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Ginrei Shiro

Takahashi Shuzo · Kumamoto · Kome (rice)

  • white koji
  • honkaku
  • aged

Pour this first

Jasmine tea, tall over ice. Yuzu with it.

Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.

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

Kome shochu from Takahashi Shuzo in Kumamoto. Importer's tasting notes: floral, smooth, soft. Nobody here has tasted this one, so the profile below is estimated from what its importer publishes rather than from the glass.

  • rice
  • floral
  • smooth
  • soft
  • aged
  • koji
Sweet
Body
Aroma
Fruit
Floral
Grain
Earth
Umami
Base
rice with rice koji, fermented at low temperature with ginjo yeast
Koji
white koji
Distillation
single vacuum (reduced pressure) distillation
ABV
24%
Aging
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 107 pairings

  • Yuzu

    Strong 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Yuzu's perfume sits beside floral notes instead of covering them
    • The classic pair: rice sweetness under yuzu zest

  • 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.

    • 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
    • Bubbles carry floral notes to the nose

  • Dry vermouth

    Strong match

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

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

  • Elderflower liqueur

    Strong match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • The liqueur version of the flower, for stirred drinks
    • Shochu, elderflower liqueur, lemon: a sour that tastes like spring

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Strong match

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

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Autumn blossom on a floral bottle
    • Honeyed flower on honeyed age

  • Sake (in a shochu drink)

    Strong match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Rice shochu lengthened with a junmai: the same grain, fermented and distilled, in one glass
    • Koji meets koji

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Strong match

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

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Salt-pickled blossoms in a rice drink is a Japanese spring
    • Blossom on blossom

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Strong match

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

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Black tea's tannin sits well with aged notes

  • Blood orange

    Strong match

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

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Its berry side flatters floral bottles

  • Grapefruit

    Strong 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Its bitter peel gives floral bottles a spine

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Strong match

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

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Ryokucha-hai: rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu order

  • Hyuganatsu

    Strong 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Softer acid than lemon, so the rice sweetness stays in the glass

  • Jasmine tea

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Jasmine tea on a floral bottle is a flower shop

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Kumquat's bitter peel stands up to aged, nutty notes

  • 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Mikan juice over rice sweetness is gentle and familiar

  • 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.

    • Rice sweetness comes forward in warmth rather than being washed out by it, which is why the hot serve is the traditional one in Kuma, where rice shochu has been distilled for around five hundred years. source
    • Rice shochu mizuwari is a dinner drink in Kumamoto

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Squeezed over rice, it is the flavor of a Japanese autumn table

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • 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

  • Soda water

    Good 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.

    • 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 soda over ice is the most ordinary drink in Japan

  • Citric and malic acid solution

    Good match

    Food-grade citric and malic powder from the canning aisle, 10 grams whisked into 100 grams of cold water; two parts citric to one malic is close to lime. Some bartenders find a drink with no juice in it thin, so it is worth trying both ways.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Sourness with nothing attached to it, so the bottle's own perfume stays in front

  • 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.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Good match

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

    • Koji rice porridge on a rice drink; the same koji, before and after fermentation
    • Koji meets koji

  • Apricot

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there

  • Apricot liqueur

    Good match

    Rothman and Winter, or a Japanese anzu liqueur. Closer to umeshu than to a candy liqueur if you buy a good one.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there

  • Blanc vermouth

    Good match

    Dolin blanc or Lillet. Sweeter and more floral than dry; for the aromatic bottles.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Blanc vermouth's flowers and vanilla meet floral bottles

  • Cardamom

    Good match

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

    • Cardamom is a floral spice; floral bottles meet it
    • Spice on aged, nutty notes

  • Crème de cassis

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • A kir at half the proof: rice shochu and a spoon of cassis

  • Chamomile

    Good match

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

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Gentle flower, gentle bottle

  • Cherry

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes

  • Cucumber

    Good match

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

    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.
    • Cucumber and rice is the flavor of a Japanese summer lunch

  • Elderflower

    Good match

    Cordial or the liqueur. Muscat, lychee and honey in one flower.

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz

  • Fig

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry

  • Green tea liqueur

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Rice and green tea is an ordinary Japanese meal, not a novelty

  • Hibiscus

    Good match

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

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Its acid is what rice bottles need

  • Honey

    Good match

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

    • Honey and flowers are one thing
    • Honey and aged notes

  • Jasmine

    Good match

    A syrup or a few dried blossoms steeped. See jasmine tea for the long drink.

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Jasmine amplifies whatever floral note the bottle has

  • Karin (quince) liqueur

    Good match

    Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Raw quince is inedible and gives up its scent only in alcohol, so the liqueur is the only practical form; it opens up in hot water.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it

  • Lychee liqueur

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Lychee and a floral bottle are one perfume, not two

  • Maraschino

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Maraschino is what makes a stirred aged drink taste finished rather than flat

  • Melon liqueur

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Ginjo-scented rice shochu and melon are the same aroma family

  • Muscat grape

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Muscat is the most floral grape there is

  • Orange liqueur

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur

  • Pear

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Soft bottles and pear are quiet together, which is the point

  • Raspberry

    Good match

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

    • Raspberry has a rose note that floral bottles meet
    • Its acidity is what soft rice bottles need

  • Rose

    Good match

    A drop of rose water, or a rose syrup. A drop; it takes over.

    • The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
    • Rose on a floral bottle is a perfume counter

  • Shiso liqueur

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour

  • Sweet vermouth (rosso)

    Good match

    Carpano Antica or Cocchi. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold, is a manhattan at well under half the usual proof.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • An aged bottle already has the caramel a manhattan wants; this brings the botanicals

  • Umeshu

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent

  • White peach

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Peach and floral notes are one perfume

  • Yuzu liqueur (yuzushu)

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Yuzu perfume and floral notes

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.

  • Pu-erh tea

    Good match

    Loose or bagged, brewed weak: at full strength it takes the glass over. Takara's own guide to tea-wari lists it alongside mugicha and sobacha.

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.

  • 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.

  • Tonic water

    Good match

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

    • Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Tonic's quinine lets floral bottles show
    • Shochu tonic: bitter, sweet, low proof, and better than it sounds

  • Fino sherry

    Good match

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Fino's salt flattens perfume
    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Oxidative on oxidative
    • Rice shochu and fino, stirred: a bamboo variation

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Good match

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

    • A negroni built on shochu is a real drink on real menus
    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Tonic syrup (cinchona concentrate)

    Good match

    Jack Rudy's Extra Bitter, made with real cinchona bark, or Small Hand Foods'. Half a teaspoon and soda, set to the bottle in front of you rather than to a tonic maker's idea of a spirit.

    • Bottled tonic's sugar is set for a 40 percent spirit, which is why shochu tonics can taste like lemonade
    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Daidai's bitterness sits on top of a delicate floral bottle rather than beside it
    • The peel is doing what the orange twist on an old fashioned does

  • 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.

    • Rice sweetness wants acid the way sake does, and yuzu over rice is the oldest flavour pairing in the Japanese kitchen.
    • Fresh lemon reads harsh against aged, caramel notes
    • Rice sweetness wants acid, and lemon is the simplest acid there is

  • Matcha

    Worth trying

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

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Matcha's bitterness flattens perfume
    • Rice and matcha agree, which is why the pairing turns up on menus at all

  • Oolong tea

    Worth trying

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

    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Oolong's tannin flattens delicate perfume
    • Rice shochu and oolong is a Kyushu dinner drink

  • Allspice dram

    Worth trying

    St. Elizabeth, in 375ml. A bar spoon is the whole dose: concentrated enough to flavour a low-proof drink without diluting it or raising it.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • 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.

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.

  • Aquavit

    Worth trying

    Linie, around thirty-five dollars, rested in oloroso casks at sea so it brings a little wood as well. A quarter ounce as a split base.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Bénédictine

    Worth trying

    D.O.M. Bénédictine, on most back bars. Rounder and much sweeter than the alpine liqueurs, so it suits bottles that already lean sweet rather than clean.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Blueberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Gentle fruit for a gentle bottle

  • Cantaloupe

    Worth trying

    Sweeter and muskier than honeydew. Prosciutto logic: it likes salt nearby.

    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.

  • Celery

    Worth trying

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

    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.

  • Cinnamon

    Worth trying

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

    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy

  • White crème de cacao

    Worth trying

    Tempus Fugit or Giffard. Clear, so the drink stays pale, and at about the shochu's own strength, so an ounce lengthens rather than fortifies.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Egg white

    Worth trying

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • Egg white on a rice spirit is a silky, low proof pisco sour

  • Falernum

    Worth trying

    John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, about twenty dollars. At 11 percent it behaves like a syrup, so it sweetens and thickens without raising the drink.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • 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.

    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.

  • Hon-mirin

    Worth trying

    Mikawa Mirin from Sumiya Bunjiro Shoten, made from glutinous rice, koji and shochu since 1911 with no added sugar. Not the sweetened seasoning sold as mirin-fu chomiryo, which is a different product.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Honeydew melon

    Worth trying

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

    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.

