Nankai Premium Blended Shochu
Nankai Premium Blended Shochu — the bottling the brand sells as Nankai Gold — is a cask-aged kokuto shochu blend from Amami Island, Japan: 43% ABV (86 proof), 750mL, a blend of single-distilled black-sugar shochus (80% kokuto, 20% rice) whose components are aged up to five years in American white oak and French Limousin casks. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- ABV: 43% (86 proof)
- Size: 750mL
- Base: Kokuto (black sugar) shochu, 80% black sugar + 20% rice, single-distilled (a portion vacuum-distilled)
- Aging: Components finished in American white oak and French Limousin casks, aged up to 5 years
- Origin: Amami Island, Kagoshima, Japan
- Positioning: Blended for whisky drinkers — neat or on a large cube
- Award: Master Medal, Asian Spirits Masters 2021 (official)
Nankai Gold: Shochu Built for Whisky Drinkers
Gold takes the same Amami raw material as the flagship — kokuto black sugar and rice, koji-fermented and single-distilled at Machida Shuzo — and treats it the way a whisky blender would: mature the components in American white oak and French Limousin, some for as long as five years, then blend and bottle at a full 43%, a strength almost unheard of for shochu. The Nakayamas built it explicitly for fans of Japanese whisky, and the brand serves it like one. Line it up against the whiskies on our Japanese whisky shelf, or start with the flagship on the Nankai Shochu vendor page.
Tasting Notes
Nose: Layered fruit, floral and malty aromas (official description). Palate: Elegantly smooth, with gentle raisin, chocolate and honey notes; a reproduced review adds a toasty nose and elegant spice. Finish: Tangy, deep and intense (review notes).
How to Enjoy
Neat or over a single large cube, exactly as the brand directs — or give it the whisky serves: an Old Fashioned build or a highball, where the oak-aged kokuto base holds its own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Nankai Premium Blended the same as Nankai Gold? Yes — one bottling, two names. The brand's official page titles it "Nankai Gold – Premium Blended Shochu".
How is it aged? The blend's component shochus are finished in American white oak and French Limousin casks and aged up to five years before blending — "up to" is the operative phrase; no minimum age is published.
Why is it 43% when most shochu is weaker? Gold is deliberately bottled at whisky strength for neat sipping — the flagship Nankai is 24%, while Gold's 43% and oak ageing are aimed at whisky drinkers.
Whisky strength, Amami soul — get Nankai Premium Blended Shochu (Nankai Gold) online from Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA.