Continuing on this cul-de-sac of my slowly diminishing ignorance, now
cleaved from the NY Times header.

I said this:

Once I bought what turned out to be quite a delicate shuchu and put
back my usual allotment as if it were sake (it had shochu in tiny print
on the label and had been stocked in the sake section at the store.
Man oh man was I reeling! I had no idea. Very mild taste.

I'm digging around in my liquor cabinet trying to find some bourbon for
a pal and run into what remains of the cited "delicate shochu". On the
front it says "Ginza no Suzume" which I guess means the sparrow of the
Ginza. On the back it says "Ginza no Suzume Shochu". But on the front
it also says this: 100% Barley Shochu. Distilled from Barley, Alcohol
20%, 40 proof.

And still, I could easily recommend it as a delightful drink. It smells
like a rice-born sake, and has all the delicacy of a good sake. Except
it follows it up with a meat cleaver of a punch.

That's the news.

--
A Dictionary of Japanese Food, Ingredients & Culture by Richard Hosking
(Tuttle, '97). All anybody needs to know about plumbing the depths of Japanese
food; a cuisine far more vast than sushi.