Something Different : Sengetsu Shochu Festival Kumamoto Part 2

 

Hello everyone and welcome to part 2 of me getting slushed on a Sunday. Jokes aside, as the festival is a shochu focussed event after all, it would just make more sense to write a post dedicated to it. I did have a little to drink, it is a shochu event in the end. But I did pace myself throughout the day, as I want to fully experience the entire festival and not to have that being too intoxicated. Also, the bus going back was at 4 pm. Would be unwise to get myself incapacitated before that. 

Here we go!

Beforehand, please read part 1 by clicking here if you haven't already. With that out of the way, I was totally amazed that all the booze was free for the taking. All you need is to take a plastic cup and fill it up with which shochu you want to try. The recommendation would probably be the Kawabe. Touted as their flagship drink, it is not hard to see why. 

An easy recommendation. 

It has a simple floral profile, similar to a good nihonshu, but it still has a slight sharpness akin to a strong liquor. The texture felt like diluted whisky in a good way. It has a velvety smoothness that is still a bit tart. A unique combination of various elements made this a good first start. And having this on the rocks and via a tap made this experience even more interesting. 

Old meets new. 

And speaking of whisky, there was actually the chance for you to try some old-fashioned shochu which does resemble whisky. The tasting was done in a traditional tea house, with attendees pouring a golden liquid for you to try, which is of course the traditional shochu. 

Golden!

Another clearer and more refined shochu is also served alongside it, which is the more contemporary one and has a more familiar taste. And after tasting the two side by side, you can seriously appreciate the difference between them. The old-fashioned one has a more woody taste and is much sharper. Not only does it look like whisky, it clearly tasted more like it too. The staff in attendance explained this was due to it being aged in a barred. If you are familiar with booze making, that is very similar to whisky. 

I am actually on the news!

I did not expect my Sunday booze session to be this educational but it ended up being quite interesting. I was also somehow interviewed midway by the NHK as well. Not something you experience every day! Unfortunately, I do not subscribe to local Japanese TV, so I was not able to get a glimpse of myself. Still, it was a pleasant surprise.

The boozing continues...

But if you want something to beat the heat, then there is also the chance for you to try some shochu cocktails, more commonly called "chuu-hai". This was quite fun and was something I really needed as the weather started to become quite hot later in the day. The ones with the lime and lemon syrups taste very similar to a mojito and gin n' tonic respectively. The Grenadine cooler was pretty nice as well. 

Refreshing!

Slowly but surely, time crept in and we eventually headed our way to the bus back to Fukuoka. Before we headed out the CEO of the brewery came onto the bus and give a brief thank you speech for us attending, which was really nice. But in all honesty, gratitude should be given on the other side. Everything was well organised, fun, and quite enjoyable. Hopefully, this is not the last time I am coming over and I look forward to visiting the festival again next year. 

Thank you too!