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Asian alcohol accounts for more than just sake shots
• by Anne Earney - Photo by Jonathan Swegle
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Ever since I heard it caused less of a hangover, vodka has been my spirit of choice. But that might change now that I’ve been introduced to two distilled Asian liquors: Japanese shochu and Korean soju.
Yes, the names sound a lot alike. They both have a similar, crystal-clear appearance and smooth taste. For both, the first sip is bitter, but the finish is easy, probably because of an alcohol content that ranges from 25 to 35 percent, which is lower than other hard alcohols.
Shochu is a Japanese distilled spirit, and that’s where it differs from sake, which is brewed. The first documented mention of shochu was in the 16th century, when it was already a common drink. Shochu is often made from barley, rice, buckwheat or potatoes, though other ingredients are sometimes used; a variety made from sweet potatoes is known as imo-jochu. In Japan, it is typically consumed over ice or with hot water, depending on the season, or in fruit-flavored, carbonated, canned beverages. Shochu can be distilled multiple times, resulting in minimal flavor (like vodka; it is then called korui), or once, to retain the flavor of its ingredients (like Scotch; it’s called honkaku).
Zoë Pan-Asian Café offers the Kyoto Martini, made with Gekkeikan Black and Gold sake and Takara Jun shochu. This type of shochu is supposed to be high quality, and its alcohol content falls on the high end at 35 percent. The crystal-clear Kyoto is served up in a simple martini glass with no garnish. It goes down like an exceptionally smooth, very dry vodka martini with a more complex finish.
Shochu can also serve as a vodka substitute in cocktails. I tried it with cranberry juice, and the mixture would please any drinker who chooses vodka precisely because it doesn’t have a lot of flavor.
Soju is very similar in appearance and taste to shochu. This Korean spirit, which was first distilled there around 1300, is sometimes called Korea’s national drink – the average South Korean adult drinks 86 bottles a year. Soju is made with rice combined with wheat, barley or sweet potatoes. Soju can also be used as a substitute for harder alcohols, as it is in California and New York, where soju can be served in restaurants that have licenses for only beer and wine, and it’s traditionally consumed straight from small shot glasses. That’s how it’s served at The Drunken Fish in the Central West End and at West Port Plaza, where Jinro Chamjinisulro soju, 22 percent alcohol, is available in 375-milliliter bottles.
Jinro Chamjinisulro soju is thrice filtered through bamboo charcoal. Patrick McCormick, who tends bar at the CWE location, said it was “good stuff, very neutral.” According to McCormick, the Korean owner of The Drunken Fish, Munsok So, got it started, and now soju has caught on with the restaurant’s employees, who might unwind from a shift by enjoying a bottle or two with beer on the patio when it’s warm out. “I drink it myself,” So concurred, adding that employees not only drink it themselves, “they recommend it to customers.”
To emphasize his point, while we were at the bar, another employee walked by, noticed what we were drinking and commented, “That stuff is great.”
And I agreed. And we ordered a second bottle.
Phil Le, a manager, also took note of our libations. He quizzed McCormick about the principal ingredient in Jinro soju, which is sweet potatoes, and said that soju is “just getting big in St. Louis.” And it should get bigger. I couldn’t find shochu or soju at retail stores, and Le said The Drunken Fish can only get it from its smaller liquor distributor. You might have to venture out to try it, but it’ll be worth it.
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