Shochu is Japan’s signature spirit, yet it’s not well known outside the country. As our May/June 2024 cover feature reveals, that’s starting to change, with a wider array of excellent shochu increasingly appearing in American bars. For this episode, we talk about all things shochu with Stephen Lyman and Christopher Pellegrini, the co-hosts of the Japan Distilled podcast, authors of books about Japanese spirits, and partners in Honkaku Spirits, which sources and bottles Japanese shochu and exports it to the U.S.

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.