How honkaku shochu is made
Honkaku shochu is made by fermenting koji, water and yeast, adding the main ingredient such as sweet potato or barley for a second mash, distilling it once in a pot still, then ageing, diluting and bottling it.
Shochu is a spirit, but honkaku (authentic) shochu is distilled only once, in a pot still, so the character of its main ingredient stays clearly in the glass.
1. Koji
Steamed rice (or barley, for barley shochu) is grown with koji mould. Shochu mostly uses white and black koji; both produce lots of citric acid, which protects the mash in Kyushu's warm climate.
2. First mash
Koji, water and yeast ferment for about a week.
3. Second mash
Now the main ingredient goes in (steamed sweet potato for imo shochu, steamed barley for mugi shochu) and ferments for another ten days to two weeks.
4. Distillation
The mash is distilled once in a pot still:
- Atmospheric distillation: rich, full, strongly flavoured by the ingredient.
- Vacuum (reduced-pressure) distillation: lower temperature, lighter and more fragrant.
Fresh distillate is around 37–44%.
5. Ageing
In steel tanks, clay pots (kame) or wooden casks. Clay rounds the spirit; casks add colour and oak.
6. Diluting and bottling
Water brings it to 25% in most cases (20% is common in Miyazaki), then it is bottled.
Terms in this article
Also read
- How sake is madeRice, water, koji and yeast, in ten steps from polishing to bottling.
- How awamori is madeThai rice, black koji only, one mash, and kusu that grows with age.
- Types of shochu and awamoriSweet potato, barley, rice, brown sugar and buckwheat, plus koji and still.
- How does awamori differ from shochu?Thai rice, black koji only, one single mash, plus where awamori sits in the law and its story.