Homemade Mirin

"I wasn't aware until today that virtually all of the mirin found in grocery stores is fake, synthetic stuff. According to Andrea Nguyen at Vietworldkitchen, you should be able to drink well-made mirin. For example, toso is a mirin that's infused with various Chinese medicinal herbs. It used to be a new year libation. But synthetic mirin is the norm these days, and it’s not fit for drinking. The popularity of modern, synthetic mirin dates to the post World War II era, when Japan’s tax on the authentic, boozy version of mirin rose to 230 percent, due to the severe rice shortage. People were forced to rely on the cheaper synthetic stuff, and few people ever looked back. Not only that, but the grocery store version is much lower in alcohol and contains a smidgen of salt, to make the liquid unpalatable. Otherwise, it would need to be sold in the liquor aisle, with sales controlled by age. For good mirin, you would have to buy it in an Asian store, but make sure to read the ingredients. The fake stuff is chock full of HFCS. Or you can make this version, which isn't real by any stretch, but is much better than the fake store-bought stuff."