Sh?ch? (??) is a Japanese distilled beverage less than 45% alcohol by volume. It is typically distilled from rice (kome), barley (mugi), sweet potatoes (satsuma-imo), buckwheat (soba), or brown sugar (kokut?), though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes or even carrots.
Typically sh?ch? contains 25% alcohol by volume, which is weaker than whisky or standard-strength vodka but stronger than wine and sake. It is not uncommon for multiple-distilled sh?ch?, which is more likely to be used in mixed drinks, to contain up to 35% alcohol by volume.
Sh?ch? originated in Ky?sh? but is produced in locations throughout Japan.
Video Sh?ch?
Etymology
Linguistically, the word sh?ch? (??) is the Japanese rendition of the Chinese ?? (pinyin: sh?oji?; literally: "burned liquor"), which is an obsolete form in modern Japanese.
Maps Sh?ch?
Culture
Drinking
Sh?ch? should not be confused with sake, a brewed rice wine. Its taste is usually far less fruity and depends strongly on the nature of the starch used in the distilling process. Its flavor is often described as "nutty" or "earthy".
Sh?ch? is drunk in many ways according to season or personal taste:
- neat, i.e., on its own with nothing added.
- on the rocks, i.e., mixed with ice
- diluted with room temperature or hot water ('mizuwari' or 'oyuwari', respectively)
- mixed with oolong tea or fruit juice
- as ch?hai, a mixed drink consisting of sh?ch?, soda, ice and some flavoring, often lemon, grapefruit, apple or ume
- mixed with a low-alcohol beer-flavored beverage known as hoppy
Sh?ch? is widely available in supermarkets, liquor stores and convenience stores in Japan while canned chuhai drinks are sold in some of Japan's ubiquitous vending machines. However, it is more difficult to find sh?ch? outside Japan except in urban areas with large enough Japanese populations. Interest in sh?ch? has begun to grow in North America, particularly in cosmopolitan cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Toronto, and New York. Dedicated sh?ch? bars have begun to appear in New York and more than 100 brands are now available in the U.S. market.
In Ky?sh?, the center of production, sh?ch? is far more common than sake. Indeed, here sake generally means sh?ch?, and is normally consumed mixed with hot water. First hot water is poured into the glass, then sh?ch? is gently added. The liquids mix naturally and stirring is unnecessary. Typically, the amount of sh?ch? exceeds the amount of hot water, and is enjoyed for its aroma. Occasionally, sh?ch? and water are mixed, left to stand for a day, and then gently heated.
Boom
The early 21st century witnessed a consumer boom in sh?ch? within Japan, and in 2003 domestic shipments surpassed those of sake for the first time. Sh?ch? bars appeared serving sh?ch? exclusively, and premium brands with a focus on particular ingredients, production methods, or aging techniques entered the market. The beverage has undergone change of image; formerly it was seen as an old fashioned drink, but now has become trendy amongst young drinkers, particularly women. The boom also had negative effects: It caused a serious shortage of sweet potatoes, a basic ingredient of some popular types of sh?ch? and, with the emergence of expensive premium brands, pricing scams appeared.
In 2005 the Japanese television drama Kiken na Aneki illustrated this change in drinking habits. Its plot centered on the Minagawa family of Miyazaki province, who were brewers of a sweet potato sh?ch? called imoj?ch?. The lead character Hiroko (Ito Misaki) spends the majority of the series trying to come up with enough money to save the brewery from loan sharks, but in the process becomes involved with corporate distilleries. The larger companies formulate an advertising campaign that results in the imoj?ch? becoming a popular drink. In this fictional account the beverage is marketed to young women, when it previously had been mostly consumed by the older male generation.
There are several reasons for sh?ch?'s recent popularity. With increasing health-consciousness, many people see it as more healthy than some alternatives. There have been well-publicized claims of medical benefits, including that it can be effective in preventing thrombosis, heart attacks, and diabetes. It is also a versatile drink that is suited to most styles of cuisine.
Shigechiyo Izumi, a Japanese citizen who apparently lived to be 105, made sh?ch? part of his daily dietary regimen. This practice was mentioned along with his record in the Guinness Book of World Records. Because of his intimate passion for sh?ch?, many have speculated that sh?ch? is healthy and can actually promote longevity. This even prompted some local Ry?ky? sh?ch? brewers to market a special Longevity Liquor sh?ch? bearing his likeness on the front label. Despite these claims, Izumi's personal physician strongly advised against drinking sh?ch?, as his kidneys were not strong enough to process sh?ch? in his advanced age. But Izumi went on to say: "Without sh?ch? there would be no pleasure in life. I would rather die than give up drinking."
History
The exact origin of sh?ch? is unclear. Alcohol the strength of sh?ch? was originally called araki (araq in Arabic) or rambiki (alembic in English) in Japan; arak is a generic term for a variety of distilled alcoholic drinks throughout the Middle East. Sh?ch? originated in Persia, spreading west to Europe and east to India, Thailand and Okinawa. Around the mid-16th century, the technique arrived in Kagoshima, where sh?ch? was born. The distilled alcoholic beverage in Okinawa is known as Awamori.
As far as can be determined from the Japanese historical record, sh?ch? appears to have been made since at least as far back as the 16th century. When the missionary Francis Xavier visited Kagoshima Prefecture in 1549, he recorded that "the Japanese drink arak made from rice [...] but I have not seen a single drunkard. That is because once inebriated they immediately lie down and go to sleep."
The oldest existing direct reference to sh?ch? in Japan can be found at K?riyama Hachiman shrine in ?kuchi, Kagoshima. There, two carpenters working on the shrine in 1559 inscribed the following graffiti on a wooden plank in the roof: "The high priest was so stingy he never once gave us sh?ch? to drink. What a nuisance!"
From these early times through to the Edo period sh?ch? was produced throughout Japan in the traditional kasutori way, using a single round of distillation. During the Meiji period, machinery for repeated distillation was imported from Great Britain, making cheap mass-production of high-purity sh?ch? possible during a time of chronic rice shortages. Sh?ch? made the traditional way was called "old-style sh?ch?" and that produced using the new multiple-distillation machinery "new-style sh?ch?."
Definition and classification
Japan's alcohol taxation law, as revised in April 2006, defines two categories of sh?ch? (also called white liquor).
Multiply distilled sh?ch?
Alcohol distilled more than once with special machinery for that purpose, diluted for sale to an alcohol by volume level of less than 36%, that meets the following conditions:
- Fruit or grain that has been allowed to germinate is not used as a base ingredient in whole or in part (preventing brandy and malt whisky from being considered sh?ch?).
- It is not filtered through charcoal.
- If sugar is used as a base ingredient, in whole or in part, then the result of distillation must be at least 95% alcohol by volume (see discussion under brown sugar sh?ch?).
- It is not fortified at distillation time with other than expressly permitted ingredients (eliminates liqueurs).
Until the 2006 revision the law referred to this category as k?rui sh?ch? (????, sh?ch? k?rui, "Class A sh?ch?"), sometimes abbreviated to "k?shu".
It is generally distilled from a fermented liquid similar to molasses. Repeated distillation forms ethyl alcohol of high purity which is typically odorless and has a taste of little distinction. Water is then added, and the precise nature of this water has subtle effects on the taste and palatability of the sh?ch?.
Sh?ch? k?rui is made from sweet potato, potato, and corn. It is generally produced in modern large factories. Distillers make sh?ch? k?rui by weakening the distilled alcohol.
The specialized distillation equipment, called a patent still lends it to mass production at low cost, so large corporations produce this kind of sh?ch? in high volume. In Japan it retails in plastic bottle, can, and paper cup form and is consumed as a cheap alcoholic drink. It forms the base of several cocktails and liqueurs such as ch?hai and umeshu.
Singly distilled sh?ch?
Alcohol distilled using other than multiple-distillation machinery, with alcohol by volume of no more than 45%, from one of the following:
- ferment whose primary ingredient is grain or potato and their k?ji
- ferment whose primary ingredient is grain k?ji
- ferment whose primary ingredient is sake lees, possibly with rice and/or its k?ji (see kasutori sh?ch?)
- ferment whose primary ingredient is sugar (restricted types) and rice k?ji (see brown sugar sh?ch?)
- ferment whose primary ingredient is grain or potato and their k?ji along with other ingredients, provided the other ingredients form no more than 50% by weight
- other substances with certain restrictions
Until the 2006 revision the law referred to this category as otsurui sh?ch? (????, sh?ch? otsurui, "Class B sh?ch?"), sometimes abbreviated to "otsushu".
The equipment used for single distillation is called a pot still. As the sh?ch? is distilled just once it retains the character of the base ingredient, typically rice, barley or potato, with a strongly individual taste and aroma. Small-to-medium size enterprises make most brands, with the island of Ky?sh? famous as the centre of production. Recently however larger corporations have been entering the market.
