Skip to content
← Shochumixer

Goto Mugi

Gotoretto Shuzo · Nagasaki · Mugi (barley)

  • aged
  • honkaku
  • cask aged

Pour this first

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

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

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 from Gotoretto Shuzo in Nagasaki. Published tasting notes: smooth, rich. The profile below is built from the tasting notes published for it.

  • barley
  • smooth
  • rich
  • aged
  • cask
Sweet
2/5
Body
3/5
Aroma
2/5
Fruit
0/5
Floral
0/5
Grain
4/5
Earth
1/5
Umami
1/5
Base
two-row barley 100% (Goto-grown)
ABV
25%
Aging
two years in barrel

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 112 pairings

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Strong match

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

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Cask notes and coffee: think of a coffee old fashioned
    • Cold brew, unsweetened. For barley, brown-sugar, cask-aged and awamori bottles; it will bury a daiginjo.

  • Genmaicha

    Strong match

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

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Two toasted grains
    • Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

  • Hojicha

    Strong match

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

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

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Strong match

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

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

  • 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.

    • 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
    • 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.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Strong match

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

    • Black tea's tannin sits well with aged notes
    • Tea and cask is a Scotch idea
    • Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

  • Amaretto

    Strong 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.
    • Almond and oak is the whole idea behind a nut liqueur in a barrel drink
    • Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat

  • Cherry

    Strong match

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

    • Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
    • Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
    • Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Strong 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.
    • Rich bottles are built for warmth
    • Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi

  • Sweet vermouth (rosso)

    Strong match

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

    • An aged bottle already has the caramel a manhattan wants; this brings the botanicals
    • Cask notes and vermouth's spice belong in the same stirred glass
    • There is enough weight here to carry vermouth without being flattened

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Strong 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 peel is doing what the orange twist on an old fashioned does
    • 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.

  • 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

  • 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.

    • Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one
    • 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.

  • 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.
    • Barley shochu and green tea is on every izakaya menu in Japan

  • Jasmine tea

    Good match

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

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • Kabosu and barley shochu are both Oita's and that is how Oita drinks them; the gentler acid suits a mugi wherever it was distilled
    • Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • Kumquat's bitter peel stands up to aged, nutty notes
    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • 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.

    • 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

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • Sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets, which is what makes it worth the trip from Tokushima
    • A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.

  • 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

  • Madeira (dry, Sercial or Verdelho)

    Good match

    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.
    • Barrel against barrel, except this one brings back the acid the cask took away

  • Maraschino

    Good match

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

    • 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

  • Amaro

    Good match

    Montenegro, Nonino, Averna. Equal parts with a dark shochu over ice is a whole drink.

    • Amaro and aged notes are a winter bar
    • Cask and amaro

  • Apple

    Good match

    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.
    • Cask-aged bottles have the wood; apple has the orchard

  • Apricot

    Good match

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

    • Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
    • Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.

  • 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.

    • Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
    • Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength

  • Aromatic bitters

    Good match

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Bitters, sugar, a cask-aged spirit: an old fashioned
    • Two dashes wake up an aged bottle

  • Celery

    Good match

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

    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair
    • Juiced, or a stalk as the stirrer. Savory, salty and cold.

  • Cinnamon

    Good match

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

    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy
    • Cask and cinnamon: an old fashioned instinct

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

  • Fig

    Good match

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

    • Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
    • Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.

  • 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

  • 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 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

  • Maple syrup

    Good match

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

    • Maple and oak are a bourbon idea
    • Maple and aged, caramel notes

  • Rosemary

    Good match

    A sprig, lightly toasted with a lighter, as garnish or stirred. Strong; a little.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace

  • 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.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • 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.
    • Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic

  • 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

  • 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.

    • Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order
    • 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.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

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

    • Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order
    • Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

  • Yellow peach

    Good match

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

    • A richer peach for a richer bottle
    • Bolder than white peach, closer to apricot. For bottles with more weight.

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • Lime

    Good match

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

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

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

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

  • Orange

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

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

  • Soy milk (tonyu)

    Good match

    Unsweetened, four parts shochu to six parts soy milk, which is how the Japanese recipes write it. Stronger than it tastes, so pour it knowing that.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Unsweetened, four parts shochu to six parts soy milk, which is how the Japanese recipes write it. Stronger than it tastes, so pour it knowing that.

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

  • Dashi

    Good match

    Warm kombu-and-bonito stock, lightly seasoned, mixed with the spirit. It sounds strange and tastes like an oden counter.

    • Dashi-wari shochu is on izakaya menus in oden season
    • 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.

