Shochu
THE SG SHOCHU
Oita · Kumamoto · Kagoshima — Three Distilleries of Kyushu
Five hundred years of Japanese distillation are poured into a single glass.
Shingo Gokan spent a decade behind the bar counters of New York. The answer this world-champion bartender ultimately found was the oldest craft his homeland possessed: Honkaku Shochu. But it could not be used as it was. He envisioned the finished glass first, then reverse-engineered the spirit to reach it. He presented a profound vision to three master distilleries of Kyushu.
In Oita, Sanwa Shurui drew five distinct base spirits from barley and white koji. Through atmospheric and vacuum distillation, oak barrels, sherry casks, and stainless steel, each spirit walked a different path before meeting inside a single bottle to become MUGI. The depth of cacao and vanilla coexists with the lightness of barley. It is a spirit that speaks two languages at once.
In Kumamoto, Takahashi Shuzo channeled the subterranean waters of the Kuma River, white koji, and the art of Ginjo brewing into shochu. Vacuum distillation gently lifts only the most fragile floral aromas, preserving delicate notes that excessive heat would otherwise diminish. Inside the bottle of KOME, the whisper of apple and blossom is sealed intact. “Ginjo, Encapsulated”: the soul of Ginjo, passed through fire, yet preserved in perfect transparency.
In Kagoshima, Satsuma Shuzo works with two varieties of sweet potato raised in volcanic soil. Kogane Sengan builds the backbone; Eimurasaki, a rare purple cultivar born from a serendipitous agricultural discovery, imparts the fragrance of white flowers and the sweetness of nectar, naturally bypassing the bitterness typical of purple potatoes. Black koji and atmospheric distillation seal the energy of the earth directly into IMO. This spirit from Japan’s subtropical south shares a bloodline with rum, tequila, and cachaça across the same latitude.
Three lands. Three ingredients. Three philosophies. One bartender’s question bound them together.
SG stands for Sip and Guzzle. To savor slowly, or to drink freely. These three bottles grant permission for both. The terroir of Kyushu, distilled and translated into a language the whole world can read.
Shingo Gokan spent a decade behind the bar counters of New York. The answer this world-champion bartender ultimately found was the oldest craft his homeland possessed: Honkaku Shochu. But it could not be used as it was. He envisioned the finished glass first, then reverse-engineered the spirit to reach it. He presented a profound vision to three master distilleries of Kyushu.
In Oita, Sanwa Shurui drew five distinct base spirits from barley and white koji. Through atmospheric and vacuum distillation, oak barrels, sherry casks, and stainless steel, each spirit walked a different path before meeting inside a single bottle to become MUGI. The depth of cacao and vanilla coexists with the lightness of barley. It is a spirit that speaks two languages at once.
In Kumamoto, Takahashi Shuzo channeled the subterranean waters of the Kuma River, white koji, and the art of Ginjo brewing into shochu. Vacuum distillation gently lifts only the most fragile floral aromas, preserving delicate notes that excessive heat would otherwise diminish. Inside the bottle of KOME, the whisper of apple and blossom is sealed intact. “Ginjo, Encapsulated”: the soul of Ginjo, passed through fire, yet preserved in perfect transparency.
In Kagoshima, Satsuma Shuzo works with two varieties of sweet potato raised in volcanic soil. Kogane Sengan builds the backbone; Eimurasaki, a rare purple cultivar born from a serendipitous agricultural discovery, imparts the fragrance of white flowers and the sweetness of nectar, naturally bypassing the bitterness typical of purple potatoes. Black koji and atmospheric distillation seal the energy of the earth directly into IMO. This spirit from Japan’s subtropical south shares a bloodline with rum, tequila, and cachaça across the same latitude.
Three lands. Three ingredients. Three philosophies. One bartender’s question bound them together.
SG stands for Sip and Guzzle. To savor slowly, or to drink freely. These three bottles grant permission for both. The terroir of Kyushu, distilled and translated into a language the whole world can read.