Pop Japan

While sake is made from rice, Japan has other kinds of distilled drinks from a lot of different ingredients. This one is called shochu, known for its crystal clear quality, The shochu is created from grains, barley, sweet potatoes or buckwheat, and the resulting drink surprisingly contains up to 35 percent alcohol by volume. This makes it stronger than sake, in terms of alcohol volume. Some shochu makers also experiement with chestnuts, sesame seed, potatoes and even carrots, for a different and unique taste. Shochu is originally a product of Kyushu, but other parts of Japan had already adapted the distilling technique.

Photo by Lloyd Morgan. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/)

Tags: drink, distilled drink, shochu, grains, barley, sweet potatoe, buckwheat, alcohol quality, kyushu, chestnuts, carrots