{"title":"Nankai Shochu","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai Shochu was founded by Los Angeles native Paul Nakayama and his wife Mai after a 2015 honeymoon on her home island of Amami Oshima, where a chance meeting with the chairman of Machida Distillery led them to leave their tech careers and bring kokuto shochu to the United States. The name means South Sea, a nod to the Amami islands off Japan's southwestern coast, where black sugar shochu has been made for more than 60 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe core range is single-distilled from 80% kokuto black sugar and 20% rice koji with yeast and water, using vacuum stills that lower the boiling point for a gentler spirit, with no additives, sugar, carbs or gluten. Aged expressions rest in American and French oak casks on Amami. Nankai also imports a black-koji sweet potato shochu and a copper-pot kokuto rum from Ooyama Jinhichi in Kagoshima.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lineup runs from the original 24% Nankai Shochu and the cask-finished White Oak to the 43% Nankai Gold blend, plus Imo Black and Acou Rum, with Gold and Double Gold medals from Los Angeles, San Francisco and The Spirits Business. Browse our full Nankai Shochu collection with fast nationwide shipping delivered straight to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"nankai-acou-rum-white-japanese-kokuto-rum","title":"Nankai Acou Rum White Japanese Kokuto Rum","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai Acou Rum is a Japanese white rum distilled from 100% kokuto, the unrefined black sugar made by boiling pure sugarcane juice, with the high-test molasses coming entirely from locally grown Kagoshima cane. It is produced by Ooyama Jinhichi Shoten in Ibusuki, Kagoshima, a shochu house operating since 1875 now led by sixth-generation distiller Yohei Ooyama. Rather than using the shochu still, the kokuto mash is double-distilled in small batches in a copper pot still, and the producer notes it takes 5,000 liters of mash to yield 500 liters of rum; the spirit is cut with underground spring water from Ibusuki and bottled at 40% ABV with no additives. The rum is named for the Acou tree of Miyagahama, the tallest ficus in Japan, revered by locals for weathering centuries of storms. The producer describes aromas of cane, citrus, papaya and lemongrass, with citrus, tropical fruit, chamomile, anise and cinnamon on the palate. Nankai, founded by Los Angeles native Paul Nakayama and his wife Mai of Amami Oshima, imports premium Japanese spirits and added Acou Rum to its kokuto shochu range as a Japanese take on white rum.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy Nankai Acou Rum White Japanese Kokuto Rum online with fast shipping right to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nankai Shochu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50752233373952,"sku":"C0010589L","price":48.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/8089\/7892\/files\/nankai-acou-rum-white-japanese-kokuto-rum_02f63da9-c855-4ae4-a9a3-c40c1876fd23.jpg?v=1792879880"},{"product_id":"nankai-imo-black-sweet-potato-shochu","title":"Nankai Imo Black Sweet Potato Shochu","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai Imo Black is a sweet potato (imo) shochu produced for Nankai by Ooyama Jinhichi Shoten in Ibusuki, Kagoshima, a distillery operating since 1875 and now run by sixth-generation distiller Yohei Ooyama. It is made from local Kagoshima sweet potatoes, rice and spring water, fermented with black koji in 150-year-old enameled clay vessels, then single-distilled in steel tank stills that heat the mash with steam rather than direct flame, a gentler process that preserves the aromatics of the potato. The producer lists it at 24% ABV and describes a fruity, floral aroma of orange peel and roasted yams with a smooth palate of chestnuts, lychee and spice. Like the rest of the Nankai range it contains no sugar, carbs, gluten or additives, and comes in at roughly 39 calories per ounce. Black koji is the traditional mold of Kyushu's southern islands and gives imo shochu its richer, earthier profile compared with white koji. Nankai, founded by Paul and Mai Nakayama after a honeymoon on Amami Oshima, built its name on kokuto sugar shochu and added Imo Black to represent Kagoshima's signature sweet potato style; it is suited to oyuwari (hot water) or on the rocks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy Nankai Imo Black Sweet Potato Shochu online with fast shipping right to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nankai Shochu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50752233406720,"sku":"C0010590L","price":31.