Yanagita, Aokage Barley Shochu, 25%, 720ml
Pre-order: due to arrive in the UK in late October 2026
A barley shochu that tastes of roasted sesame and dark chocolate, from the oldest distillery in Miyakonojo.
Sold only to customers aged 18 or over.
Aokage (青鹿毛) is the flagship barley shochu of Yanagita Distillery in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki. It is made from two-row barley with white kōji, distilled at atmospheric pressure for a fuller, toasted character, matured in porcelain enamel tanks and only lightly filtered by hand to keep its oils and flavour. It took the Highest Gold Award (最高金賞) at the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition. 25% ABV, 720ml.
Why Chefs Choose This
- Roasted, not neutral: atmospheric distillation keeps sesame and toasted-grain flavours that lighter shochu strips out
- Lightly filtered: hand filtering keeps the oils, and with them the texture
- Award-winning: Highest Gold Award at the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition
- Works in cocktails: the maker notes it brings a toasted note alongside other spirits
How to Use
- With hot water: the classic Kyushu serve, which opens up the roasted aroma
- On the rocks: over a large cube of ice
- Highball: with soda and ice, a lighter alternative to a whisky highball
- With food: yakitori, grilled fish, or anything off the charcoal
Yanagita Distillery (柳田酒造) was founded in 1902 in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, and is the oldest distillery in the city. It is still family-run, now by fifth-generation president Tadashi Yanagita, an engineer by training who adjusts the stills himself, and it makes around 65,000 bottles a year from barley and sweet potato, with labels still pasted on by hand. Water comes from the distillery's own wells, 100 to 150 metres deep, fed by the Kirishima mountains. Honkaku shōchū (本格焼酎) is Japan's single-distilled spirit, made with kōji like sake but distilled, and it is usually drunk with water, hot water, soda or ice. Yanagita names its core range after the colours of horses' coats, a nod to Miyazaki's horse-breeding history: aokage (青鹿毛) is the Japanese word for a pitch-black horse.
What does Aokage taste like?
The maker's own note describes an aroma of roasting sesame moving into flavours of dark chocolate and toasted grains, with a dry finish. That toasted, savoury side is the point of it: this is a barley shochu with some weight, not a neutral one. Hot water brings the sesame forward; ice and soda make it lighter and drier.
Product Details
| Type | Honkaku barley shochu (本格麦焼酎) |
| Maker | Yanagita Distillery (柳田酒造), founded 1902 |
| Origin | Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan |
| Alcohol | 25% vol |
| Volume | 720ml bottle |
| Base | Two-row barley |
| Kōji | White kōji |
| Distillation | Atmospheric pressure |
| Maturation | Porcelain enamel tank; blend including 3-year aged shochu (maker's tech sheet) |
| Age Restriction | Sold only to customers aged 18 or over |
How do you drink barley shochu?
In Japan it is most often mixed: with hot water (oyuwari), cold water (mizuwari), soda, or simply over ice. At 25% it is gentler than gin or whisky, so it drinks well with food. Try one part Aokage to one or one and a half parts hot water, pouring the water first.
What is the difference between shochu and sake?
Sake is brewed and not distilled, and usually sits around 15% alcohol. Shochu is distilled, often from barley or sweet potato as well as rice, and is usually bottled at around 25%. Both use kōji mould to turn starch into sugar before fermentation.
When will my pre-order arrive?
This line is due to arrive in the UK in late October 2026. Pre-orders are dispatched once the stock has landed and been checked in at our warehouse. Anything still marked "To follow" on this page will be added when the stock is in.
SKU : X5001