【Reading】ほんかくしょうちゅう

【English Name】Honkaku Shochu

Honkaku shochu is a distilled spirit unique to Japan, made using a single distillation apparatus with agricultural products such as rice, barley, and sweet potato as the main ingredients. Under the Liquor Tax Act its classification falls under "single-distillation shochu," and the upper limit of alcohol content is set at 45 degrees. Its production method differs fundamentally from that of korui shochu, made with a continuous distillation apparatus, and only otsurui shochu that clears a certain quality standard may use the name "honkaku shochu."

Representative varieties are diverse, with various shochu made from rice, barley, sweet potato, brown sugar, awamori, and buckwheat permeating the entire country. In the single-distillation production process, the distinctive aromas and umami inherent in the ingredients tend to be reflected directly in the quality of the spirit. The geographical concentration of production bases is conspicuous in Kyushu, where many breweries stand side by side in the prefectures of Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Oita, and Kumamoto.

As beverages to pair with seafood, imo-jochu (sweet-potato shochu) mixed with hot water and mugi-jochu (barley shochu) mixed with water are widely said to bring out the deep umami of the toppings. The hot-water mixing style, rooted in the production-area culture of southern Kyushu, is deeply woven into the everyday table. Spurred by the 2024 registration of "traditional sake brewing" as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, cultural interest surrounding shochu is showing even greater enthusiasm.