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/8089\/7892\/files\/nankai-imo-black-sweet-potato-shochu_16aa82b3-bf0f-463b-9809-f06a75d1fa45.jpg?v=1792879951"},{"product_id":"nankai-kokuto-shochu","title":"Nankai Kokuto Shochu","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai Shochu is the original kokuto (black sugar) shochu from Nankai, the brand founded by Los Angeles native Paul Nakayama and his wife Mai after they met the chairman of Machida Distillery on Mai's home island of Amami Oshima during their 2015 honeymoon. Kokuto shochu has been made on Amami for over 60 years and can legally be produced only there. This expression is distilled from 80% black sugar and 20% rice koji with yeast and water, and nothing else: no additives, flavorings, sugar, carbs or gluten, at about 40 calories per ounce. It is vacuum-distilled, which lowers the boiling point to roughly 113°F versus 173°F for atmospheric distillation and is gentler on the moromi mash, then carefully rested and bottled at 24% ABV. The producer describes it as sweetly fragrant with notes of pear, a creamy mouthfeel and a delicate finish, and recommends it on the rocks, in a highball or in cocktails. It won Gold at the 2018 Los Angeles Spirits Competition and Double Gold at the SIP Awards, and Anthony Dias Blue rated it 91 points Gold. The name Nankai means South Sea.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy Nankai Kokuto Shochu online with fast shipping right to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nankai Shochu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50752242254080,"sku":"C0010591L","price":37.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/8089\/7892\/files\/nankai-kokuto-shochu_65585711-3021-483e-9004-2d33d9760d6b.jpg?v=1792879949"},{"product_id":"nankai-white-oak-cask-finished-shochu","title":"Nankai White Oak Cask Finished Shochu","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai White Oak is a cask-finished kokuto shochu from Amami Oshima, produced for Nankai at Machida Distillery, the house the brand's founders Paul and Mai Nakayama partnered with after their honeymoon on the island. It is single-distilled from 80% artisanal kokuto black sugar and 20% rice in a combination of vacuum and atmospheric pot stills, then given three to five years of finishing in American and French oak casks on Amami before being proofed down to 24% ABV. The producer describes woody aromas balanced with vanilla, lychee and banana on the palate, and positions it for easy sipping, food pairing and highballs; at roughly 59 calories per 1.5 oz pour it carries no sugar, carbs or gluten. The expression earned a Double Gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and a Gold medal from The Spirits Business judging panel in London. Kokuto shochu, made from unrefined black sugar and rice koji, is unique to the Amami islands under Japanese law, and White Oak bridges the clean original Nankai Shochu and the full-strength, longer-aged Nankai Gold.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy Nankai White Oak Cask Finished Shochu online with fast shipping right to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nankai Shochu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50752242319616,"sku":"C0010592L","price":40.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/8089\/7892\/files\/nankai-white-oak-cask-finished-shochu_ef11ddf1-a3b2-484e-acd2-3dead1843b22.jpg?v=1792879879"},{"product_id":"nankai-gold-premium-blended-shochu","title":"Nankai Gold Premium Blended Shochu","description":"\u003cp\u003eNankai Gold is the flagship of the Nankai range: a blend of artisan kokuto black sugar shochus produced exclusively at Machida Distillery on Amami Oshima and bottled undiluted at 43% ABV (86 proof), an unusually high strength for shochu. Each component is single-distilled from 80% black sugar and 20% rice koji, with part of the blend vacuum-distilled at a lower boiling point for a gentler spirit, then aged for up to five years in American white oak and French Limousin casks before blending. The four ingredients are sugarcane, rice, koji and water, with no additives. The producer describes remarkable layers of fruit, floral and malty aromas with gentle notes of raisin, chocolate and honey, and markets it to whiskey and aged-rum drinkers, recommending it neat, over a large cube, or in an Old Fashioned or highball. Nankai Gold took the top prize in the shochu category and the Master medal at the 2021 Asian Spirits Masters, and Anthony Dias Blue of Tasting Panel Magazine rated it 92 points Gold. The label depicts Amami's ocean waves, palm, hibiscus and the habu snake native to the island. Nankai was founded by Paul and Mai Nakayama.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBuy Nankai Gold Premium Blended Shochu online with fast shipping right to your door.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Nankai Shochu","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50752242352384,"sku":"C0010593L","price":82.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0057\/8089\/7892\/files\/nankai-gold-premium-blended-shochu_9368fd35-6f78-415f-b3a5-4e9507386417.jpg?v=1792879949"}],"url":"https:\/\/chipsliquor.com\/collections\/nankai-shochu.oembed","provider":"Chips Liquor","version":"1.0","type":"link"}