Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Akiko Katayama covers Japanese food and culture. You may not have heard of shochu, the most important traditional Japanese spirit.

Aficionados tip their glass to the Kyushu region as the birthplace of shochu, a traditional Japanese distilled alcoholic beverage. But Tokyo's Izu island chain is stealing some of Kyushu's ...

Aficionados contend that shochu has made waves on three occasions in Japan. A TV commercial to promote the Satsuma Shiranami brand led to broad acceptance of enjoying the beverage with hot water ...

But today, as the assistant general manager of The Aubrey, he has popularised shochu as a serious cocktail ingredient. While widely consumed within Japan as a clear, cheap and flavourless spirit ...

An curved arrow pointing right. A restaurant in London has been transformed with a cherry blossom installation to honour the annual Japanese tradition. The Shochu bar also introduced bespoke ...

Meanwhile, Korean soju, Japanese shochu, and Chinese baijiu (a colorless, high-octane grain spirit with a complex flavor profile—fruity, earthy, peppery) are becoming more mainstream.

Coca-Cola is planning to produce an alcoholic drink for the first time in the company's 125-year history - with an alcopop-style product in Japan. It is keen to cash in on the country's growing ...

Time to talk shochu, the traditional Japanese alcohol made from grains and vegetables. A company right here on O‘ahu’s North Shore ferments, distills, and bottles it. Joining us on Island Life ...