  • Kinome (sansho leaf)

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Lychee

    Worth trying

    Fresh in early summer, canned in syrup the rest of the year (drain it). The signature aroma of a whole school of imo shochu.

    • Lychee is half fruit, half flower, and floral bottles agree

  • 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.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • 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.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Maple syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • Maple and aged, caramel notes

  • Passion fruit

    Worth trying

    The most useful tropical fruit for mixing: intensely aromatic and properly sour. Pulp with seeds, or a good puree.

    • Its own floral note joins the bottle's

  • Peach liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Pedro Ximénez sherry (PX)

    Worth trying

    Lustau San Emilio. Effectively a raisin syrup that happens to be wine, so a bar spoon sweetens and adds body where sugar syrup would only add sugar.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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

  • Shiso

    Worth trying

    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

  • Sumomo (Japanese plum) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Dewazakura's from Yamagata plums, or Machida Shuzo's on Amami kokuto shochu. It does umeshu's job and leaves the glass drier, which matters when the bottle is already sweet.

    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

  • 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

  • Yellow peach

    Worth trying

    Bolder than white peach, closer to apricot. For bottles with more weight.

    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Worth trying

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

    • Hot water, rice shochu, a spoon of yuzu tea

  • Genmaicha

    Worth trying

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu dinner order, not a novelty.
    • Toasted rice tea and a rice spirit are the same grain twice

  • Ginger beer

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Ginger beer covers delicate perfume
    • 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

    Worth trying

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

    • No
    • 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

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Worth trying

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

    • Sweet soda and aged notes argue
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Rice shochu and lemon soda

  • Amontillado sherry

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Oxidation sits on top of a delicate perfume rather than beside it
    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Both have spent years going quietly brown, and they meet in the middle

  • 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.

    • Ginger heat walks over a delicate bottle
    • Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
    • Warm spice against caramel, without the sugar a ginger beer brings

  • 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.

    • Tomato and perfume do not belong in one glass
    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.
    • Tomato juice and a savory junmai is a Japanese bloody mary

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Worth trying

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

    • Umeboshi's salt flattens delicate perfume
    • Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
    • Ume sour: the second most ordered shochu drink in Japan after lemon

  • Watermelon

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

    • Watermelon is too fresh for aged notes
    • Melon and cucumber sit in the same aroma family as a ginjo-scented rice spirit.
    • Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer

  • Alpine amaro (Braulio-style)

    Worth trying

    Braulio, made in Bormio from gentian, juniper, peppermint and yarrow, around forty-five dollars. A summer drink on shochu and a winter one on whisky, which is one bottle behaving two ways.

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Carciofo amaro (Cynar-style)

    Worth trying

    Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than the shochu itself, so equal parts lands near 20 percent and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Celery bitters

    Worth trying

    Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Worth trying

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

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Japanese craft bitters (yuzu, shiso, umami)

    Worth trying

    The Japanese Bitters, five 100ml expressions, sold at Astor Wines in New York. Angostura at nearly 45 percent is a small spike in a 25 percent drink in a way these are not.

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Worth trying

    Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. Lillet dropped its quinine in 1985, so only the Americano side of the category still tastes of the bark, and equal parts with a shochu is about 21 percent.

    • A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.

Ways to serve it

  • Straight
  • On the rocks

Rice shochu is what happens when you distil something very close to sake. It carries the same apple and melon aromatics, which makes it the shochu that behaves most like a white spirit in a stirred drink.

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

  • punchdrink.com · Kenta Goto, New York City

    Hakumai Highball

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Hakutake Shiro, also a rice shochu.

    • 1 ounce rice shochu (such as hakutake shiro)
    • 3/4 ounce rice vodka (such as suntory haku)
    • 4 ounces soda water

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • thesgshochu.com

    Sherry Cobbler

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu KOME, also a rice shochu. This bottle is lighter, 24% against 40%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu kome 20ml
    • oloroso sherry 20ml
    • st. germain 10ml
    • apple juice 30ml
    • lemon juice 5ml
    • simple syrup 1 bar spoon

    Shaken.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • 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

    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 →

  • 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 →

  • 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 · Don Lee, Existing Conditions, New York

    Iichiko "Oyuwari"

    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 ounces iichiko shochu
    • 1 1/2 ounces grapefruit juice
    • 2 pinches genmai
    • 1/2 ounce water
    • 2 teaspoons sugar
    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 kome shochu.