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Ichimujin Chestnut Shochu

Kikusui Shuzo · Kochi · Chestnut shochu

  • honkaku

Pour this first

Hot water (oyuwari), in a warm cup.

Worked out from chestnut shochu in general, not this bottle.

Chestnut is a soft aroma and warmth is what gets it out of the glass

Hot water in the cup first, then the shochu, six parts shochu to four of water. No ice. Then the accent on top. If it's too strong, a little more water next time.

What it tastes like

Chestnut shochu from Kikusui Shuzo in Kochi. We haven't found tasting notes for this one. The profile below is the style rather than the bottle.

  • chestnut

This is what chestnut shochu usually tastes like, not this bottle's own profile.

Base
Chestnut

What to mix with it

These start from what chestnut shochu usually likes, because nothing we've found places this bottle's own flavours. This bottle is made with chestnut, not merely reminiscent of it. A mixer meets the chestnut first and the grain second, so read these as answers to the chestnut rather than to the barley or the rice. Tap a family to narrow it down. Every suggestion carries its reasoning, so if the reasoning does not convince you, ignore the suggestion.

A longer wedge is a family we'd reach for sooner with this bottle, worked out from its flavours rather than tasted. It isn't a score, or a comparison with other bottles.

Explore all 13 pairings

  • Ginger ale

    Worth trying

    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.

  • 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.

    • 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)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Kombucha

    Worth trying

    A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, all three in one pour.

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Worth trying

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

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Soda water

    Worth trying

    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.

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Worth trying

    Dry cava or crémant. Acid and bubbles in one pour.

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Tonic water

    Worth trying

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

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Amaretto

    Worth trying

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

    • Nut on nut, and almond is the sweeter of the two so it does the sweetening

  • Cream

    Worth trying

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

    • Chestnut and cream is mont blanc, and the bottle is the chestnut half of it

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Chestnut is a soft aroma and warmth is what gets it out of the glass

  • 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.

    • Chestnut is in this bottle itself, not just on its nose, so this adds more of the same rather than a second flavour.
    • A chestnut liqueur on a chestnut shochu is the same nut twice, which is the whole idea

  • Vanilla

    Worth trying

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

    • Chestnut has almost no acid and vanilla has none either, so this is two soft things agreeing

Ways to serve it

  • With soda
  • On the rocks

The bases with no family of their own: sake lees, chestnut, corn. There are no style rules on this page, which is deliberate. What each bottle is described as tasting of is doing the whole job, so the suggestions come from that rather than from anything the category is supposed to want.

Cocktails other people made

We haven't found 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 4 more

  • 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 tall in the glass.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

  • 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 · Teppoudama, Tokyo, Japan

    Gari Hai

    Written for shochu generally

    • scant 1 3/4 ounces shochu
    • 6 to 7 ounces soda water, to top
    • Garnish: 1 large pinch of gari (pickled ginger slices, pink or yellow)

    Built tall in the glass.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • 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 tall in the glass.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

More chestnut shochu to compare

We can't say what this bottle is closest to without its own notes, so these are other chestnut shochu whose flavours are on record.

Sources and verification

Filed under kasutori, chestnut and other bases.