NIKAIDO Oita Mugi Shochu: Brand That Drove Growth of Japan's Most Popular Drink Expands Distribution in U.S.

LOS ANGELES, CA (AUGUST 20, 2025) - NIKAIDO, the Japanese drinks brand credited with creating the original 100% barley shochu, announces today that it has inked agreements to expand distribution in the United States.

Through Wismattec Asian Foods, the nearly 160 year-old brand’s two core expressions, NIKAIDO Oita Mugi Shochu, and NIKAIDO Kitchom (Aged Oita Mugi Shochu), now enjoy on- and off-premise distribution in five new US sales territories: New York, New Jersey, Hawai’i, Illinois, and Florida. This is in addition to existing distribution in California and Nevada that has been in place since Nikaido’s US launch in 2024.

Says 8th generation Nikaido President, Yuichi Nikaido, “We are thrilled to broaden Nikaido’s distribution footprint to additional markets in the United States. From the moment we made the decision to expand the brand’s reach beyond Japan, our focus has been to help Americans fall in love with shochu the way Japan has. We want shochu to be as familiar and accessible in the US as other spirits with longer histories in the country. This is the next step forward in achieving that goal.”

What is Shochu – Shochu is Japan’s oldest distilled alcoholic beverage, with the earliest documented mentions of shochu dating from the 1500s. It is also Japan’s most popular spirit, outselling both nihon-shu (sake), and whiskey. With its low ABV (typically under 30%), shochu makes an excellent neat aperitif. It can also be mixed in cocktails, served with cool water to dilute, or with hot water, to release its complex bouquet, or as a “Nikaso” Nikaido’s proprietary hi-ball, a low ABV, refreshing carbonated drink made with shochu, soda water, and lemon, or other fruit juices. 

NIKAIDO Oita Mugi Shochu – The first ever 100% barley shochu, using barley koji. The original ‘new style’ shochu that made Oita Mugi Shochu famous throughout Japan.

Profile and Tasting Notes

• Product: 100% Barley Shochu
• ABV: 24%
• Bottle size: 900ml glass bottle
• SRP: $26.00
• Allocation (first shipment): 600 cases
• Brick and mortar distribution: CA, NV, NY, NJ, HI, IL, FL
• Character: Balanced, smooth and clean tasting while retaining a rich, aromatic and fruity barley heart.

NIKAIDO Kitchom (Aged Oita Mugi Shochu) –  The original aged barley shochu from Oita prefecture. NIKAIDO Kitchom is aged for one year in steel tanks, before being bottled in handmade, hand painted glazed clay flasks. 

Profile and Tasting Notes

• Product: 100% Barley Shochu, aged for one year in steel tanks
• ABV: 24%
• Bottle size: 720ml glazed clay flask 
• SRP: $60.00
• Allocation (first shipment): 250 cases
• Brick and mortar distribution: CA, NV, CA, NV, NY, NJ, HI, IL, FL
• Character: Balanced, smooth and clean tasting while retaining a richly aromatic long finish.

About NIKAIDO Shuzou Co. Ltd.

The Nikaido family has been brewing and distilling in Oita prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, for eight generations. Founded in Hiji-Machi in 1866 as a nihon-shu brewery, it has remained in the ownership of the Nikaido family ever since. 

In 1949, NIKAIDO began to switch production from nihon-shu to shochu, drawing on the family’s generations of experience working with koji, the essential component in the making of nihon-shu and shochu. 

Since the 16th century, shochu has been made using rice koji. But in the early 1970s, Mr. Akira Nikaido, the 6^th generation president of the NIKAIDO company, began to develop a novel method of making a 100% barley koji, with the aim of creating a shochu with a cleaner, more broadly palatable flavor profile. He predicted that this would make shochu more accessible to the drinking public, and lead to a growth in popularity of the spirit. When combined with vacuum distillation, the resulting liquid was a new, easier-drinking style that preserved delicate floral aromas and subtle vanilla, toasted coconut, and stone-fruit flavor notes.

In 1974, the first 100% mugi (barley) shochu was released to an enthusiastic public. What was once a region-specific spirit soon became the national drink of Japan, and mugi shochu became the style for which Oita prefecture was known. Oita is now the origin of 99.6% of  Japan’s mugi shochu.

In March 2024, NIKAIDO Oita Mugi Shochu and NIKAIDO Kitchom Oita Mugi Shochu were offered to the US market for the first time, with initial distribution in California, and Nevada and direct-to-consumer through online platforms, followed by New York, New Jersey, Hawai’i, Illinois, and Florida in 2025.