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Kagoshima · Mugi (barley)

  • white koji
  • honkaku
  • aged

Pour this first

Mugicha (barley tea), tall over ice. Genmaicha with it.

Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.

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

Mugi shochu in Kagoshima. Importer's tasting notes: soft, light bodied, clean, dry. Nobody here has tasted this one, so the profile below is estimated from what its importer publishes rather than from the glass.

  • barley
  • soft
  • light-bodied
  • clean
  • dry
  • sweet
  • aged
  • koji
Sweet
Body
Aroma
Fruit
Floral
Grain
Earth
Umami
Base
barley with barley koji
Koji
white koji
Distillation
single atmospheric (normal pressure) distillation
ABV
25%
Aging
more than 6 months

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 99 pairings

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Strong match

    Cold, unsweetened barley tea. Every Japanese fridge has a pitcher in summer. Mix one to three over ice.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Barley tea on barley shochu is the same grain, roasted, twice
    • Unsweetened, cold, and the most summer thing in Japan

  • Genmaicha

    Strong match

    Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Two toasted grains

  • Hojicha

    Strong match

    Cold-brewed or hot. Roasted green tea, low in bitterness, high in toast. The oyuwari of teas.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Roasted tea and aged notes are a fireside

  • Oolong tea

    Strong match

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

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Oolong-hai is the second most common shochu drink in Japanese izakaya

  • Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea)

    Strong match

    Roasted buckwheat, in any Japanese grocery, hot or cold. In a soba restaurant the same serve is made with soba-yu, the starchy water the noodles were boiled in, which is thicker and cannot be bought.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Roasted buckwheat and roasted barley are one idea arrived at from two grains

  • Jasmine tea

    Strong match

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

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Jasmine-hai is on izakaya menus next to oolong-hai
    • Perfumed tea on a clean bottle

  • Kabosu

    Strong match

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

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Oita grows the kabosu and distills the barley shochu; they were made for each other
    • Milder than sudachi, so it does not fight a delicate bottle

  • 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.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • The shochu highball: ice, shochu, cold soda, nothing else
    • Bubbles on a clean bottle: the simplest refreshing drink on this list

  • Sudachi

    Strong match

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

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Sudachi's green sharpness shows best on a clean bottle
    • Tokushima's citrus on a Kyushu spirit, sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets

  • Cucumber

    Strong match

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

    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.
    • Cucumber on a clean bottle is the most refreshing thing on this list
    • Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

  • Lemongrass

    Strong match

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

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven
    • Lemongrass perfume shows on a clean bottle

  • Shiso

    Strong match

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

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
    • Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour

  • Cold water (mizuwari)

    Good match

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

    • Barley has less to open up than sweet potato, so water shows you exactly what is there. That is a fair test and not always a flattering one: a thin mugi has nowhere to hide in it.
    • Mizuwari shows a clean bottle as it is, just lighter
    • Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Good match

    Cold brew, unsweetened. For barley, brown-sugar, cask-aged and awamori bottles; it will bury a daiginjo.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

    Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Black tea's tannin sits well with aged notes

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Good match

    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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • The peel is doing what the orange twist on an old fashioned does

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Barley shochu and ginger ale is an izakaya highball

  • 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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Mild enough that a light bottle is still the thing you taste

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Kumquat's bitter peel stands up to aged, nutty notes

  • Shikuwasa

    Good match

    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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Sharper and more bitter than a lime, which is what keeps it from disappearing into a light bottle

  • 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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • A clean bottle gives yuzu a blank page

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Good match

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

    • Sweet-sour ginger on a clean bottle
    • Barley shochu and gari brine is a bartender's shortcut to a ginger sour
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • 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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • On an already sweet bottle it turns to grapefruit candy
    • Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one
    • A dry bottle and grapefruit stay refreshing instead of turning sweet

  • 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.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Bitter tea and a sweet bottle argue
    • Barley shochu and green tea is on every izakaya menu in Japan
    • Cold-brewed sencha on a clean bottle is quiet and grown-up

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Good 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.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • An aged bottle is the one you would not lengthen with a beer substitute
    • One part shochu to five parts Hoppy lands near 4 percent and drinks like a pint with none of beer's body
    • It was built around neutral shochu, and that is still where it fits best

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Sweet soda and aged notes argue
    • Lemon sour in one pour
    • Sweet citrus bubbles on a clean bottle

  • Tonic water

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
    • Shochu tonic is the drink US bars pour most when they list shochu
    • Clean bottle and tonic is a gin and tonic without the juniper

