Category: Beverages
Spirited Secrets of Japan
Distinctly different from sake, and don’t you dare call it soju, shochu flies under the radar in most western liquor stores, yet is Japan’s top-selling spirit. Celebrated as the country’s national spirit, the fact that it’s nearly unknown to outsiders makes it feel like a poorly kept secret, whispered between izakaya stools while being passed around openly by patrons. Hidden in plain sight, shochu is primed for greater appreciation worldwide. Complex, storied, and incredibly versatile, I’m willing to wager that it’s the bottle missing on your bar cart right now.
Distilling the Highlights of Shochu
Shochu is a distilled spirit, bottled at no more than 45% ABV, and typically ranges quite a bit less. However, 24% ABV or lower isn’t even a thing in Japan. If you’ve seen something labeled “shochu” in California at wine-cooler strength, odds are it’s either a legal workaround or just plain mislabeling. To make things more confusing, some of it has been labeled as Korean soju to comply with the law.
Critical to the identity of shochu, it must be single-distilled. Because there’s only one pass through a pot still, every element leaves a strong impression.
Shochu can be made from just three ingredients. Some go solo while others create a blend from the full trio:
- Sweet potato (imo) – earthy, funky, rich.
- Barley (mugi) – nutty, clean, almost toasty.
- Rice (kome) – soft, smooth, slightly floral.
Sweet potato and barley together account for 95% of shochu sales in Japan, which says a lot about the national palate. It’s grounded, earthy, umami, and robust.
Koji Craft
No matter the foundation of the ferment, shochu owes its depth to koji, the mold-based starter that’s the catalyst for transforming sugars into alcohol. Shochu producers employ a whole spectrum, and the differences dramatically affect flavor and aroma, creating unique regional styles.
- White Koji Starter: This is the most common type used in shochu today. What’s wild is that it was actually discovered by accident as mutation from black koji. White koji is prized for its bright, balanced acidity and the ability to work well in both spirits and fermented foods that favor a cleaner, paler appearance, like white miso or amazake. It brings a gentle sweetness to shochu and is a go-to for distillers aiming for a crisp, clean finish.
- Yellow Koji Starter: When koji mold sporulates, it forms yellowish-green spores—these are yellow koji starters. Traditionally used in foods like miso, amazake, and shio koji, yellow koji brings light, fruity, floral notes and low acidity. While it’s a staple in sake brewing, it’s less common in shochu. It forges delicate and nuanced flavors, but is not built for high temperatures or extended aging.
- Black Koji Starter: Indigenous to Okinawa, black koji is the backbone of awamori, the bold, funkier counterpoint to shochu. Black koji thrives in hot, humid regions thanks to its high acidity, which naturally inhibits bacteria growth and spoilage. Flavor-wise, it’s earthy, spicy, and rich, full of character and perfect for deep, complex spirits with a bit of edge.
Cheers, To Your Health!
Besides being easy on the palate, shochu is refreshingly kind to your body, relative to other spirits. That’s because it’s…
- Lower in calories
- Additive-free by law (no artificial flavorings, colors, or added sugars)
- Historically recommended to combat gout, thanks to its very low purine content (¡Not medical advice!)
Mix It Up
While shochu is often enjoyed straight, on the rocks, or with hot water in Japan, it plays beautifully in cocktails. Clean, nuanced, and never overpowering, it blends seamlessly into many classics. For example, in a Sour, shochu’s crisp character complements the tang of citrus without overwhelming it, offering a sophisticated balance that’s both smooth and refreshing. In a Julep, barley shochu’s nutty, toasty notes blend beautifully with fresh mint and crushed ice, giving a lighter, more layered version of the traditional mint julep. You may not think it could stand up to the strong flavors of an Old Fashioned, yet aged barley shochu is often compared to whiskey for its dark, warm, subtly smoky notes.
With shochu, the goal is not to overpower but to enhance the flavors, creating cocktails that feel refined yet approachable—perfect for those looking for something familiar but with a new, subtly complex spin.
Start Sipping Today
It’s honestly baffling that shochu doesn’t enjoy even a fraction of the same popularity overseas. In 2022, Japan produced more shochu than Mexico produced tequila, and yet, many in the US have still never heard of it. In some ways, maybe that’s the beauty of it. Shochu doesn’t need to be flashy to be great. It just needs the right moment to find you, whether it’s a quiet night at home, a dinner with friends, or a curious detour through your local Japanese market.
Desert Door
J.R.R Tolkein once said that of all the phrases in the English language, of all the endless combinations of words in all of history, that “cellar door” is the most beautiful. I would argue that this is only because the phrase Desert Door hadn’t yet been introduced to linguistic discourse.
Tucked away in a sleepy corner of the Texas Hill Country, Desert Door feels more like a southwestern resort than a distillery. Adorned with carefully curated cacti, earthen textures, and playful string lights, the dog-friendly patio implores visitors to come on in and stay a while. The spirited hum of live music drifts in and out of animated conversations between friends, all while beverages slowly dwindle.
So… What Is Sotol?
