Honkaku Shochu Falls 2.7% in 2025 as Producers Seek New Drinkers with Aromatic Styles and Bars
Honkaku shochu shipments in 2025 fell to about 330,000 kl, but producers are seeking new drinkers through aromatic styles, soda serves and bar cocktails.
The market for honkaku shochu, Japan’s distilled spirit, continues to shrink, but there are signs that the decline may be levelling off. According to a feature compiled by Nihon Shokuryo Shimbun in May 2026, figures from the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association show that taxable shipments in 2025 came to 331,451 kilolitres, down 2.7% on the previous year. Taxable shipments are the volume that leaves the brewery and becomes subject to liquor tax. Although the fall continues, the rate of decline has narrowed slightly. Honkaku shochu is a distilled spirit made by fermenting ingredients such as sweet potato, barley and rice with koji, then using single distillation to preserve the character of the raw materials.
Sweet Potato and Barley Neck and Neck for First Place
By ingredient, sweet potato shochu was the largest category at 144,716 kilolitres (43.7% of the total), down 1.0%, which is almost flat. In recent years it fell sharply because of black rot, a sweet potato disease, but the impact has eased thanks to the spread of a new disease-resistant variety, Michishizuku, and the decline has become smaller. Barley shochu came to 144,374 kilolitres (43.6%), down 3.2%. It handed first place back to sweet potato after taking it the year before, but the gap is only 0.1 percentage points. Rice shochu stood at 27,639 kilolitres (down 5.0%) and buckwheat shochu at 4,884 kilolitres (down 9.1%). Other ingredients such as sesame, brown sugar and sake lees together came to 9,838 kilolitres (down 9.2%).
“Aromatic” Styles and Soda Serves as New Entry Points
Aromatic shochu, which brings out fruity notes, has not been a passing fad and has become established as a category on the shelf. The feature reports that Kosei Jozo’s limited-edition “TROPICAL TIGER” sold out at the order stage, and that the company plans to release it in larger quantities this year. Hamada Shuzo has added a second release, “bitter & tropical”, to “CHILL GREEN”, which is aimed mainly at people in their twenties. Takara Shuzo is selling canned soda mixes of its sweet potato shochu “ISAINA” with lemon. As easy soda serves multiply, beginners find it easier to pick up a bottle. However, the feature points out that the challenge is that their appeal has not yet reached enough new drinkers.
Bars and Cocktails to Reach New Drinkers
The Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association plans to push further in 2026 with the “Basic Cocktails” programme it began in earnest in 2025. By sharing recipes across the industry, it aims to spread shochu and awamori (an Okinawan distilled spirit) as standard cocktails that any bar can make. Sanwa Shurui continues to develop the bar market, while Kirishima Shuzo is proposing food pairings in the United States.
When choosing honkaku shochu in Europe, start by looking at the ingredient on the label. Sweet potato, barley and rice clearly differ in aroma and mouthfeel, so tasting several made from the same ingredient is one way to enjoy it. With the new aromatic bottles, mixing with ice and soda brings out the fruity aroma, which should feel familiar even to those used to gin or whisky highballs. The Japanese bar industry’s work on standard cocktails may also give European bartenders a reason to try shochu as a cocktail base.
Sources
This article was written by The Sake Wire editorial team, summarising the public sources listed above. Images are our own.
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