- Name: Taru Sengetsu
- Type: Rice Shochu
- Origin: Kumamoto prefecture, Hitoyoshi-shi
- Distiller: Sengetsu Shuzo
- ABV: 25%
- Price: about 1700 yen
Rice shochu is no stranger to buttery notes, but Taru Sengetsu is maybe the most buttery I
ever met this far. In the background, there is also something fruity and sour lingering,
maybe akin to dried apricots, and it works great with the dairy notes.
Up until now, it may look like I am writing a recipe for pastries, but the sweetness of this shochu is surprisingly subdued, and you don’t need a sweet tooth to appreciate it.
No overwhelming, cloying candy sweetness here.
The taste is a little less butter-driven than the smell, rice making itself noticed here, and there are
interesting flavours showing up faintly here and there. I got memories of strawberry ice-cream
and of a strawberry and cream flavoured chewing-gum I used to like as a kid.
Inevitably cookies also come to mind, needless to say butter-rich cookies.
Sengetsu Shuzo states on its website that Taru Sengetsu is aged in oak barrels for more than
six years (in fact, taru means barrel in Japanese), it makes me want to try the unaged expression to appreciate more the good job they made with this.
The
website also suggests that this shochu is best enjoyed on the rocks
or
It is not one of the ubiquitous brands, I have seen it in only a couple of supermarkets chains in the Tokyo area, while it is very easy to buy on Internet.
diluted with plain
water, but a soda highball too worked great for me.
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