<img src="http://work.mattb.tv/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/slides005.jpg" alt="Shochu Brewery" width="400/">

Shōchū is a distilled beverage native to Japan. It is most commonly distilled from barley, sweet potatoes, or rice. I had never heard of such a thing til I saw the pics on my mate <a href="http://work.mattb.tv/">Matt's blog</a> the other day. Matt is currently living in Japan and being the inquisitive creative he is, he is exposing himself to the wonderful intricacies of the country and recording it on his Mamiya 6 amongst other cameras.

<img src="http://work.mattb.tv/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MG_7848e.jpg" alt="Shochu Brewery" width="400/">

This past weekend, he visited a family run brewery located in Tarumizu. I was greatly impressed by his story of this company's attention to 'people investment', truly inspirational. Check out his blog post and pics <a href="http://work.mattb.tv/photos/295">here</a>.

<img src="http://work.mattb.tv/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MG_7920e.jpg" alt="Shochu Brewery" width="200/"><img src="http://work.mattb.tv/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MG_7917e.jpg" alt="Shochu Brewery" width="200/">

I have never tasted Shōchū,  apparently its taste is usually far less fruity than Sake and depends strongly on the nature of the starch used in the distilling process. Its flavour is often described as "nutty" or "earthy" and can be consumed neat or mixed with water, fruit juice or tea. I am going to look around NY and see if I can find anywhere that sells authentic Shōchū so I can give it a try. In the meantime, enjoy looking at a sneak peek into a facility that makes a beverage with a long<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dch%C5%AB"> history</a>.

<img src="http://work.mattb.tv/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MG_7899e.jpg" alt="Shochu Bottles" width="400/">

<i>all images by <a href="http://work.mattb.tv">mattbtv</a></i>