While many diners associate shochu with Japan, it originates in Korea where it is called soju.
“Shochu and soju have many similarities but it is their more recent histories that set them apart,” says Elliot Faber, beverage director for Yardbird, Ronin and Sunday’s Spirits, and co-founder of Sake Central, a bar and retail space celebrating Japanese food and beverage culture.
“The etymology of their names are the same: the ‘so’ in soju and ‘sho’ in shochu both mean ‘burn’ or ‘burned’; the ‘ju’ in soju and the ‘chu’ in shochu both mean alcohol. This ‘burned alcohol’ is a reference to a distillation process that both products have in common. However, this technique was developed in Korea in the 13th century, and it didn’t appear in Japan until the 16th century.”
Both soju and shochu are made from a base of fermented ingredients, often grain, such as rice or barley. But they can also be made from buckwheat, sweet potatoes, or, in the case of shochu, even chestnuts, wasabi, shiso or soba.
While most soju allows the addition of flavouring, sweeteners and MSG, the rules for shochu are much stricter: it has an array of controlled appellations (similar to those of the Champagne region of France) that protect the authenticity and identity of different shochu varieties across Japan.
Still, this is not a guarantee of quality.
“There are amazing efforts in Korea to return to the craft aspect of soju, which omits any additives, and there is certainly a mass-produced shochu market, including canned shochu highballs and extremely low grade, overly processed spirits,” says Faber, a certified sommelier and advanced sake professional.
Quality in both soju and shochu is defined by the production technique.
“Selection of ingredients is important but it is wasted if the producer does not know how to use them,” says Faber, who highlights soju producer Hwayo as an excellent brand to sample.
“Quality producers focus on creating different expressions at different alcohol levels. Shochu has extreme character and regionality that is not yet recognised in Korea. You can have a sweet potato shochu from Kagoshima prefecture and note rich, smoky and savoury notes. After, you can try a rice shochu from Kumamoto and note subtle floral characteristics and elegance that is unseen in the soju world. It is all about knowing the region and the maker, and discovering your favourite ingredient.”
Then there is the question of consuming it in the correct way, something that differs from Korea to Japan. Soju, which usually has a light, low-alcohol and an almost sweet character, is often drunk on its own or with beer – even inside beer, in a drink called somaek, which is akin to a “soju bomb”.
Shochu, which tends to be purer and higher in alcohol content, is often consumed on the rocks, as mizuwari (cut with spring water and ice) or oyuwari (cut with warm water), or with Oolong tea or grapefruit as a highball.
For Faber, shochu is the drink of choice.
“Japanese shochu has more identity, quality control, variety and versatility. Soju, however, is recognised as one of the highest consumed alcoholic beverages in the world, thanks to international brands such as Jinro,” he says.
“If I’m asked what I want to drink or what I want to educate on, for now it is shochu. However, I look forward to the day that the Korean soju industry matures and attracts more craft makers who can take on a bigger spotlight.”
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