We’ve gotten ourselves into a really fabulous cocktail and onto a really fabulous cocktail list.. at Monarch; sexiest new lounge in SF.  “The Rickshaw” is a complex cocktail that proves shochu can stand up next to its higher-proof cousins; you’ll notice many barrel-aged spirits and high-proof alcohols, and us!

Check it out:

Check out our new friend’s amazing lounge and stop by if you are in San Francisco:

Monarch
www.monarchsf.com
101 6th Street, San Francisco CA

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And here they are in action:

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Thank you to the Bazaar Bizarre staff, vendors, and guests for making this event our best yet.  Thank you to our partner Honest Tea for providing the mixer for our Haamonii cocktails; everyone loved the combinations.  Thanks also to the awesome Haamonii event team; you rock!

More Team Haamonii Photos:

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Recipe and photograph by Brooke Burton

Salted plum shochu cocktail
Makes one drink

Kosher salt and cayenne pepper mixture (4 tbsp kosher salt to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper)
2 lemon verbena leaves (one for muddling, one for garnish)
4 small sour plums (sliced and without seeds)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 lemon wedge
1 tsp simple syrup
3 oz lemon (or regular) Haamonii Shochu
ice

Place the kosher salt/cayenne pepper mixture on a plate. Wipe the outer edge of the cocktail glass with the juicy side of the lemon wedge. Run the wet edge of the glass in the spicy salt to create an even rim.

Muddle a single verbena leaf in a clean cocktail shaker. Add the sliced sour plums and continue muddling until most of the fruit’s juice is released into the glass. Add simple syrup, shochu and fill shaker with ice. Shake well. Add mixed cocktail to salt-rimmed glass. Top with fresh verbena. Serve immediately.

Read the full article here on FoodWoolf or by clicking on the image below:

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We see this delicious variation in Los Angeles, where shochu is served with infused ginsing.

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International Review of Spirits Award: Gold Medal – “…A very pleasant mixing shochu for juicy cocktails or on its own.”

We’re honored that Haamonii Smooth shochu (soju) been awarded an international gold medal for taste by the same judges that voted Grey Goose world’s best vodka the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI)!

Here are the tasting notes from the International Review of Spirits Award Gold Medal:

Clear. Rice pudding and lemon tea aromas have a faint mocha edge and follow through on a satiny soft entry to a dry-yet-fruity light-to-medium body with with a lemon rice candy and tapioca fade. A very pleasant mixing shochu for juicy cocktails or on its own.

Thank you to BTI for this award. We’re honored to have participated in your judging and appreciate your prestigious award.

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“…Haamonii Smooth and Haamonii Smooth lemon. These were the favorites among two Food and Wine staff tasters who found both to be light and smooth, with a hint of sweetness.”

As you can imagine, we were very excited about the article that was printed in the San Francisco Chronicle last Friday, 10/17. Of course, we were happy to see that Haamonii was the favorite among two Food and Wine staff tasters but more importantly, however, was the fact that Cindy Lee was able to capture so well the current and continued popularity associated with the global joy of shochu. The most exciting thing about the article is the fact that we hope it will increase awareness of shochu in general. There are shochu and sojus for each and every taste and not all are for everyone. The simple idea is that you should try it regardless of brand… and don’t forget to “pour for others and not self” (an ancient Asian tradition carried on to guarantee you’ll never drink alone).

Here are a few key notes from the article:

• In Japan,… the consumption of shochu, a distilled beverage made from a variety of starches and grains, has exceeded that of sake.

• Around this time, in 1998, a Japanese medical researcher published a paper claiming that shochu activated enzymes that inhibited the growth of blood clots and prevented strokes and heart attacks.

• Here in the Bay Area, Takahashi reported an increase in demand for shochu within the past five years, especially in Japanese markets, pubs known as izakayas and other Asian restaurants.

• “It goes well with all types of food,”

• This trend is echoed in other parts of the world (E.g. London, Australia, New York)

• It is a clear spirit that can be enjoyed straight, on the rocks with a squeeze of lemon, mixed with hot or cold water, with tea, or in a mixed drink.

• Because of its similarities in composition, appearance and usage, shochu is sometimes marketed in the United States as Japanese vodka. This can be misleading because shochu generally has a much lower alcohol content than vodka.

• The result [shochu] is a spirit that Lim says is “smoother than vodka and more versatile.

• There are two classifications of shochu: koshu (grade A) and otsushu (grade B). Like vodka and Korean soju (see “A guide to shochu,” this page), the koshu type is distilled multiple times, resulting in a odorless and flavorless beverage.

• In addition to its smoothness and versatility, shochu possesses another important virtue; it is low in calories. A 2-ounce serving of shochu contains about 35 calories. Compare that to about 120 calories for 2 ounces of vodka and 80 calories for 2 ounces of sake.

• Others recognize the appeal of shochu as a lighter base for mixed drinks. “It tastes like you are drinking a drink, but it is not as overpowering as say a gin and tonic, both in flavor and punch,” says Deutchman.

Thank you to all those that have supported Haamonii Smooth. We look forward to continuing our effort to share the world’s smoothest shochu with you.

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ARTICLE: Shochu’s growing appeal has its early proponents in high spirits

EXCERPTS:

“Shochu hasn’t yet followed tequila and cachaca into the mainstream of American spirits, but proponents say it’s just a matter of time until the eminently mixable Japanese liquor makes the jump from ethnic obscurity to bar staple. It has a lot going for it–boutique image, versatility, relatively low alcohol content, purported health benefits and even snob appeal, with some brands fetching triple-digit price tags. It also seems poised to flow along with the growing interest in authentic Asian foods and beverages.”

“Shochu mixes like vodka, gin and tequila,” said Wallack, who ticked off shochu mojitos, shochu Bloody Marys and shochu mimosas as a few of the cocktail ideas. “It also goes well with purees, muddled fruits and just a splash of simple syrup or soda. It mixes great with just about anything.”

“It is made from a variety of starches, including barley, wheat, rice, sweet potato and sugar cane, fermented and distilled into a clear spirit that Westerners liken to vodka. There are big differences, however. Shochu is less potent -usually around 25 percent alcohol, compared with 40 percent for vodka–and it retains more of the flavor of the raw materials than ultra-refined vodkas.”

” Japan’s shochu craze encourages proponents. Since 2004, shochu has outsold sake there.”

“More and more people there are drinking shochu instead of sake,” said Monica Samuels, sake ambassador for Southern Wine & Spirits in New York and former corporate sake sommelier for Sushi Samba, a Japanese-Brazilian-Peruvian restaurant chain based there. “It lends itself better to the nightlife scene.”

“In contrast to sake, which a lot of people consider a drink to pair with food, this is a drink to have as a cocktail or after-dinner drink, so it really can go with any cuisine,”

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