Shochu

Japan's quiet giant: a distilled spirit of sweet potato, barley, rice or buckwheat, lighter than whisky and made to accompany food. Ingredients: a base ingredient — imo (sweet potato), mugi (barley), kome (rice) or soba (buckwheat) — plus koji and water. Method: 1) Ferment the koji-sweetened base, then distill once (honkaku shochu) to keep the ingredient's character. 2) Rest and dilute to about 25% alcohol. 3) Serve oyu-wari (cut with hot water), on the rocks, or with cold water — the order of pouring changes the aroma. The experience: earthy and expressive — roasted sweet potato, clean barley, delicate rice — soft in alcohol but big in flavor. History: shochu has been distilled in Kyushu for some 500 years and is the everyday spirit of southern Japan; in recent decades it has rivaled even sake in domestic popularity.