An Invitation to the World of Shochu
At the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition (TWSC) 2026, two labels from the export-only brand SHOCHU REPUBLIC earned awards in the shochu and awamori category. The sweet potato shochu Sweet Potato Robin received the Superior Gold Award, while the barley shochu Barley Bunny took home a Silver Award.
TWSC judging is known to be rigorous. This year’s shochu and awamori category drew 189 entries, of which only 23—just 12 percent—were awarded Superior Gold. For an emerging brand launched less than two years ago, earning this recognition speaks to the careful craftsmanship behind the brand.
A Brand Built as “The Gateway to Shochu”
SHOCHU REPUBLIC was launched in July 2024 by Nanzan Bussan Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based specialist trading company focused on Japanese alcoholic beverages. Working with four distilleries in Kyushu, the company developed one label with each producer, creating four export-oriented SKUs under the name Animal Series.
The brand’s concept is: “Your first encounter with shochu, soon to be a familiar spirit.” In practical terms, that means standardizing the alcohol content at 25%, adopting art-driven labels, and officially recommending service in a wine glass. It is a deliberate design choice: giving overseas sommeliers and bartenders not only the vessel, but also the vocabulary they need to introduce “Shochu” to guests after “Sake.”
Sweet Potato Robin: Beni Haruka and Tin Distillation Pipes
The Superior Gold-winning Robin is made by Uto Shuzo, founded in 1903 in Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima Prefecture. Minamisatsuma is known as the birthplace of two of Japan’s great shochu toji lineages: the Kurose Toji and Ata Toji. The current head, Hirotomo Uto, studied applied microbiology at Tokyo University of Agriculture before inheriting the craft from Kurose Toji master Yuji Kandori.
Rather than the standard shochu sweet potato variety, Koganesengan, Robin uses Beni Haruka, a table sweet potato known for its exceptionally high sugar content. The potatoes are washed with unusual care so the aromatic skin remains intact. Combined with a still fitted with tin pipes, this produces a strikingly fruity profile—described as “grape,” “Kyoho grape,” and “rum raisin”—that offers a fresh perspective on the traditional profile of sweet potato shochu.
The label depicts a Japanese robin and a tamatebako treasure box, inspired by the Satsuma Peninsula, said to be one of the birthplaces of the Urashima Taro legend. Story and spirit meet inside a single bottle.
Barley Bunny: 100% Barley and the Philosophy of “Shochu as an Auspicious Spirit”
Silver Award winner Barley Bunny is produced by Benitome Shuzo, founded in 1978 in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture. The distillery is known for innovation, having released the world’s first sesame shochu in 1978.
Its founder, Haruno Hayashida, was born into a sake-brewing family in Kurume and married into a 300-year-old brewery. After raising four children through the war and postwar years, she founded Benitome Shuzo as a separate company at the age of 66. Her guiding ideal was to create “a highly aromatic spirit that could stand alongside Western liquor.” In 1992, the distillery introduced a Charentais alembic still from France, together with the artisans who built it. Benitome also carries a distinctive philosophy, recasting “shochu” as 祥酎—with 祥 meaning an auspicious sign. Even today, roughly half of the distillery’s employees are women.
Barley Bunny is made only from barley and barley koji. Its 100% barley composition, with no rice koji, gives it a clear and easily communicated specification for drinkers familiar with whisky. The brand owner’s official tasting notes describe it as having “a sweet, mellow aroma reminiscent of banana and cotton candy.”
A Place at the Global Table
SHOCHU REPUBLIC’s Animal Series has a unified structure: Sweet Potato Robin, Barley Bunny, the rice-based liqueur Long Pepper Crane, and the matcha-style Matcha Cat. It is a lineup designed to let overseas bars and restaurants present four categories on a single menu.
Now, two of those labels have simultaneously won Superior Gold and Silver at TWSC 2026, one of Japan’s serious spirits competitions. The result suggests that the brand’s “gateway to shochu” concept has been recognized not only for its design originality, but for the profound craftsmanship within the bottle. As overseas cocktail bars and fine-dining restaurants move closer to adding a line for “Shochu” alongside whisky and sake, that gateway is steadily taking shape. (Mr. Bacchus)
This article is intended solely to explore the distillation techniques and cultural heritage of the SHOCHU REPUBLIC Animal Series and the partner breweries Uto Shuzo and Beniotome Shuzo, as reflected in the TWSC 2026 award records, and is not intended to promote or encourage the consumption of alcohol. / บทความนี้จัดทำขึ้นเพื่อนำเสนอข้อมูลเกี่ยวกับเทคนิคการกลั่นและมรดกทางวัฒนธรรมของ SHOCHU REPUBLIC Animal Series และโรงเหล้าพันธมิตร Uto Shuzo และ Beniotome Shuzo ที่สะท้อนในผลรางวัล TWSC 2026 เท่านั้น มิได้มีเจตนาเพื่อส่งเสริมหรือโฆษณาเครื่องดื่มแอลกอฮอล์ สำหรับผู้มีอายุ 20 ปีขึ้นไป โปรดดื่มอย่างรับผิดชอบ