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Yes a few times.
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I very much enjoy really good quality shochu and have had some mediocre ones, though my exposure and knowledge is very limited. And I don’t know enough how to pick a good bottle (unlike sake). One of the best I’ve tasted recently is made by Hawaii Shochu company (namely the lineup called Nami Hana, or Wave Flower), Japanese technique with locally grown Hawaiian sweet potatoes. The company bottles one exclusively for Sushi Sho (Waikiki) and it is fantastic. Had an absolutely delicious one (imo) at a higher end yakitori restaurant in Tokyo…don’t remember the name but it was from Kagoshima where they are known for imo shochu and it paired so well with the food. Other than that, I’ve had several in house made umeshu where shochu was the base with varying degrees of excellence. One of my favorites is an Okinawa umeshu (made with awamori, awesome strong stuff), and you might be able to find it at Nijiya or Mitsuwa.
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Can’t speak for LA, but in general and in glancing at the product catalogs for JFC / MTC / MMsake, the perceived availability and variety of imported shochu does not seem as wide (compared to sake), and perhaps too many big company/established brand name offerings in that small lot, versus smaller, artisan style breweries/companies that potentially have higher quality offerings.
On the extreme side, there are the Juyondai equivalent of shochu that every hardcore Japanese izakaya and drinking establishment (even in Northern California) knows about and may have some decorative empty bottles adorning their shelves. Basically DRC type phantom / unicorn / dream super highly sought after and lottery assigned for purchasing bottles in Japan… Maoh 魔王, Mori-Izo 森伊蔵, and Murao for those in the know.