shine.

Paired with Chocolate: Tony's chocolonely 70% dark chocolate. At first this feels like a bit of a mismatch, but then the skies clear and it comes together. You’re rewarded with a nice blend of chocolate and cherry—not the most mind-blowing pairing, but nice none the less. The shōchū adds gentle vanilla and oak warmth that complements the cocoa without overpowering it.