Serving Shochu
One of the many things we love about shochi is its versatility. Shochu can be enjoyed neat, on the rocks, with water (mizuwari), with hot water (oyuwari), mixed with soda (soda wari), and of course in cocktails!
Most spirits are great on the rocks or neat but what other distilled spirit can blossoms when warmed? The answer is shochu (For those of you who shouted “sake” just now, remember sake is not distilled!) The most traditional way to enjoy shochu is oyuwari, shochu is mixed with hot water (oyu = hot water, wari = cut), is a popular way to enjoy shochu in the cold winter months. The most common ratio is 4 parts water to 6 parts shochu. The key is to pour hot water, heated to around 158°F, into a ceramic cup first then add shochu. No need to stir since shochu is heavier than water and will naturally blend into the water. Imo or sweet potato shochu is the top choice to use for oyuwari. By incorporating warm water, the blending results in mellow flavors while bringing out the bright yet soft aromas.
Oyuwari
Once you have mastered oyuwari, consider trying another traditional technique maewari (mae = before) which is pre-mixed oyuwari. The recommended Maewari ratio is 5:5 (five parts shochu to five parts water) or 6:4 (six parts shochu to four parts water). After combining, the mixture is left for 24 hours and up to week. This technique allows for the flavors to meld together creating mellow flavors and a soft mouthfeel. There are so many different variations to enjoy shochu, but no wrong way to enjoy shochu.
Maewari
If you’re feeling experimental, another unique way to savor warm shochu is dashiwari. Combine the wintertime favorite oden with shochu at a ratio 4 prts hot oden dashi stock to 1 part barley shochu. Add a dash of shichimi for a spicy kick!
Dashiwari
Sodawari is a simple combination of chilled soda (carbonated) water and shochu. The most common shochu to soda ratio is 6:4 but can be adjusted to one’s preferences.
Chuhai is a variation of sodawari, a mix of shochu, soda, and fruit juice or syrup (lemon and grapefruit are classic options!)
Sodawari / Chuhai
Cocktails are a great way to introduce more folks to a category that may be completely unknown to them. Blending familiar flavors with the new flavors of shochu can ease the unindoctrinated to the spirit. The base ingredients used to create shochu unique to most distilled spirits, it is important that the nuances of the ingredients are not lost in all of the cocktail mixer components.
Shochu Cocktails
Check out our shochu forward cocktail recipes in our recipe section!!