  • Amaretto

    Good match

    A bar spoon, not an ounce. It is very sweet, and its job here is the almond smell rather than the sugar.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat

  • Amontillado sherry

    Good match

    Lustau or González Byass. Fino is salt and living flor; this is what is left after the flor dies, and at 18 percent an ounce lengthens the glass rather than strengthening it.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Both have spent years going quietly brown, and they meet in the middle

  • Coffee liqueur

    Good match

    Mr Black or a good Japanese one. Awamori and shochu makers bottle their own, so this is not a foreign idea imposed on the spirit.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • An espresso martini at this proof is a drink you can have after dinner and still talk

  • Fino sherry

    Good match

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Oxidative on oxidative

  • Genever

    Good match

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

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways

  • Apricot

    Good match

    Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
    • Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there

  • Basil

    Good match

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

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Basil on a clean bottle reads like a gin smash

  • 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

  • Cherry

    Good match

    Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
    • Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes

  • Gum syrup (gomme)

    Good match

    Small Hand Foods', or sugar, water and gum arabic from the baking aisle at home. Worth knowing that most Japanese gum syrup on a shelf today has no arabic gum in it at all.

    • A 25 percent spirit brings far less viscosity than a 40 percent one, so a shaken sour goes thin
    • The sweetener for a bottle you do not actually want to sweeten

  • Honey

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

    • Barley has less to open up than sweet potato, so water shows you exactly what is there. That is a fair test and not always a flattering one: a thin mugi has nowhere to hide in it.
    • Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi

  • 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.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • A single leaf on a clean bottle changes the whole glass

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Good match

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Intense citrus perfume on a clean bottle

  • Pear

    Good match

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

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
    • Soft bottles and pear are quiet together, which is the point

  • Thyme

    Good match

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

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Barley shochu and thyme is an unexpected, clean match

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

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

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
    • Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.

  • Ginger beer

    Good 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.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

  • Lime

    Good match

    Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.

  • 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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

  • Celery

    Good match

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

    • Celery fights sweetness
    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.
    • Celery on a clean bottle reads as a savory highball
    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair

  • Toasted sesame

    Good match

    A sesame syrup, or a rim of ground sesame and salt. Toasty and rich.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

    Good match

    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
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Miso

    Good match

    White miso whisked into a syrup, a small spoon per drink. Salty, sweet and savory at once.

    • Miso is koji too; the bottle and the paste share a mold
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Shiitake

    Good match

    A dried shiitake steeped in the spirit for a day. Savory and strange in the best way.

    • A long aged spirit and dried mushroom share a forest floor note
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • 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
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Umezu (ume plum vinegar)

    Good match

    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
    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Lemon

    Worth trying

    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.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • Fresh lemon reads harsh against aged, caramel notes
    • The lemon sour is Japan's most-ordered shochu drink for a reason

  • Coconut

    Worth trying

    Coconut water for lengthening, coconut milk or cream for weight.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • 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.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Madeira (dry, Sercial or Verdelho)

    Worth trying

    Blandy's or Barbeito, ten year. It is the one fortified wine that brings real acid, so it can do the lemon's job on a bottle where fresh citrus reads harsh.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Orgeat (almond syrup)

    Worth trying

    Almond syrup with a touch of orange blossom. The tiki sweetener, and kokuto shochu is a tiki spirit waiting to happen.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Shaoxing wine (drinking grade)

    Worth trying

    Buy the drinking grade from a shop with a liquor licence, not the salted cooking bottle, which will wreck the drink. A bar spoon is enough.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Agave syrup

    Worth trying

    The neutral sweetener. Use when you want to balance acid without adding a flavor.

    • A neutral sweetener that does not add flavor of its own

  • Apple

    Worth trying

    Cold-pressed juice or thin slices. Green apple is already in the aroma of a lot of rice shochu, so this amplifies what is there rather than adding something new.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.

  • Blueberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Gentle fruit for a gentle bottle

  • Cardamom

    Worth trying

    A few crushed pods, or a syrup. Floral, citrusy and warm at once; it bridges fruit and spice.

    • Spice on aged, nutty notes

  • Cinnamon

    Worth trying

    A stick in hot water with the spirit, or a light syrup. Winter.

    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy

  • Cranberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Two dry things that stay dry

  • Ginger liqueur

    Worth trying

    Domaine de Canton or similar. The mule flavour without the sugar load of a ginger beer, and it works hot as well as cold.

