As it's summer, I'd go for on the rocks. It's also served mixed with warm water or straight and warmed (I guess like sake). I had a cocktail with shochu and plum spirits recently, but some are (to me) very bland while others have pretty distinct tastes, so I think you'd be best off drinking it unmixed first, and then experimenting. Hope you like it!

Cool, 99 Ranch is only a little out of my way home from work....
Did you try the potato one that Spec's has? (Okunomatsu) - my favorite shochu so far.
As a side note, Okunomatsu is located in Fukushima. The stuff being shipped now has been made with harvests from before the earthquake, there is some question whether they will be able to use their local fall harvests due to radiation. They have said they will brew with non-local rice if there is any question about it, I wonder if it will affect the taste. They mainly do sake and I don't drink that so I wouldn't be able to tell...

I have not... honestly as soon as it starts really heating up, I hunker down and only emerge in the early mornings (not too useful for liquor store runs). But I've run out of shochu, so something's got to give soon. ^_^
Thanks for the update!

DoobieWah,

Spec's actually had 4 in stock when I went by there last. 3 of them are the barley kind - basically a weaker proof vodka, very neutral, with subtle differences between them (I've tried 2 of the 3).
The fourth one is the one that I thought was pretty interesting taste-wise, made with sweet potato. So, I was trying to find more of the kinds brewed with sweet potato, and just generally browse from a wider selection. There's a NY based site that has a lot of varieties for sale, but of course they don't ship to TX (darn TX laws).

You should try it! It's served in various ways (warm, cut with hot water, etc) but I like it on the rocks.

Yeah, H-Mart definitely doesn't have it. I think it's liquor store or bust. Thank you for your Hong Kong Market area suggestion, will check it out this weekend.

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Hong Kong Cafe
9108 Bellaire Blvd Ste A, Houston, TX 77036

Hi,
Does anyone know of liquor stores besides Spec's that sell shochu (often referred to as soju, but I'm looking especially for Japanese spirits)? Are there any liquor stores down Bellaire/Chinatown way that have more Asian stuff in stock? I don't know that area very well.

Hoping someone can help me out!