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Dabada Hiburi

Mutemuka · Kochi · Chestnut shochu

  • honkaku

Pour this first

Ginger ale, tall over ice. Lemon with it.

These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.

One part shochu to three or four parts mixer, over plenty of ice. If it tastes thin, go two to three next time.

What it tastes like

Chestnut shochu from Mutemuka in Kochi. Importer's tasting notes: barley, rice, soft. Nobody here has tasted this one, so the profile below is estimated from what its importer publishes rather than from the glass.

  • chestnut
  • barley
  • rice
  • soft
  • koji
Sweet
Body
Aroma
Fruit
Floral
Grain
Earth
Umami
Base
chestnut (half the ingredients), barley and rice, with rice koji
Distillation
slow low-temperature distillation
ABV
25%

What to mix with it

Tap a family to narrow it down. Every suggestion carries its reasoning, so if the reasoning does not convince you, ignore the suggestion.

Explore all 74 pairings

  • Ginger ale

    Strong match

    The gentle ginger. For bottles that a ginger beer would bully.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Gentler than ginger beer; right for a soft rice bottle
    • Barley shochu and ginger ale is an izakaya highball

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Strong match

    The shortcut to a sour when there is no fresh lemon. Less sweet is better.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Lemon sour in one pour
    • Rice shochu and lemon soda

  • Soda water

    Strong match

    Cold, and fizzy enough to matter. One part shochu to three or four parts soda; if it tastes thin, go one to two next time.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • The shochu highball: ice, shochu, cold soda, nothing else
    • Shochu and soda over ice is the most ordinary drink in Japan

  • Tonic water

    Strong match

    A dry tonic (Fever-Tree, Q). One part spirit, three parts tonic, a citrus wedge.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Shochu tonic is the drink US bars pour most when they list shochu
    • Shochu tonic: bitter, sweet, low proof, and better than it sounds

  • Ginger beer

    Strong match

    A spicy one, not a sweet one. The mule format works for every dark shochu, and it is the most forgiving way to serve one.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • A shochu mule, and it is on menus

  • Kombucha

    Strong match

    A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, none of which survive a still.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Acid and bubbles on rice sweetness

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Strong match

    Dry cava or crémant. Acid and bubbles in one pour, which is exactly what a distilled spirit has none of.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Shochu and brut sparkling is a French 75 at lower proof; the acid is the point

  • Dry vermouth

    Strong match

    Dolin dry or Noilly Prat. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold.

    • Rice shochu and dry vermouth, stirred, is the martini bars actually serve at this proof
    • Shochu and dry vermouth is a Japanese martini at half the proof
    • Rice shochu, dry vermouth, a lemon twist

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Strong match

    Hoppy Beverage Co. has made it in Tokyo since 1948; at 0.8 percent it is legally a soft drink, and it is hard to find outside Japan. Chill the bottle, the shochu and the mug and no ice is needed.

    • These bottles already have one strong flavour in them. Soda gives it room instead of competing with it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Lemon

    Strong match

    Fresh juice, never bottled. It is the whole basis of the lemon sour, and the quickest way to put acid into a spirit that has almost none of its own.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • The lemon sour is Japan's most-ordered shochu drink for a reason
    • Rice sweetness wants acid, and lemon is the simplest acid there is

  • Cold water (mizuwari)

    Strong match

    Soft water, cold, over ice or not. One to one is normal. Mix a day ahead (maewari) and the edges round off.

    • Water dilutes the botanical without adding anything to argue with it. Useful when the bottle is strong enough that soda would only make it louder.
    • Rice shochu mizuwari is a dinner drink in Kumamoto
    • Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic

  • Sudachi

    Strong match

    A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Tokushima's citrus on a Kyushu spirit, sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets
    • Squeezed over rice, it is the flavor of a Japanese autumn table

  • Shiso

    Good match

    Green shiso leaves, slapped or muddled gently. Red shiso as a syrup. Japan already makes shiso shochu, which tells you it works.

    • Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
    • Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Chamomile

    Good match

    Cold-brewed chamomile as a lengthener, or steeped in the spirit.

    • Gentle flower, gentle bottle
    • Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

  • Cucumber

    Good match

    Ribbons or muddled slices. Cucumber is what turns a serious glass into something you drink outside without thinking about it.