Comparisons to tequila are unavoidable; both come from Mexico, both are distilled spirits, both are made from resilient desert plants. Sotol, however, is made from the Dasylirion, also known as the desert spoon. Native to West Texas and northern Mexico, it’s a scrappy little plant that survives on limestone, sun, and stubbornness. Another near neighbor is mezcal, which is a similar agave-based spirit that has a much smokier, more savory character than sotol. Aging, infusing, and generally tweaking the distilling process can create many overlapping qualities that makes their differences increasingly difficult to distinguish.
How It’s Made
Harvested wild by hand, the hearts of the desert spoon are steamed, fermented, and then triple distilled into a crystal-clear spirit. Desert Door crafts three distinct expressions of their sotol, each telling a different story of the land.
- The Original is smooth and bright, with hints of citrus, green herbs, and a clean finish; this is the one most would compare to traditional tequila.
- The Oak-Aged spends at least one year resting in American white oak barrels, soaking in notes of toffee, dried fruit, and warm baking spices, not unlike whiskey.
- Most unique and my personal favorite is the Conservation Series infused with botanicals like mesquite, honeysuckle, and sage that evoke the impression of gin, but without the polarizing taste of juniper.
The folks at Desert Door are passionate about doing things right: sustainable ingredients, zero-waste operations, and a fierce loyalty to their Texan terroir. Even if you’re not usually a spirits person, sotol feels surprisingly accessible. It’s the kind of versatile liquor that plays well with others, be it citrus, herbs, fresh fruits, or just a single ice cube, melting slowly like a summer sunset.
A Taste of Texas in a Glass
Naturally, I couldn’t leave without trying a cocktail (or two). While the tasting flight gave me a deep appreciation for the spirit on its own, I found that sotol truly sings in cocktails, where its earthy elegance can mingle and unfold alongside bright, bold flavors. The on-site bar offered a handful of inventive, locally-rooted options, but one drink in particular bloomed on the palate like a cactus flower after rare desert rain: a Prickly Pear Margarita. Vibrant, jewel-toned, and ever so slightly wild, it balanced sotol’s herbal backbone with a sweet-tart burst of prickly pear and just enough lime to make the whole thing sparkle. It’s grounding and uplifting all at once, much like the distillery itself.
Who Glows There?
Tell the truth: Are you afraid of the dark?
It’s okay, you’re not alone… Although, you may wish you were…
Boo!
Glowing like an unearthly phantom in the night, this arresting fluorescence is in fact quite natural. Quinine, the key ingredient in tonic water, is responsible for creating this ghoulish aura. It may have a very faint glow in regular sunlight, but turns brightly, vividly blue when illuminated by ultraviolet (UV) light, AKA “black light.”
You could easily harness this black magic with any old glass of gin and tonic, but for Halloween, why not have a bit more fun with this party trick? Skull ice cube molds are a must for the full effect, if you ask me, but any silicone ice cube tray will work just fine.
Not a fan of the classic G&T?
You’ve got options! The only critical component is tonic water, leaving the accompanying spirits and flavors up for creative interpretation. Consider a few other effortless, tried-and-true variations on the theme:
- Rum and tonic
- Vodka tonic
- Whiskey tonic
- Aperol tonic
Hosting kids or non-drinkers?
If you want to share a festive drink that packs less of a punch, you can still have lots of fun without the booze. Swap the spirits for any fruit juice, soda, or zero-proof mixers for more flavorful, less intoxicating options.
How do you make a classic gin and tonic?
First mixed up in the mid-1800s to combat Malaria, the gin and tonic is a classic cocktail for good reason. Quinine is a genuinely therapeutic ingredient that can be used to effectively treat the ailment, while gin and a splash of lime helps the medicine go down, as they say. The basic ratio is as simple as they come:
- 1:3 is the standard proportion, which translates to 2 ounces of gin for every 5-6 ounces of tonic water. Just don’t forget to add a touch of fresh lime juice, too!
- Like everything else, it’s a matter of personal taste, so you may see some particularly strong mixes that use equal parts gin and tonic water.
How to make a Grim and Tonic for Halloween
Let’s not over-complicate things here; the “grim” and tonic is absolutely the same as a traditional G&T, but with frozen tonic water instead of plain ice cubes. This has the added benefit of not watering down the drink while still keeping it perfectly chilled and brilliantly refreshing. All it takes is one little trick to make this one hell of a devilish treat for celebrating All Hallows’ Eve with.
Corny But Tea-rrific
Summertime in the south means brutal heat, a profusion of sweet corn at every market, and endless streams of iced tea. Combine all three into one glass and you get Sweet Corn Milk Tea.
What Is Corn Milk?
Corn milk is nothing new, of course. A longtime staple in Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Guatemala, Brazil, and beyond, the uniquely sweet properties of fresh summer corn have frequently been leveraged in both refreshing and warming drinks, depending on the region. The original experience is a bit like cereal milk, predating processed cornflakes.
- Guatemalan corn milk, known as atole de elote, is infused with a whole cinnamon stick and served hot.