Maturation
Fresh sh?ch? is shipped after maturation. Maturation techniques vary in storage vessel and location, both of which affect the character of the sh?ch?. The most commonly used containers for aging sh?ch? are stainless steel tanks, clay pots, and wooden barrels or casks.
As a result of maturation, the flavor and aroma of sh?ch? settle. Maturation generally takes between one and three months. Maturation from three to six months is called beginning maturation. During this period, sharp flavors in the sh?ch? generally decrease. Sh?ch? matured from six months to three years usually has a mellow taste.
A sh?ch? called long-term maturation is matured for more than three years. But long-term maturation does not always improve the flavor. On the other hand, long-term maturation is particularly effective for awamori. Distillers often mature awamori for longer than ten years.
Locations
Sh?ch? is matured in various places to impart unique flavors, typically where there are minimal variations in temperature and humidity. These places include tunnels and limestone caverns.
Honkaku sh?ch?
Until 2006 Japanese postwar tax law classified sh?ch? into "k?rui" and "otsurui" types. The terms k? (?) and otsu (?) are Chinese celestial stems typically used for classification, and mean something akin to "Grade A" and "Grade B" respectively.
Fearing a tendency to believe that otsurui sh?ch? is somehow inferior to k?rui sh?ch?, the Ky?sh? Otsurui Shochu Producers' Association lobbied the Finance Ministry, and in 1962 succeeded in having honkaku sh?ch? (????, honkaku sh?ch?), or authentic sh?ch?, recognized as an alternative name. The name is believed to have been coined in 1957 by Enatsu Junkichi, the president of Kirishima Brewery of Miyakonoj?, Miyazaki Prefecture.
However, since the term was not formally defined naming disputes arose. As a result, on 1 November 2002 the law was clarified and sh?ch? satisfying any of conditions 1 to 5 of the above definition of singly distilled sh?ch? can be called honkaku sh?ch?. Those satisfying the final condition are excluded.
Sh?ch? consumption in Japan by categories
2016 Sh?ch? consumption in Japan by categories (tax base) is as follows;
Moromitori sh?ch?
Most singly distilled sh?ch? is moromitori sh?ch?. This name derives from its production process:
- Raw material treatment. Usually rice or barley is steeped in water, then steamed to promote starch gelatinization and cooled.
- K?ji production. k?jikin, or koji mold spores, are cultivated onto the material to form koji mold which creates enzymes as it grows. The enzymes break starch molecules down into sugar molecules that can be fermented, a process called saccharification.
- Primary fermentation. The koji is mashed by adding water and fermented for seven to nine days in a tank or vat to form unrefined alcohol, called moto or (first stage) moromi.
- Secondary fermentation. The steamed main ingredient and water are added to the unrefined alcohol and fermented again to form (second stage) moromi. The ingredient added during this second stage determines the variety of sh?ch?; for example if sweet potato is added then it becomes potato sh?ch?.
- Distillation. Purification of the unrefined moromi alcohol.
K?ji
K?ji (?) mold, a kind of Aspergillus fungus, has a profound effect on the final taste of the sh?ch?. There are three varieties of k?ji mold with distinct characteristics.
- White. Discovered at the beginning of the Taish? period when natural mutation and separation of some black k?ji to white was observed. This effect was researched and white k?ji was successfully grown independently. White k?ji is easy to cultivate and its enzymes promote rapid saccharization; as a result it is used to produce most sh?ch? today. It gives rise to a drink with a refreshing, gentle, sweet taste.
- Black. Mainly used in Okinawa to produce Awamori. It produces plenty of citric acid, which helps to prevent the souring of the moromi. Of all three k?ji it most effectively extracts the taste and character of the base ingredients, giving its sh?ch? a rich aroma with a slightly sweet, mellow taste. Its spores disperse easily, covering production facilities and workers' clothes in a layer of black. Such issues led to it falling out of favour, but due to the development of New Kuro-k?ji (NK-k?ji) in the mid-1980s, interest in black k?ji resurged amongst honkaku sh?ch? makers because of the depth and quality of the taste it produced. Several popular brands now explicitly state they use black k?ji on their labels.
- Yellow. Used to produce sake, and at one time all honkaku sh?ch?. However yellow k?ji is extremely sensitive to temperature; its moromi can easily sour during fermentation. This makes it difficult to use in warmer regions such as Ky?sh?, and gradually black and white k?ji became more common. Its strength is that it gives rise to a rich, fruity refreshing taste, so despite the difficulties and great skill required it is still used by some manufacturers. It is popular amongst young people and women who previously had no interest in typically strong potato sh?ch?, playing a role in its recent revival.
