Nankai Shochu Group Tasting & Sale at The Sake Shop! With Special Guest: Mai Nakayama
October 24 @ 4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Nankai Shochu Group
Tasting & Sale at The Sake Shop!
With Special Guest: Mai Nakayama
• Featuring 5 Shochu & 1 Japanese Rum!
(And maybe Shochu Cocktails??)
Join us this Saturday, October 24th, 2026 | 4:00 – 7:00 PM |
Complimentary| Must be 21+
A Nankai Tasting? You bet, and this time it’s all about Shochu! So let’s celebrate an early Happy World Shochu/Awamori Day together with some special shochu and a special guest ??.
But first, some of you may be asking yourself what in the world is shochu all about?
Shochu
Unlike sake which is brewed like a beer, shochu is a distilled beverage! Basically that means after an initial fermentation process like sake, shochu is “heated” and refined, resulting in a beverage with a much higher alcohol level and different flavor profile.
More like a vodka than a sake, shochu usually has an alcohol content around 24%to 25%.
It can be made using rice, but it can also be made from other items such as barley and sweet potato.
Each shochu has their own recommended way to be enjoyed, from neat to over ice or even with warm water! Many of our shochu lovers enjoy it mixed with fruit juices and even oolong tea too ?.
With that all done, I’m sure you’re all curious to hear more about our awesome guest and what shochu she brought in to introduce to everyone!
Please give a warm welcome to Mai Nakayama, Co-Founder of Nankai Shochu Group, and the reason we cam enjoy all these unique shochu like the LA Dodgers Nikaido Barely Shochu and even kokuto shochu in the US!
“In 2015, Paul and Mai Nakayama went on their honeymoon to Mai’s hometown of Amami, Japan, a remote archipelago known for its breathtaking natural beauty.
A series of adventures and incredible coincidences led to discovering a hidden gem, Amami’s unique craft spirit known as kokuto shochu.”
Kokuto Shochu
A brown sugar shochu that’s only distilled in the islands of Amami, right next to Okinawa. As it’s her hometown, it’s why Mai worked so hard to import them, so she can share this local delicious drink with everyone!
Together, Mai & Paul launched Nankai Shochu in 2017, “…dedicated to sharing their newfound passion for shochu and sake with friends across the U.S. In 2022, Paul and Mai were named to the inaugural Vinepair 50 for their work in bringing shochu into the mainstream.”
It’s a rare chance to meet not only Mai but we’ll even be going through nearly their whole lineup from their special Oak Barrel Aged Shochu, Kokuto Shochu, LA Dodgers Nikaido Shochu, and even a Nankai Rum!
It’ll be a total of 6 spirits for you to try this October 24th from 4:00 – 7:00 PM with Mai.
All of her featured spirits will be on sale during our tasting day, too and she might even craft some unique cocktails from her lineup!??
•Nankai Shochu (Kokuto/Brown Sugar!)
•Nankai White Oak Shochu (Kokuto Aged in Oak!)
•Nankai Gold (Most Premium Blended Aged Kokuto)
•Nankai Acou Rum (White Rum made from Kokuto!
•Nikaido The Original LA Dodgers Edition!??? (Barley Shochu)
•Nikadio Kitchom (Barley Shochu)
We hope you get to come by this weekend once again for this exciting spirits lineup and meet with Mai,
Kanpai!
Must be 21+