    • Warm spice against caramel, without the sugar a ginger beer brings

  • Goya (bitter melon)

    Worth trying

    Two slices from any Asian grocery, seeds out. The bitterness is water soluble, so at 25 percent it steeps in minutes and stops there, where a 40 percent spirit pulls it medicinal within the hour.

    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.

  • 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.

    • A clean bottle lets the tea bitterness read as bitterness rather than mud

  • Honeydew melon

    Worth trying

    Ripe honeydew, juiced or in cubes. If a bottle says melon on the label, this is the proof.

    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.

  • Kiwi

    Worth trying

    Muddled with the seeds. Green, sour and refreshing, and cheap year round.

    • Kiwi's tartness shows on a clean bottle

  • Lychee liqueur

    Worth trying

    Kwai Feh or Dita. Perfumed and quite sweet, so treat it as the aroma and let the shochu stay the drink.

    • A clean bottle is the right blank page for something this perfumed

  • Makgeolli

    Worth trying

    Hana Makgeolli is brewed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Makku sells a canned one. Strength varies widely across the category, from around 6 percent in a can to the mid teens for an unfiltered takju, so read the label before deciding how much to pour.

    • The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out

  • Maple syrup

    Worth trying

    Dark, in small amounts, for the cask and sweet-potato bottles.

    • Maple and aged, caramel notes

  • 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.

    • Sweet enough to need a clean base under it

  • Muscat grape

    Worth trying

    Green muscat grapes, halved or juiced. Shine Muscat if you can find it.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.

  • Orange liqueur

    Worth trying

    Cointreau or a dry curaçao. The sweet-and-citrus half of any sour.

    • Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Worth trying

    Dried osmanthus flowers steeped, or the syrup. Apricot and honey, and the smell of October in Japan.

    • Honeyed flower on honeyed age

  • 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

  • Sake (in a shochu drink)

    Worth trying

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

    • Koji meets koji

  • 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.

    • The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb

  • Star anise

    Worth trying

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Anise and aged notes are a winter cabinet

  • Umeshu

    Worth trying

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

    • Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda

  • White peach

    Worth trying

    The bellini fruit. Nectar from a Japanese market, or a ripe peach muddled through a strainer.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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

  • Fig

    Worth trying

    Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
    • Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Worth trying

    Suze or Salers. Bitter root, bright yellow. A little in a highball changes everything.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • A clean bottle and gentian is a white negroni
    • Barley shochu, gentian, tonic: a bitter highball

  • Maraschino

    Worth trying

    Luxardo. Dry rather than sweet despite the name, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

    • On an already sweet bottle it tips the glass into syrup
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Maraschino is what makes a stirred aged drink taste finished rather than flat

  • Dry vermouth

    Worth trying

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

    • Dry vermouth and a sweet bottle argue
    • Two clean, dry things
    • Shochu and dry vermouth is a Japanese martini at half the proof

  • Mint

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint's brightness argues with aged notes
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Mint on a clean bottle is a mojito at half the proof

  • Tomato

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Sweet bottles make tomato taste like ketchup
    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.
    • Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order

  • Watermelon

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

    • Watermelon is too fresh for aged notes
    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.
    • Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

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

    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

  • Sea salt

    Worth trying

    A pinch in the glass or a half rim. Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts; it makes it taste more like itself.

    • Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

Ways to serve it

  • Mizuwari (with water)
  • On the rocks

Barley is the easiest shochu to hand to someone who has never had any. It behaves like a clean grain spirit with a little cereal sweetness, so a highball with lemon needs no explaining and no apology.

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

  • thesgshochu.com

    Pegu Club

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu MUGI, also a barley shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 40%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu mugi 40ml
    • cointreau 20ml
    • lemon juice 13ml
    • angostura bitters 1 dash
    • orange bitters 1 dash

    Shaken.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • 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 →

  • 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 →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Oolong-Hai (Shochu Iced Tea)

    Written for barley shochu

    • 6 parts oolong tea (substitute with sencha (green tea) for a sencha-hai)
    • 4 parts shochu (i recommend satsuma imo (sweet potato) or mugi (barley))
    • ice

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Yuzu Chuhai

    Written for iichiko

    iichiko is a range rather than one bottle, so the strength and the style vary across it. Treat this as a starting point.

    • 2.5 oz iichiko bar yuzu liqueur
    • 1 oz iichiko barley shochu
    • 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
    • ice
    • club soda

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

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 mugi shochu.