Water
Water is one of the most important ingredients for making sh?ch?. The quality of water affects that of sh?ch? directly. Various kinds of water are used in the process of making sh?ch?.
Varieties
There is a broad variety of moromitori sh?ch?. Four locations have achieved protection as geographical indications under World Trade Organization TRIPS article 23 and are noted below.
Rice sh?ch?
Rice sh?ch? (???, komej?ch?) shares its base ingredient with sake. It has a fairly thick taste, and appears to have originally developed in regions too warm for sake production.
Kumamoto Prefecture is particularly well known for its production of rice sh?ch?. Notably Kuma sh?ch? (????) produced in Hitoyoshi-bonchi is protected as a geographical indication.
Rice sh?ch? is also produced in regions famous for their sake, such as Niigata and Akita prefectures.
Barley sh?ch?
Barley sh?ch? (???, mugish?ch?) is generally less distinctive than rice sh?ch? and easy to drink. However, if cask-aged the taste can be quite sharp and strongly reminiscent of single-malt whisky.
Oita Prefecture, Miyazaki Prefecture, and Iki in Nagasaki Prefecture are strong centres of production. Iki sh?ch? (????) has also been given protection as a geographical indication.
Sweet potato sh?ch?
Sweet potato sh?ch? (???, imoj?ch?) uses sweet potato, widely cultivated across southern Ky?sh? since the Edo period, as its base ingredient. Originally it was almost exclusively produced in Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, but nowadays is made across Japan using locally grown sweet potatoes.
It tends to have has a strong taste and a distinctive smell; more recently producers have made varieties whose aroma is somewhat suppressed.
Kagoshima's Satsuma sh?ch? (????) has been given protection under WTO rules as a geographical indication.
The 1956 film The Teahouse of the August Moon portrayed an American-occupied Okinawan village rebuilding its economy with potato sh?ch?.
The taste of potato sh?ch? is a bit smoky, evocative of some whiskeys.
Brown sugar sh?ch?
From the Edo Period through to the time of the Pacific War, the Amami Islands produced drinks such as Awamori and a distilled alcohol based on brown sugar. From the middle of the war through to the American occupation, because of a shortage of rice (the base ingredient of Awamori) and an inability to export the sugar-based alcohol to the mainland, a large surplus was produced. In 1953, when the Amami Islands were returned to Japanese sovereignty, the alcohol was not classified as "sh?ch?" under the 1949 alcohol tax law and therefore would attract a high rate of tax. The Ministry of Finance, taking into account the desire of local residents and as part of a strategy to promote the region, gave special recognition to the local alcohol as brown sugar sh?ch? (????, kokut? sh?ch?). This recognition was geographically restricted to Amami Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture and was conditional on the use of rice k?ji. This regional restriction remains in place to this day; as can be seen in the legal definition of singly distilled sh?ch? above.
Typically brown sugar sh?ch? contains 30% or 25% alcohol by volume. Contrary to what might be expected, brown sugar sh?ch? has a mild and not particularly sweet taste, as it contains no sugar. Nowadays it is produced in 25 breweries in 5 islands, such as Kikaijima, Amami ?shima, Tokunoshima, Okinoerabujima and Yoronjima, but Awamori is no longer made outside Okinawa Prefecture.
Before the war another alcoholic drink based on brown sugar was made in the Ogasawara Islands. Its name translates as "sugar alcohol" and could be seen as a form of brown sugar sh?ch?. Production ceased because of the war, but recently, aiming to revive its popularity, a similar alcohol, using no rice k?ji, has been introduced. However, as Ogasawara does not qualify for the above special regional exemption, this alcohol is instead classified as rum or spirits.
Soba sh?ch?
Soba, or buckwheat, sh?ch? (????, sobaj?ch?) has origins going back to just 1973 when Unkai Brewery Co., of Gokase, Miyazaki Prefecture, developed it using soba from the local mountainous region as its base ingredient. Since then sh?ch? producers across Japan have produced it, sometimes as part of a sh?ch? blend.
Taste is milder than barley sh?ch?.
Awamori
Okinawa is the home of Awamori (??, awamori) sh?ch?, which uses rice as its base ingredient. Prior to April 1983 it was labeled otsurui sh?ch?, but is now properly called "Authentic Awamori".
