When it comes to innovation, BrewDog has always surpassed the already-set standards in the spirit industry. And this time around, the Scottish alcohol label is all set to bring a Japanese spirit to the UK enthusiasts, with a Scottish twist to it. BrewDog has announced its most-recent launch, a shochu label by the name of Inugami Shochu.
Shochu is a low-ABV Japanese spirit that is distilled from ingredients such as rice, barley, buckwheat and sweet potato and is bottled at 25% ABV or less. BrewDog has decided to distill the spirit with malted wheat, barley, rice and molasses, where molasses is pot-distilled twice. The spirit is infused with rhubarb, ginger and galangal root next before being blended well to create the final product. The whole process practices the ‘konwa-blend’ style to produce the aromatic and flavourful Shochu.
Inugami Shochu has been crafted to suit the palate of its target market. The addition of familiar flavours like rhubarb and galangal are aimed at making the spirit more approachable, which will help the release to reach a wider consumer base in the region. Distillers at BrewDog explored around 130 recipes of Shochu before finalising the one that has been launched in the market now. Inugami Shochu is a product of a lot of discussions and hard distillation processes.
The spirit boasts a soft flavour profile of caramel and ginger and an aroma of toasted rice, burnt sugar and tropical fruits. It is priced at £27 and is available for purchases at BrewDog’s website and bars in the UK. It is bottled at 23% ABV, reflecting on the strong low-ABV trend in the global spirit industry.
BrewDog plans to launch its shochu in Japan in the coming time but will be focusing on the UK spirit market for now. The company wants to explore more styles in this spirit range and wishes to experiment with flavours and different ABVs. All we can do is wait and see what BrewDog has in store for us now!
