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Hishu Lemongrass

Saga Shuzo · Saga · Shochu

  • flavored
  • honkaku

Pour this first

Ginger ale, tall over ice. Grapefruit with it.

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

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

What it tastes like

Honkaku shochu from Saga Shuzo in Saga. Producer's tasting notes: barley, herbal. The profile below is built from the tasting notes the producer publishes.

  • barley
  • herbal
Sweet
1/5
Body
2/5
Aroma
4/5
Fruit
1/5
Floral
0/5
Grain
3/5
Earth
1/5
Umami
1/5
Base
honkaku barley shochu with domestic lemongrass and dietary fibre
ABV
25%

What to mix with it

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

Explore all 48 pairings

  • Ginger ale

    Strong match

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

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

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Strong match

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

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

  • Soda water

    Strong match

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

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

  • Tonic water

    Strong match

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

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

  • Ginger beer

    Strong match

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

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

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Strong match

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

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

  • Kombucha

    Strong match

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

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

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Strong match

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

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

  • Grapefruit

    Good match

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

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

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Good match

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

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

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

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

  • Lemon

    Good match

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

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • The lemon sour is Japan's most-ordered shochu drink for a reason

  • 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.

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

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.
    • Tokushima's citrus on a Kyushu spirit, sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets

  • Lemongrass

    Good match

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

    • A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven
    • Bruised stalks steeped in the spirit, or a syrup. Citrus without acid, which is useful when you want aroma but not sourness.

  • Shiso

    Good match

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

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

  • Thyme

    Good match

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

    • Barley shochu and thyme is an unexpected, clean match
    • Gentler than rosemary. Steep a sprig, or use a thyme syrup.

  • Blood orange

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Celery

    Worth trying

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

    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair

  • Chamomile

    Worth trying

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

    • Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

  • Cucumber

    Worth trying

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

    • Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • Genever

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Honey

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Hyuganatsu

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Jasmine tea

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Kumquat

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Lime

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Mikan (satsuma)

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Oolong tea

    Worth trying

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

    • Oolong-hai is the second most common shochu drink in Japanese izakaya

  • Orange

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Peach liqueur

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Worth trying

    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

  • Shikuwasa

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

    • Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Worth trying

    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

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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

  • Yuzu

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Dill

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

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

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

  • Mint

    Worth trying

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

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

Ways to serve it

  • With soda
  • On the rocks

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

Cocktails other people made

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

Show 8 more

  • Pickled Plum

    Umeboshi Sour (Pickled Plum Cocktail)

    Written for shochu generally

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

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

  • Just One Cookbook

    Japanese Yuzu Cocktail (Yuzu Chuhai)

    Written for shochu generally

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

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Just One Cookbook →

  • Pickled Plum

    Lemon Sour (Japanese)

    Written for shochu generally

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

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

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

    The Rule of Thirds Chu-Hai

    Written for shochu generally

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

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

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

    Blue Calpico Chu-Hai

    Written for Gyokuo

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

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

    Shaken.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Xavier Herit, New York City

    Sho Sho

    Written for Akanone Carrot Shochu

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

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

    Shaken.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

Bottles like this one

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

Sources and verification

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