Awamori is made from Thai long-grained Indica crushed rice, not the usual short-grained Japonica of standard sh?ch?. The fermentation process employs black koji mold indigenous to Okinawa rather than the standard white variety, and secondary fermentation is not performed. Fermentation is done in a way that creates plenty of citric acid, allowing it to be produced all year round despite Okinawa's hot climate. After distillation its strength is reduced with water to about 25% alcohol by volume, although some varieties go as high as 43%.
Japanese law classifies Awamori as singly distilled honkaku sh?ch? despite the different production process.
With its method of production Awamori could theoretically be made anywhere in Japan, but Ry?ky? Awamori is a protected geographical indication restricted to Okinawa.
Others
Japanese law admits a very wide range of unusual base ingredients, such as perilla leaf, sesame and chestnut, and sh?ch? made from most if not all of these exists. For example, there is a milk sh?ch? brand called Makiba-no Yume. Others are generic sh?ch? mixed with a particular fruit juice or extracts.
With its peculiarity, such sh?ch? is typically intended to catch the eye of visitors to a region and has attracted limited broader appeal. Soba sh?ch? is a good example of one that has managed to achieve more widespread success.
Kasutori sh?ch?
In contrast to moromitori sh?ch?, kasutori sh?ch? (?????) is made by distilling the sake lees left over from the fermentation of sake. It is a form of honkaku sh?ch?.
It first became popular in the north of Ky?sh?, and then spread to other areas, being manufactured during a period when it was not possible to brew refined sake across Japan. It is also widely used in sake production to stop fermentation before it is complete, which can help prevent degradation or give a dry taste. Sh?ch? made for this purpose is called hashira sh?ch? (???).
During the Edo Period sh?ch? lees were used as a fertilizer during the rice-planting season. Many farms therefore installed distillation equipment to distill sake lees to produce sh?ch? lees. Whilst the lees were used in the fields, the distilled alcohol was drunk, or offered to the gods, at the sanaburi (???) festival held at the end of the rice-planting season to pray for a bountiful harvest. Kasutori sh?ch? has therefore also come to be known as sanaburi sh?ch?.
Owing to the recent surge in popularity of sh?ch? in Japan, an increasing number of manufacturers have been making kasutori sh?ch?.
Most kasutori sh?ch? is made in modern ways, sh?ch? made via older production processes has decreased sharply. People who wish to preserve Japanese culture call sh?ch? produced the historical way Seich? kasutori sh?ch? (??????), such drinks have been revitalized by their activities.
Slang usage
Confusingly kasutori is also a slang term for a separate, inferior form of sh?ch?. After the Pacific War, in a chaotic society with a shortage of good alcohol, moonshine sh?ch? began to circulate. Its source and ingredients were not apparent, and in extreme cases contained toxic methyl alcohol diluted with water. Such sh?ch? with ill side-effects became known as kasutori, and the association with poor sh?ch? lingered, sometimes even affecting the image of "real" respectable kasutori sh?ch?.
The expressions kasutori literature and kasutori culture also came to be associated with the upheavals of the postwar period.
Blended sh?ch?
Singly distilled and multiply distilled sh?ch? can be mixed to form blended sh?ch?. Formerly it was often mislabeled honkaku sh?ch?, or had no indication of mixing or relative volumes. Starting in 2005 the industry regulated itself and created the blended sh?ch? (????, konwash?ch?) mark, with subcategorization based upon the relative volumes used.
Singly distilled sh?ch? makes up 50%-95% of the total volume of singly distilled blended sh?ch?. This category is targeted at those viewing pure singly distilled sh?ch? as having too strong a smell or taste, aiming to be softer and more easily drinkable.
In multiply distilled blended sh?ch? singly distilled sh?ch? makes up 5%-50% of the total volume. With a focus on price, this tries to combine the cheap mass-production benefits of multiply distilled sh?ch? whilst introducing some of the distinctive flavor and aroma of the singly distilled form.
See also
- Awamori--Distilled Okinawan alcoholic drink
- Rice baijiu--Distilled Chinese alcoholic drink
- Soju--Distilled Korean alcoholic drink
- R??u ??--Distilled Vietnamese alcoholic drink
- Arrack--Distilled spirits in South and South-East Asia
- Arak--Distilled alcoholic drink produced in the eastern Mediterranean countries
- Oghi (distilled beverage)
References
External links
- Shochu Pro
- Honkaku Shochu and Awamori
- ???????? (in Japanese)
- ??????? (in Japanese)
Source of article : Wikipedia
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