    • Cucumber and rice is the flavor of a Japanese summer lunch
    • Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

  • Grapefruit

    Good match

    Bitter, bright and forgiving. Ruby or white both work; white is drier. The grapefruit sour is a real bar order in Japan, not a novelty.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Good match

    Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. The green tea highball is one of the most common ways shochu is actually drunk in Japan.

    • Ryokucha-hai: rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu order
    • Barley shochu and green tea is on every izakaya menu in Japan

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Good match

    Hot water in the glass first, spirit poured on top so it mixes itself. Around 40C in the glass is the sweet spot. This is not the only way, it is one way.

    • Water dilutes the botanical without adding anything to argue with it. Useful when the bottle is strong enough that soda would only make it louder.
    • Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi

  • Hyuganatsu

    Good match

    A Miyazaki citrus eaten with the white pith left on, which is sweet rather than bitter. Gentler and more floral than lemon, so it flavours a drink without taking it over.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Softer acid than lemon, so the rice sweetness stays in the glass

  • Kabosu

    Good match

    Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Oita grows the kabosu and distills the barley shochu; they were made for each other

  • Mikan (satsuma)

    Good match

    Sweet, low-acid Japanese mandarin. Juice it or drop segments in a glass. It needs a squeeze of something sharper alongside.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Mikan juice over rice sweetness is gentle and familiar

  • Oolong tea

    Good match

    Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice.

    • Oolong-hai is the second most common shochu drink in Japanese izakaya
    • Rice shochu and oolong is a Kyushu dinner drink

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Good match

    A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

    • Gari sits next to sushi rice; it sits next to a rice spirit for the same reason
    • Barley shochu and gari brine is a bartender's shortcut to a ginger sour

  • Sake (in a shochu drink)

    Good match

    A dry junmai as the lengthener for rice shochu, one to two. Low proof, all rice.

    • Rice shochu lengthened with a junmai: the same grain, fermented and distilled, in one glass
    • Koji meets koji

  • Tomato

    Good match

    Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. The savour koji leaves behind and the savour in a tomato are the same glutamate.

    • Tomato juice and a savory junmai is a Japanese bloody mary
    • Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

    Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

    • Ume sour: the second most ordered shochu drink in Japan after lemon
    • Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order

  • Umeboshi

    Good match

    One salted plum, crushed with a spoon in the glass. Salty, sour, savory.

    • One umeboshi in a glass of barley shochu and hot water is the oldest shochu drink there is
    • Ume and rice is a rice ball

  • Umeshu

    Good match

    Sweet, sour, almondy. A splash does the work of both syrup and citrus.

    • Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
    • Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda

  • Yuzu

    Good match

    The Japanese citrus that tastes like grapefruit, mandarin and lemon at once, with a floral peel. A little zest or juice goes a long way.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • The classic pair: rice sweetness under yuzu zest

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Good match

    The Korean-style yuzu preserve sold in jars. A spoon in hot water with shochu, or shaken cold.

    • Yuzu tea and barley shochu in hot water is a winter izakaya drink
    • Hot water, rice shochu, a spoon of yuzu tea

  • Kinome (sansho leaf)

    Good match

    Young sansho leaves, clapped between the palms and floated. Hard to find outside Japanese markets in spring, worth the hunt.

    • The classic spring garnish for rice dishes; it belongs on rice wine too
    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Lemongrass

    Good match

    Bruised stalks steeped in the spirit, or a syrup. Citrus without acid, which is useful when you want aroma but not sourness.

    • A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven
    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Thyme

    Good match

    Gentler than rosemary. Steep a sprig, or use a thyme syrup.

    • Barley shochu and thyme is an unexpected, clean match
    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Worth trying

    The non-alcoholic koji drink, sweet from rice starch alone. Blend with the spirit and ice; it is a shochu smoothie.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Koji rice porridge on a rice drink; the same koji, before and after fermentation
    • Koji meets koji
    • Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Worth trying

    Campari, Aperol, or a Japanese bitter like Kina. Shochu is low enough in proof to make an aperitivo you can actually have two of.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • A negroni built on shochu is a real drink on real menus
    • Shochu and Campari with soda is an Americano with a Kyushu accent
    • A strong bitter will argue with the botanical rather than support it. Keep it to a dash.

  • Blood orange

    Worth trying

    Orange with a raspberry edge. Winter fruit; worth waiting for.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

  • Blueberry

    Worth trying

    Muddled, or as a syrup. Mild; bring acid from elsewhere.

    • Gentle fruit for a gentle bottle

  • Calpico (cultured milk)

    Worth trying

    The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a national drink in Japan.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Calpis sour: one of the most ordered chuhai in Japan
    • Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
    • Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.

