<i>Shōchū</i>

Shōchū

<p><i><b>Shōchū</b></i><span style="font-weight: normal"> (<a href="/en/Japanese_language" title="Japanese language" class="wl">Japanese</a>: <span>焼酎</span>)</span> is a Japanese <a href="/en/Distilled_beverage" title="Distilled beverage" class="mw-redirect wl">distilled beverage</a>. It is typically <a href="/en/Distillation" title="Distillation" class="wl">distilled</a> from  rice, <a href="/en/Barley" title="Barley" class="wl">barley</a>, <a href="/en/Sweet_potato" title="Sweet potato" class="wl">sweet potatoes</a>, <a href="/en/Buckwheat" title="Buckwheat" class="wl">buckwheat</a>, or <a href="/en/Brown_sugar" title="Brown sugar" class="wl">brown sugar</a>, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as <a href="/en/Castanea_crenata" title="Castanea crenata" class="wl">chestnut</a>, <a href="/en/Sesame_seeds" title="Sesame seeds" class="mw-redirect wl">sesame seeds</a>, potatoes, or even <a href="/en/Carrots" title="Carrots" class="mw-redirect wl">carrots</a>.</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Japanese distilled beverage</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Type, Country of origin&nbsp;, Region of orig...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox hrecipe hproduct mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title fn ingredient"><i>Shōchū</i></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Shochu_001.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Shochu_001.jpg"><img loading="lazy" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Shochu_001.jpg/220px-Shochu_001.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="4068" data-file-height="3264" data-file-type="bitmap" height="177" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Shochu_001.jpg/330px-Shochu_001.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Shochu_001.jpg/440px-Shochu_001.jpg 2x" alt="Shochu_001.jpg"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">A glass of shōchū</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Type</th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Distilled_beverage" title="Distilled beverage" class="mw-redirect wl">Spirit</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap">Country of origin<span>&nbsp;</span></span></th><td class="infobox-data">Japan</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Region of origin</th><td class="infobox-data">East Asia</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><span class="nowrap"><a href="/en/Alcohol_by_volume" title="Alcohol by volume" class="wl">Alcohol by volume</a><span>&nbsp;</span></span></th><td class="infobox-data">25–35%</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/Alcohol_proof" title="Alcohol proof" class="wl">Proof (US)</a></th><td class="infobox-data">50–70</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Color</th><td class="infobox-data">Clear</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Ingredients</th><td class="infobox-data">Rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, etc.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Related products</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Baijiu" title="Baijiu" class="wl">Baijiu</a>, <a href="/en/Soju" title="Soju" class="wl">soju</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>
<p>Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume,<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span> which is weaker than <a href="/en/Baijiu" title="Baijiu" class="wl">baijiu</a>, <a href="/en/Whiskey" title="Whiskey" class="mw-redirect wl">whiskey</a> or <a href="/en/Vodka" title="Vodka" class="wl">vodka</a> but stronger than <a href="/en/Huangjiu" title="Huangjiu" class="wl">huangjiu</a>, <a href="/en/Sake" title="Sake" class="wl">sake</a> or wine. It is not uncommon for multiply distilled shōchū, which is more likely to be used in mixed drinks, to contain up to 35% alcohol by volume.</p>



Shōchū is a Japanese distilled beverage. It is typically distilled from  rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar, though it is sometimes produced from other ingredients such as chestnut, sesame seeds, potatoes, or even carrots. Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume, which is weaker than baijiu, whiskey or vodka but stronger than huangjiu, sake or wine. It is not uncommon for multiply distilled shōchū, which is more likely to be used in mixed drinks, to contain up to 35% alcohol by volume. 