On Amami Island, Japan, where we distill our award-winning Nankai Shochu, passion fruit is a common and beloved staple. The season for the sweet and tart fruit on Amami Island generally runs from June to August, and in other places, like California, it can continue through September. During these months, you can often find passion fruit-flavored desserts and juices sold everywhere on the island. At izakayas, you’ll find passion fruit juice mixed with kokuto, or black sugar, shochu.
The History of Passion Fruit
Passion fruit, known as Passiflora Edulis, originated in Brazil in the Amazon rainforests where it was enjoyed by indigenous tribes. Its unique appearance and taste caught the attention of explorers and eventually found its way around the world in the 1600s, including to Asia, where subtropical climates allowed it to thrive.
The name, “passion fruit,” was given by Spanish missionaries because they found symbolic connections between the flowers of the passion fruit vine and the Passion of Christ story. But in other parts of the world, it is known as lilikoi (Hawaii), lingmangkon (Thailand), or chum bap (Vietnam).
Since arriving in Japan and Amami Island, the purple variety has grown to become the third most popular tropical fruit after pineapple and mango.
How to Enjoy Passion Fruit
The sweet, tart and aromatic passion fruit perfectly complements Amami’s local spirits made from kokuto sugar. Here are some key ways to combine the two components:
- Cut the passion fruit in half to use as a vessel and pour kokuto shochu directly into the fruit. This is a popular way to drink with Amami Island locals.
- Mix passion fruit juice, shochu, and soda water to make a deliciously aromatic chu-hi (shochu highball).
- Combine passion fruit juice and sugar over heat to make a syrup for cocktails.
A Passion Fruit Cocktail Recipe: Amami Swizzle
An excellent example of a refreshing cocktail using both Nankai Shochu and passion fruit is the Amami Swizzle by Markus McGee at Fish & Bird Izakaya in Berkeley, CA.
Amami Swizzle
Ingredients
- 1 half Passion Fruit
- 2 oz Nankai Shochu
- 0.75 oz Lime Juice
- 0.5 oz Kokuto Sugar Syrup
- 0.5 oz St George Terroir Gin
Instructions
- Scoop seeds and pulp from passion fruit into highball glass.1 half Passion Fruit
- Add remaining ingredients into highball glass.2 oz Nankai Shochu, 0.75 oz Lime Juice, 0.5 oz Kokuto Sugar Syrup, 0.5 oz St George Terroir Gin
- Fill glass with pebble or crushed ice.
- Using a bar spoon or swizzle stick, "swizzle" to mix.
- Garnish with passion fruit half (optional).
Nutrition
Other related cocktails to enjoy:
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The Amami Swizzle was a big hit!
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