  • Celery

    Worth trying

    Juiced, or a stalk as the stirrer. Savory, salty and cold.

    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair

  • Cranberry

    Worth trying

    Unsweetened juice. Sharp and a little tannic, useful for cutting sweetness.

    • Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Worth trying

    Bitter orange: sour and aromatic rather than sweet, the citrus that goes into ponzu. Bottled juice is sold for cooking and works straight in a glass. Use the peel too, it carries most of the smell.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

  • Egg white

    Worth trying

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Egg white on a rice spirit is a silky, low proof pisco sour
    • Barley shochu sour, dry shake, egg white: a real bar drink
    • Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.

  • Elderflower liqueur

    Worth trying

    St-Germain or similar. A half ounce is enough.

    • Shochu, elderflower liqueur, lemon: a sour that tastes like spring

  • Fino sherry

    Worth trying

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Rice shochu and fino, stirred: a bamboo variation

  • Genever

    Worth trying

    Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.

    • Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways

  • Ginger

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, a syrup, or a good ginger beer. The spice that makes a low-proof drink feel like it has a backbone.

    • Ginger and rice: think of the pickled ginger next to sushi

  • Green tea liqueur

    Worth trying

    Sweeter and rounder than brewing your own matcha, and it dissolves properly, which matcha powder in a cold drink does not.

    • Rice and green tea is an ordinary Japanese meal, not a novelty

  • Hibiscus

    Worth trying

    Cold-brewed hibiscus tea: sour, cranberry-red and floral. Acid and color in one pour.

    • Its acid is what rice bottles need

  • Honey

    Worth trying

    Diluted one to one with warm water so it mixes cold. A little goes far; taste before adding more.

    • Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy

  • Jasmine tea

    Worth trying

    Cold-brewed. Floral without sugar. The jasmine highball is a real menu item in Japan.

    • Jasmine-hai is on izakaya menus next to oolong-hai

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

    A small piece steeped in the bottle overnight. Savory depth without salt.

    • Steeping kombu in alcohol is a real preparation in a Japanese kitchen

  • Kumquat

    Worth trying

    Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

  • Kuri (chestnut) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Zuiyo's Kuririn, from Japanese chestnuts at 11 percent, or Dover's wa-shu kuri, which is on a rum base. A dessert direction, and not the same thing as kuri shochu, which is a base spirit.

    • A chestnut liqueur on a chestnut shochu is the same nut twice, which is the whole idea

  • Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

    Worth trying

    Sakamoto's, fermented outdoors in earthenware jars in Fukuyama and aged at least a year; Toiro and Japanese Taste ship it in the US. A teaspoon in a mizuwari is the whole intervention, and a second one is usually a mistake.

    • Black vinegar is rice fermented with koji and then soured, so it is the same mould arriving a second time

  • Matcha

    Worth trying

    Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

    • Rice and matcha agree, which is why the pairing turns up on menus at all

  • Melon liqueur

    Worth trying

    Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.

    • Ginjo-scented rice shochu and melon are the same aroma family

  • Olive brine

    Worth trying

    A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.

    • Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way

  • Orange

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

  • Peach liqueur

    Worth trying

    A good one (Giffard, Merlet). A shortcut to the bellini when peaches are out of season.

    • Barley shochu, peach liqueur, oolong: a Japanese izakaya order

  • Pear

    Worth trying

    Ripe pear, muddled or as nectar. Delicate, so it belongs with delicate bottles.

    • Soft bottles and pear are quiet together, which is the point

  • Raspberry

    Worth trying

    Sour enough to be useful. Muddle a handful, or use a good puree.

    • Its acidity is what soft rice bottles need

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Worth trying

    Salt-pickled blossoms (rinsed) or sakura syrup. Floral, faintly almond, a touch of salt.

    • Salt-pickled blossoms in a rice drink is a Japanese spring

  • Sansho pepper

    Worth trying

    A pinch of ground sansho over the top, or a few peppercorns steeped. Numbing, citrusy, green.

    • Sansho and rice is a Kyoto kitchen

  • Shikuwasa

    Worth trying

    Okinawa's own citrus, picked green and sharp, more bitter than lime and more floral than sudachi. Squeezed over awamori and soda it is what the islands actually drink.

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

  • Shiso liqueur

    Worth trying

    Usually red shiso, so it comes out pink. Sharper and more herbal than it looks, and a little goes a long way.

    • Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour

  • Umezu (ume plum vinegar)

    Worth trying

    Eden Foods sells it as Ume Plum Vinegar in most US supermarkets, and it is one of the cheapest things on this list. A bar spoon, and unlike a crushed umeboshi it can go into a shaken drink.

    • Salt and lactic acid land on the sweetness koji leaves behind

  • Wasabi

    Worth trying

    A rice-grain amount, dissolved. For the savory, cucumber glass, not the fruit one.

    • Wasabi and rice is sushi

  • Watermelon

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

    • Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer

  • Yuzu liqueur (yuzushu)

    Worth trying

    Sweet yuzu liqueur, usually on a sake or shochu base. A shortcut to yuzu when the fruit is out of season.

    • Barley shochu, yuzushu, soda: a yuzu sour without a yuzu

  • Crème de cassis

    Worth trying

    A bar spoon. Cassis-oolong is one of the most common izakaya orders in Japan.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • A kir at half the proof: rice shochu and a spoon of cassis
    • Cassis and oolong with shochu is an izakaya standard

  • Basil

    Worth trying

    Muddled gently with citrus. Thai basil brings anise, Italian basil brings pepper.

    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Dill

    Worth trying

    Fronds, gently muddled. For the savory, saline glass.

    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

  • Mint

    Worth trying

    Slapped, not muddled to bits. Mint reads as cold, which makes any low-proof drink feel more refreshing.

    • Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.

Ways to serve it

  • With soda
  • On the rocks

These are shochu with one loud idea in them, shiso or sesame or green tea. Treat the botanical as the drink's flavour and everything else as its frame, and do not try to add a second loud idea.

Cocktails other people made

Nobody has published a cocktail written for this exact bottle. These were written for other bottles, so each one says which, and what changes if you pour this instead.

Show 8 more

  • Pickled Plum

    Umeboshi Sour (Pickled Plum Cocktail)

    Written for shochu generally

    • ice cubes
    • 1/4 cup shōchū (such as iichiko)
    • 3/4 cup sparkling water
    • 1 1/2 tablespoon umezu (plum vinegar)
    • 1/2 teaspoon plain rice vinegar
    • 1/2 teaspoon honey (optional)
    • 1 large soft umeboshi (japanese pickled plum)
    • 1 shiso leaf, whole or shredded, for garnish (optional)

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

  • Just One Cookbook

    Japanese Yuzu Cocktail (Yuzu Chuhai)

    Written for shochu generally

    • ½ cup club soda (soda water)
    • ¼ cup shochu (any brand or type)
    • 1 tbsp homemade simple syrup
    • 1 tsp yuzu juice (extract)
    • ice cubes
    • 1, 2 tsp korean citron tea (yuja cha) (optional)
    • lime (optional; can use lemon)

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Just One Cookbook →

  • Pickled Plum

    Lemon Sour (Japanese)

    Written for shochu generally

    • juice of 1/2 lemon
    • 1/4 cup shōchū (or soju)
    • 1/2 cup soda water
    • 1 tablespoon simple syrup (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
    • ice cubes

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

  • punchdrink.com · Brian Evans and George Padilla, Brooklyn, New York

    The Rule of Thirds Chu-Hai

    Written for shochu generally

    • 1 1/2 ounces shochu
    • 1 1/4 ounce grapefruit juice
    • 3/4 ounce sweetened hojicha tea (see editor's note)
    • club soda, to top

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Kelly Brophy, Cheu Noodle Bar, Philadelphia, PA

    Blue Calpico Chu-Hai

    Written for Gyokuo

    We hold no record for that bottle, so treat this as a starting point rather than a match.

    • 1/4 ounce blue curaçao, preferably bols
    • 1 ounce calpico concentrate
    • 1 ounce green tea shochu, preferably gyokuo
    • 1 ounce gin, preferably bluecoat
    • 1/4 ounce lemon juice
    • soda water

    Shaken.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Xavier Herit, New York City

    Sho Sho

    Written for Akanone Carrot Shochu

    We hold no record for that bottle, so treat this as a starting point rather than a match.

    • 1 ounce akanone carrot shochu
    • 1 ounce oloroso sherry
    • 3/4 ounce lime juice
    • 3/4 ounce carrot-ginger syrup (see editor's note)
    • root beer

    Shaken.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

Bottles like this one

Closest on the flavour profile within the same style family, so the mixers above tend to carry across.

Sources and verification

Filed under shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu.