Inspired by a local restaurant, St George set out to make a full-flavored shochu from California rice that would complement a hearty bowl of ramen. The label design is a mash-up of the California state flag and the national flag of Japan. If you translate the kanji (Japanese characters), the bear is saying “angry bear sound.”

St George Shochu is distilled from sake lees from a local producer. The sake lees are steamed Calrose rice, inoculated with koji spores and then fermented. Once the koji has enzymatically transformed the starches from the rice into sugar, they pitch with yeast and ferment cold. Following fermentation, they blend with non-GMO neutral spirit, and then distill in-house on one of our custom-made copper pot stills.

On the nose, you’ll find cashew, pistachio, sweet mushrooms, and finally, dried cocoa. That sense of cocoa further develops on the palate as bittersweet chocolate. Try in a Shochu Highball, or in cocktails with matcha, yuzu, or your own original creation.