- Cachaça, a distilled spirit made from fermented sugarcane juice, plus sweetened condensed milk enter the picture for making the Brazilian version called batida de milho verde. Consider it a more tropical version of English milk punch.
- Susu jagung, literally “corn and milk,” is a more recent trend emerging in Indonesia, often served more as a thick dessert soup.
What Is Milk Tea?
Boba tea shops have popularized the concept with the addition of tender tapioca pearls soaked in honey syrup, but in truth, any brewed tea with a splash of milk qualifies.
- One of the bestselling drinks in Japan, Royal Milk Tea is made with a blend of Assam and Darjeeling tea leaves and milk.
- Robust Ceylon or Pu-Erh is the base of Hong Kong milk tea, which is lightened with canned evaporated milk.
- Brilliantly orange-colored Thai tea is intensely sweet and aromatic, flavored with various spices and enriched with a heavy pour of sweetened condensed milk.
- Chai isn’t just a highly spiced brew, but the generic word for tea in India. It’s simply made by steeping black tea in milk and water, then sweetening with sugar, although it’s highly encouraged to avail oneself of the wide array of aromatic spices.
We could be here all day talking about various milk teas, so suffice to say, these are a few of the many different styles.
What Is Sweet Tea?
Finally, we have classic southern sweet tea. Brewed hot in large batches to ensure that every grain of sugar has fully dissolved, it must then be chilled and served ice-cold (by law, I believe) in comically oversized glasses. Pure black tea is classic, but lemon, raspberry, and peach are common, equally beloved variants.
Put That Together And You Get: Sweet Corn Milk Tea!
Somewhere along the way to heat stroke and an afternoon nap, sweet corn began to blur the lines into sweet tea, corn milk into milk tea, and before I could stop myself, the connection had been made.
Juicy golden kernels of fresh summer corn blend into a silky-smooth pourable cream. A touch of sugar (or your favorite sugar-free alternative), salt, and vanilla heightens the naturally rich, floral, and subtly savory flavors within. This would be a brilliant topper for oatmeal, poured over pound cake, or even blended with frozen bananas to make a sunny yellow smoothie.
I’d implore you to trust the process and go forward to the full tea experience. While you can use any leaves you prefer, I’d suggest a robust black variety, such as smoky Lapsang Souchong or astringent Pekoe for a bold, bracing, and invigorating contrast. Milk tea should be soothing, while ice tea is refreshing,balancing both elements in one tall glass.
Let’s make this the summer of corn milk, shall we? If oats can hit it big, why can’t corn, the third leading grain crop in the world, do the same?
Guac The Next Happy Hour With Avocado Margaritas
When avocados and tequila meet, something magical happens. This could be the start of a spiked salad or salsa, but the fusion I’m thinking of manifests as a frozen margarita, perfect for taking the edge off on a hot summer day. We’ve already seen that avocados can do amazing things with iced coffee, so why not take it to the bar and give it a shot?
A Brief History of Avocado Margaritas
Legend has it that Curra’s Grill in Austin, TX was the first to blend the savory green fruit into a sweet and sour margarita mix. As the story goes, it came about as a dare, but the results were no joke. Many customers undoubtedly order it for similar reasons, only to become hooked on the uniquely refreshing experience. Accented with a pinch of cilantro, tequila cuts through the buttery richness of the avocado with a fresh finish.
Not one to miss a trend, Epcot’s own avocado margarita has been incredibly popular since it hit the menu at La Cava del Tequila. The “happiest place on earth” takes a sweeter approach to appeal to the masses, adding melon liqueur to boost the bright green hue and ripe, fruity flavor all at once. The glass is rimmed with lurid pink hibiscus salt, amplifying the floral notes and of course, adding an eye-catching color contrast that you can’t miss from across the bar.
Key Differences in My Avocado Margarita Recipe
While I’m not trying to re-invent the wheel here, I do think there are a few tweaks that could make the modern classic even better.
- Swap the polarizing cilantro addition for spicy jalapeño. While strictly optional, it’s highly recommended for a little kick at the end of each sip, balancing out the creamy richness of the avocado.
- Use fresh citrus juices instead of prepared margarita mix or more flavored liqueurs. Prepared blends are never particularly fresh or natural tasting, and almost always cloyingly sweet. Personally, I’d rather taste the tequila than cover it up, especially if I’m paying for a top shelf bottle.
- Use flaky sea salt rather than kosher salt for the rim. It dissolves more easily for a gentler saline hit, rather than a blast of salt from chunky granules.
- Forgo the added sugar or agave. I’d much prefer to lean in on the savory flavors of the avocado here rather than turn the mix into a boozy milkshake.
The Best Tequila For Making an Avocado Margarita
Any type of tequila will make a fine margarita. For the best blend though, I would recommend:
- Reposado, for its subtle sweetness, is my top pick to round out this blend with a smooth finish.
- Blanco, with more vegetal notes, would be great with a spicier take using the optional jalapeno.
Avocados simply make everything better. From breakfast toast to a happy hour toast, these alligator pears will always serve you well.
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