  • Egg white

    Good match

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • Barley shochu sour, dry shake, egg white: a real bar drink
    • One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

  • Milk

    Good match

    Cold whole milk. Shochu milk-wari is a real order in Kyushu, not a dare.

    • Milk and barley shochu is a Kyushu grandmother's drink
    • Cold whole milk. Shochu milk-wari is a real order in Kyushu, not a dare.

  • Oat milk

    Good match

    The dairy-free milk that tastes of cereal, which is why it likes grain spirits.

    • Oat and barley: two cereals in one glass
    • The dairy-free milk that tastes of cereal, which is why it likes grain spirits.

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Good match

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

    • Barley shochu and gari brine is a bartender's shortcut to a ginger sour
    • A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

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

  • Soy sauce

    Good match

    A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.

    • A long aged spirit and aged soy share the same brown, oxidative notes
    • A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.

  • 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.

  • 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

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Worth trying

    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

  • Tonic water

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • Oak rested and 21 percent, so half and half with a cask-aged bottle is one drink at about 23

  • 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.

    • Shochu and Campari with soda is an Americano with a Kyushu accent

  • Banana

    Worth trying

    Ripe banana, muddled or as a syrup. Isoamyl acetate, the ester behind a ginjo aroma, is the same compound that makes a banana smell of banana.

    • Cask-aged shochu and banana is a bourbon instinct

  • Basil

    Worth trying

    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.

  • 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.

    • Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass

  • Blackberry

    Worth trying

    Late summer fruit with a savory edge. For the deeper bottles.

    • Cask and blackberry: think of a whisky smash

  • Cantaloupe

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • Crème de cassis

    Worth trying

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

    • Cassis and oolong with shochu is an izakaya standard

  • Chamomile

    Worth trying

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

    • Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

  • Dill

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Dry vermouth

    Worth trying

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

    • Shochu and dry vermouth is a Japanese martini at half the proof

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Worth trying

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

    • Barley shochu, gentian, tonic: a bitter highball

  • Ginger liqueur

    Worth trying

    Barrow's Intense, made in Brooklyn, is the one to look for: much more ginger and much less sugar than most, so it works as the spice in a drink rather than as the sweetener. Domaine de Canton is the easier one to find and the sweeter one. Either gets you the mule flavour without the sugar load of a ginger beer, and both work hot as well as cold. They carry their own alcohol, so they lengthen a shochu less than a juice or a syrup would.

    • 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.

    • 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.

  • Honeydew melon

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

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

  • Kokuto (brown sugar) syrup

    Worth trying

    Okinawan or Amami kokuto dissolved one to one in water. Molasses, minerals, a little salt.

    • Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    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.

  • Muscat grape

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Pear

    Worth trying

    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.

  • 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

  • Vanilla

    Worth trying

    A split bean in a syrup, or a good extract, in small amounts.

    • Vanilla is what oak gives; more of it is coherent

  • White peach

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • 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.

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

  • Cream

    Worth trying

    Half-and-half or heavy cream, in the after-dinner glass only.

    • Calpis sour is a national drink in Japan and it is usually barley underneath. Cream is a different and much narrower idea.

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • Miso

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Olive brine

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

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

    Mamie Taylor

    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
    • home made ginger honey 40ml
    • lime 13ml
    • soda 75ml

    Shaken.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Orlando Franklin McCray, Nightmoves, New York

    Tree-Chu-Hi

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Mizu Saga Barley Shochu, also a barley shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 35%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • 1 1/2 ounces mizu saga barley shochu
    • 1/2 ounce bittermens commonwealth tonic liqueur
    • 4 ounces fever-tree sparkling pink grapefruit soda

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • Tokyo Weekender · Shun Kosaka

    Japanese Vesper

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nikaido Kitchomu Barley Shochu, also a barley shochu. We have this one as the fuller of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

    • nikaido kitchomu (mugi shochu) 40ml
    • fuutan (imo shochu with kuro koji) 10ml
    • lillet blanc (mixed with roasted rice and yuzu peel) 10ml
    • lemon peel to garnish

    Stirred.

    Full method at Tokyo Weekender →

  • 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 →

  • 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 →

  • 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 →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Ohayo-Hai

    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.

    • 3 oz iichiko barley shochu
    • 2 oz umami mart x far leaves ohayo hojicha tea
    • ice

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • liquor.com

    Haiballer

    Written for Mizu

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

    • 1 1/2 ounces mizu shochu
    • 1/2 ounce whisky
    • 5 ounces golden delicious soda*
    • 3 dashes bitters
    • garnish: dried burdock root chip

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at liquor.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 mugi shochu.