Japan has proud alcohol brewing traditions that go back centuries. Over the years, the techniques of sake makers have captivated people all over the world, especially with the production of shochu.
For Paul Nakayama, his experience with shochu inspired him to create his own variety of Japan’s premiere craft spirit.
Along with his wife, Nakayama created Nankai shochu, a premium black sugar drink that’s available from their headquarters in Los Angeles.
Nakayama is on a mission to make more people aware of shochu and I’m all for it.
As the co-founder of Nankai shochu, you’ve been doing some great work to raise awareness of shochu in the US. How did you first get into shochu and what inspired you to create your own?
I’ve been drinking shochu for quite some time, but I’ve always had a hard time convincing my friends to drink shochu. Being single distilled, shochu is packed with flavour and aroma, which is what makes it great, but it can also be something of an acquired taste.
And then on my honeymoon to my wife’s hometown of Amami, we came across what would eventually become Nankai. It was so easy to drink and approachable that I couldn’t stop thinking about it on my flight home to Los Angeles.
It was simply the cleanest-tasting alcohol I’d ever had. Realising that it could be to shochu what Patron was to tequila, we were inspired to begin importing and distributing under our own brand name.
Something I love about shochu is the vast amount of ingredients that can be used to make it. What are some of your favourite ingredient types?
I definitely love the regionality of shochu. It tells a story and allows distilleries to bring their own interpretation to that story. My favourite is of course black sugar (kokuto) shochu, but I also enjoy sweet potato, barley, sesame, and buckwheat.