SHOCHU-SOJO-SAKE

The word shōchū (焼 酎) is the Japanese rendition of the Chinese shaojiu (燒酒), meaning "burned liquor", which refers to the heating process during distillation.[2] The Chinese way of writing shaojiu with the character 酒 is considered archaic and obsolete in modern Japanese, which uses the character 酎. Nevertheless, both characters mean "liquor".