Towari is the original 100% soba shochu. It’s rich, nutty, and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Takara Shuzo released this honkaku shochu in 2004. Today, it’s one of the category’s most popular brands.
This post covers tasting notes, serving suggestions, distillery info, and more.
Ingredients and Product Info
Towari is honkaku shochu, meaning once-distilled. It also means that the flavor of soba and soba koji is rich.
Most soba shochu uses rice and/or barley koji. But Towari is entirely buckwheat, which makes it a combo of soba koji and soba. The soba koji is made with white koji.
Towari is a blend of atmospheric and vacuum-distilled spirits. The atmospheric portion adds weight and umami. And the low-pressure distilled portion provides a lighter, softer character.
The final abv is 25%.
Towari Tasting Notes
Towari has a mild aroma with notes of peanut brittle, sesame oil, breakfast cereal, celery, and underripe peach. On the palate, Towari starts plump and semi-sweet but finishes slightly sharp. It’s fairly rich with a lot of umami.
How to Drink Towari Shochu
There are many ways to serve Towari. Neat highlights the rich umami. On the rocks will lighten the flavor. But it really shines warmed.
Oyuwari is a slam dunk. A 1:1 ratio of hot water (150°F) and shochu makes a lighter flavor. While 6:4 Towari to hot water (160°F) has more umami, weight, and intensity. To pull it off, temper the cup first with hot water. Then add shochu.
If you have the opportunity, sobayu-wari is a must-try. Sobayu is rich, nutrient-dense water leftover from boiling soba noodles. At authentic soba restaurants, sobayu is typically provided at the end of the meal to add to the remaining broth.
Sobayu-wari is oyuwari with sobayu in place of water. It’s a complex, unique, and nutritious one-two combo.
About Takara Shuzo
Takara Shuzo is a large alochol producer in Japan. They historically make shochu, sake, and mirin. Towari is distilled at the Kurokabegura Distillery in Takanabe, Miyazaki. The distillery has both steel pot stills and large continuous column stills.
Other products distilled at Kurokabegura include the Yokaichi lineup, Gankutsuo, Takara Jun, Takara Ko Rui, and Kissui Vodka.