About
Christopher Pellegrini founded Honkaku Spirits in March 2020. Honkaku is a US-based import company specializing in small-batch koji spirits sourced from Japan.
Christopher Pellegrini is an award-winning expert on Japan’s native spirits, shochu and awamori, passionate educator, and incessant public speaker. In addition to writing the first ever non-Japanese book about shochu and awamori, the occasional silver- and small-screen actor spends much of the year traveling the world to judge at international spirits competitions (including CMB Spirits Selection and IWSC), conduct koji spirits pairing dinners, and speak at large drinks-related events like Bar Convent Brooklyn, Tales of the Cocktail, and Vin Expo. He has lived in Tokyo, Japan, since the autumn of 2002.
Contact
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Images
Honors
2022
Imbibe 75
2019
Culture Award – Japan Brewing Society
Articles
2024
世界一の蒸留酒「SHOCHU 焼酎」を、世界のどこでも当たり前に買えるお酒にしたい – “でも、単式蒸留で1度しか蒸留しない本格焼酎では、ごまかしは一切利かない。主原料と水、麹と酵母以外の添加物もゼロですから、発酵こそ命。そこが蔵人の腕の見せどころであり、だからこそ麹が醸す主原料の味と香りが生きてくるのです.”
Looking for a Spirit with Terroir? Try Shochu – “If you have a sweet potato shochu that tastes like lychee, it’s an indicator of an overly rainy typhoon season–too much water in the soil stunted growth and led to a telltale lychee taste,” Pellegrini says.
Get to know Japan’s favorite distilled spirit (and it isn’t sake) – Christopher Pellegrini: “Many people in the U.S. conflate Korean soju with Japanese shochu, but that’s insulting to both cultures.”
Seek Out Shochu – “There are 53 approved ingredients for the base of authentic shochu production, but the most commonly used are sweet potato, barley, rice, kokuto sugar, buckwheat (soba) and sake lees (the nutritional byproduct of sake production),” Pellegrini says.
2023
A Talk With Shochu Expert Christopher Pellegrini – “I believe that the fourth shochu boom will take place outside Japan.”
2022
A Sommelier’s Guide to Drinking Shochu in Tokyo – “I love sweet potato shochu. It has the most variety. I drink it with hot water.”
2021
Shochu Is Japan’s Best-Kept Secret—and the U.S. Is Finally Catching On – An article written by Christopher and his constant collaborator, Stephen Lyman.
Japan’s Forgotten Whisky – “I don’t think that [shutting out the koji process] is a great position to be in,” says Christopher Pellegrini, founder of Honkaku Spirits.
How a California Law Causes Confusion Between Shochu and Soju – “Unfortunately, we now have a generation of consumers in the U.S. that refuse to try shochu because they think it’s soju, and they don’t like soju.”
2020
世界のバーに焼酎が並ぶ日のために。蒸留酒・焼酎は世界に何を伝えるべきなのか。｜クリストファー・ペレグリニ – Christopher Pellegrini: “I want shochu in every bar worldwide. I had to do something to help spread the word about Japan’s spirits and shochu culture.”
Videos
2024
What is shochu? – A few quick points to keep in mind about shochu.
What is shochu not? – Don’t make these common mistakes when talking about shochu.
2023
The Shochu Gatherer with Christopher Pellegrini (THE COCKTAIL GURU S2 E12) – Christopher talks spirits and cocktails with hosts Jonathan and Jeffrey Pogash.
From Home Brewing to Commercial Success: The Inspiring Journey of Christopher Pellegrini – Host Anika Jackson teases a bunch of revealing anecdotes out of Christopher.
2020
The Pillars of Shochu Behind the Bar – Christopher interviews Shingo Gokan and Joshin Atone of SG Club.
Podcasts
2024
Inside Japan’s Beverage Culture with Christopher Pellegrini – On being an empathetic business leader: “…so you go from emotional empathy to empathic concern.”
Honkaku Spirits – Christopher Pellegrini – “Shochu…there’s nothing to compare it to. There’s nothing quite like it.”
Understanding Shochu with Stephen Lyman and Christopher Pellegrini – “…there is a shochu out there, or awamori out there, for everyone, because there are 53 approved ingredients.”
Christopher Pellegrini on Doing Business in Japan – “…I help operate…two different teams in two different time zones, which is lovely for my sleep schedule.”
2023
Bottoms Up Japanese Style – Christopher sits down to chat about shochu and awamori on Poppy Tooker’s NPR-affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats!
2022
Japanese Distilled Spirits with Christopher Pellegrini – “I quickly learned that these drinks are everywhere. They are just as important to Japanese culinary culture as sake is, and they actually outsell sake here in Japan!”
Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman of Honkaku Spirits – Christopher and Stephen sat down for a chat about their early experiences importing shochu into the United States.
2019
Know Your Hosts: Christopher Pellegrini and Sebastien Lemoine – Christopher is interviewed by other regular hosts of Sake On Air as an introduction to the podcast’s regular audience.
2018
Japan Eats (episode 132) – Christopher runs the audience through the basics of awamori and shochu on this long-running, New York-based culinary podcast.