Japan Distilled

In episode 92 of the Japan Distilled podcast, your hosts Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman take a journey to the Izu Islands to explore Tokyo Shimazake, the latest WTO GI for Honkaku Shochu.

In episode 91, our hosts explain the history of International Shochu Day (Nov. 1) as well as run through some upcoming events surrounding this annual celebration.

In episode 90, Stephen and Christopher chat with Maya Aley of Shochu Bar Roku about Kagoshima shochu culture.

In episode 89, Stephen chats with his longtime friend and collaborator Joseph Overbey about their upcoming film, The Spirit of Japan.

In episode 88, Stephen chats with Kayoko Akabori of Umami Mart about the 1st ever American shochu festival! Shochu Live will be held on June 28th in Oakland, CA.

In episode 87, Stephen chats koji spirits in Charleston, South Carolina as a guest of Imbibe Magazine's editor in Chief, Paul Clarke (listen to episode 69 for more of his thoughts on Japanese spirits) and James Beard Award winning author, bartender, and bar owner, Julia Momose. The trio hosted a live panel discussion of koji spirits to a group of guests, most of whom had never tried shochu, awamori, or koji whiskey before.

In episode 86, Stephen spends some time musing on the recent announcement that the U.S. Surgeon General recommends cancer warnings on beverage alcohol labels.

In episode 85, Stephen Lyman finally gets around to introducing himself.

In episode 84, Christopher Pellegrini finally gets around to introducing himself.

UNESCO Koji Fermentation recognition? In episode 83, we discuss the recent announcement that Japanese koji alcohol fermentation has been named an intangible cultural heritage.

In episode 82 our host Stephen Lyman sits down at Khaluna Restaurant in Minneapolis with Grant Lavrenz who is doing amazing things with koji spirits in his cocktail program.

In episode 81 our host Stephen Lyman is joined by founder of Nankai Shochu, the first kokuto sugar shochu developed specifically for the US market.

In episode 80, our hosts take a deeper look at The SG Shochu from The SG Group, lead by internationally recognized bartender, Shingo Gokan.

In episode 79 our hosts are back in the studio to talk about gateway shochu brands and simple service styles to help introduce these spirits to unfamiliar drinkers.

In episode 78 our host Stephen Lyman is joined by co-author of The Bartender's Pantry, bartender, bar owner, introvert, and writer Jim Meehan.

In episode 77 our host Stephen Lyman sits down to chat with lawyer turned chef turned lobbyist John McCarthy to discuss the end of the soju label rule for NY and CA. Of course, they also talk shochu, hospitality, and plenty else.

In episode 76 our host Stephen Lyman sits down with chef turned distiller Hamish Nugent of Reed & Co. Distillery to talk trial and error, success, and the very first Australian Shochu.

In episode 75 our hosts at long last profile the iconic and iconoclastic Chuko Distillery in Okinawa. 

In episode 74 our host Stephen Lyman sits down with author of Whisky Rising, Stefan VanEycken in Tokyo. They discuss Stefan's whisky journey, his book, and the state of Japanese whisky in 2024.