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iichiko Saiten

Sanwa Shurui · Oita · Mugi (barley)

  • white koji
  • honkaku
  • atmospheric distilled

Pour this first

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

Roasted barley on a bottle whose barley was never roasted, so the same grain arrives a second way

A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it. 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.

One part shochu to three or four parts of the long mixer, over plenty of ice, then the accent on top. If it tastes thin, go two to three next time.

What it tastes like

Mugi shochu from Sanwa Shurui in Oita. Importer's tasting notes: citrus, melon, white peach, grape. The profile below is built from the tasting notes its importer publishes.

  • barley
  • citrus
  • melon
  • white peach
  • grape
  • jasmine
  • tea
  • earthy
  • umami
  • rich
Sweet
2/5
Body
2/5
Aroma
3/5
Fruit
5/5
Floral
2/5
Grain
4/5
Earth
2/5
Umami
2/5

Read from the words above rather than measured. Where it says not described, none of the sources behind this page mention it, which is not the same as it not being there.

Base
100% two-row barley
Koji
white koji
Distillation
atmospheric distillation
ABV
43%
Strength
genshu, undiluted by water after distillation

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.

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 119 pairings

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Strong match

    Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. Ocha-wari is one of the everyday ways shochu is drunk in Japan, alongside the oolong version.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are izakaya staples, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Jasmine tea is jasmine on green tea, so this is the same construction with the flower already in the glass
    • Green tea brings grassy bitterness and a little tannin, which gives a soft barley shochu an edge to push against
    • Green tea has umami of its own; it meets the bottle's

  • Genmaicha

    Strong match

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

    • Two toasted grains
    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Strong match

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

    • Roasted barley on a bottle whose barley was never roasted, so the same grain arrives a second way
    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • Cold, unsweetened barley tea. Every Japanese fridge has a pitcher in summer. Mix one to three over ice.

  • Oolong tea

    Good match

    Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice. Drinks with food better than almost anything else here.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are izakaya staples, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Roasted oolong meets barley on its own ground: the tea is toasty where the shochu is toasty, so neither has to win
    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • 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.

    • Fermented and dark where oolong is astringent and light, so it meets earth instead of covering it
    • One of the few mixers that can go under a heavy bottle hot without the drink turning bitter
    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Lemon

    Strong match

    Juice and peel are two different tools. Fresh juice, never bottled, is the whole basis of the lemon sour and the quickest way to put acid into a distilled base. The peel expressed over the top gives the oil and no acid at all, which is what a sweet or roasted bottle usually wants instead.

    • The lemon sour is an izakaya staple. Bars usually build it on a neutral shochu, and a clean mugi does the same job with a little more grain behind it.
    • The lemon sour is the drink most izakaya sell more of than anything else on the list
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Kabosu

    Strong match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • Kabosu and barley shochu are both Oita's, and kabosu gets squeezed into drinks there; the gentler acid suits a mugi wherever it was distilled
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • Sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets, which is what makes it worth the trip from Tokushima
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Jasmine tea

    Good match

    Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

    • Jasmine is perfumed without being sweet, so it gives barley shochu an aromatic top without touching its dryness
    • The bottle already smells of jasmine, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Strong match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Lemon sour in one pour
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Tonic water

    Strong match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Shochu tonic is the drink US bars pour most when they list shochu
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Lime

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • 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.

    • Heat pulls the earth and the sweetness out of a bottle
    • Rich bottles are built for warmth
    • Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi
    • 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.

  • White peach

    Strong match

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

    • Muscat and white peach are the two aromas a Japanese fruit parlour is built on, and they do not fight
    • Peach and jasmine sit in the same register, which is why they are so often steeped together
    • The bottle is already described as white peach, and the fruit makes it plain
    • The bellini fruit. Nectar from a Japanese market, or a ripe peach muddled through a strainer.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Strong 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
    • Ume's salt and sourness pull umami forward
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • 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 clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Lemongrass

    Strong match

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

    • A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

  • 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.

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • Doubles the citrus already in the glass
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Celery

    Good match

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

    • Celery's salt and green note pull umami forward
    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • Cucumber

    Good match

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

    • Cucumber is melon's cool cousin; the two are the same family of aromas
    • Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room
    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.

  • Thyme

    Good match

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

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

  • Tomato

    Good match

    Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. Savoury and acidic at once.

    • Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
    • Tomato is savoury and acidic at once, which is exactly what a dry barley shochu has no supply of
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Barley shochu and ginger ale is an izakaya highball

  • 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 one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Ginger heat gives earthy bottles a pulse

  • Kombucha

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Tea on tea

  • 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 one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • The shochu highball: ice, shochu, cold soda, nothing else

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Grape meeting grape, one of them with bubbles and acid the other does not have

  • Hojicha

    Good match

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

    • Melon disappears under roast
    • The bottle already smells of tea, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • Cold-brewed or hot. Roasted green tea, low in bitterness, high in toast. The oyuwari of teas.

  • Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

    Good match

    Sakamoto's, fermented outdoors in earthenware jars in Fukuyama and aged at least a year; Toiro and Japanese Taste ship it in the US. A teaspoon in a mizuwari is the whole intervention, and a second one is usually a mistake.

    • A vinegar with savour under it rather than only sharpness, so beside a savoury bottle it reads as family instead of contrast
    • Acid with a savoury depth behind it, which suits the koji side better than a lemon does
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Falernum

    Good match

    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.

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Watermelon

    Good match

    Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

    • The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • Sea salt

    Good match

    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.

    • Salt is the fastest way to make umami louder
    • Salt on melon, which is why a pinch of it lifts a melon drink at all
    • 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.

  • Shiitake

    Good match

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

    • Dried shiitake is the umami bomb of the Japanese pantry
    • Earth on earth
    • A dried shiitake steeped in the spirit for a day. Savory and strange in the best way.

  • Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea)

    Good 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.

    • A melon note disappears under roasted grain
    • Roasted buckwheat and roasted barley are one idea arrived at from two grains
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • 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.

  • 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
    • Salt and sour pull umami forward
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Flor leaves a savoury edge behind it, and koji leaves the same one
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Fino sherry

    Good match

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Fino's salt and yeast meet the savour koji leaves behind
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Genever

    Good match

    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
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Shaoxing wine (drinking grade)

    Good match

    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.

    • Two savoury ferments, one brewed and one distilled
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Black pepper

    Good match

    A few grinds over the top. Aroma more than heat.

    • Pepper wakes up savory bottles
    • Pepper and earth

  • Goya (bitter melon)

    Good match

    Two slices from any Asian grocery, seeds out. It keeps getting more bitter the longer it sits, so taste as you go and pull the slices when it is where you want it.

    • Bitterness that answers earth without adding any sweetness to it
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • Honey

    Good match

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

    • Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
    • Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy

  • Peach liqueur

    Good match

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

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

  • Pear

    Good match

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

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

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

  • 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.

    • Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Yuzu liqueur on a citrus bottle
    • Barley shochu, yuzushu, soda: a yuzu sour without a yuzu

  • 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.

    • Half an ounce of lemon juice paints over a peach note; this does not
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Good match

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

    • The barley highball is one of the most common ways shochu gets drunk in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

  • 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.

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • A heavy earthy bottle swallows it, and the fruit is too good to waste that way
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Good match

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

    • Gentian is earth in a bottle; earthy shochu meets it
    • Gentian and grapefruit
    • Barley shochu, gentian, tonic: a bitter highball
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Good match

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

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

    • Tannin and melon do not agree
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • A clean mugi does under citrus what a neutral shochu does, with a little more grain left behind it.
    • Orange juice turns thin against earthy bottles
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Kinome (sansho leaf)

    Good match

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

    • Kinome tastes of citrus peel and pepper at once
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Sansho pepper

    Good match

    A pinch of ground sansho over the top, or a few peppercorns steeped. Numbing, citrusy, green.

    • Sansho is citrus peel and pepper in one seed
    • Sansho and yuzu turn up together in Japanese seasoning
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Good match

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

    • Yuzu peel, sweetened, on a citrus bottle
    • Yuzu tea and barley shochu in hot water is a winter izakaya drink
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Cardamom

    Good match

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

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Jasmine

    Good match

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

    • The bottle already smells of jasmine, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Sake (in a shochu drink)

    Good match

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

    • The bottle is already savoury, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Toasted sesame

    Good match

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

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • A sesame syrup, or a rim of ground sesame and salt. Toasty and rich.

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Good match

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

    • No
    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
    • Cold brew, unsweetened. For barley, brown-sugar, cask-aged and awamori bottles; it will bury a delicate, perfumed one.

  • Kombu

    Good match

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

    • Kombu pushes the glass further toward the savoury side a bottle with umami is already on
    • A small piece steeped in the bottle overnight. Savory depth without salt.

  • Miso

    Good match

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

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

  • Olive brine

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

  • Soy sauce

    Good match

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

    • A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
    • A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.

  • 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.

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Coconut

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • 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.

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Maraschino

    Worth trying

    Luxardo. It is sweetened, whatever the name suggests: their own account of the process ends by adding a syrup of water and sugar to bring it to 32 percent. What makes it read as dry is the stone. The cherries sit in larch vats for up to three years, pits, leaves and all, before the lot is distilled and the heart rested in ash, and that almond bitterness arrives before the sugar does. So measure it as a sweetener that tastes bitter, not as a dry modifier, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • 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.

    • The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.

  • Agave syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • Agave, lime and a spirit is a sour

  • 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.

    • Clove and cinnamon give an earthy bottle the warmth hot water usually provides, in a cold glass

  • Apple

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Apricot

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

    • It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants

  • Blanc vermouth

    Worth trying

    Dolin blanc. Sweeter and more floral than dry; for the aromatic bottles. Lillet Blanc stands in the same place in a drink, but its maker says plainly that it is a wine aperitif and not a vermouth, because there is no wormwood in it.

    • Peach and blanc vermouth

  • Chamomile

    Worth trying

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

    • Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

  • Cherry

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Dashi

    Worth trying

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

    • Warm dashi carries a spirit's savoury side forward the way hot water carries its aroma
    • Dashi works because the shochu is already savoury: kombu and katsuo extend that rather than contrast with it
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • 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.

  • 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 martini with koji where the juniper was

  • Egg white

    Worth trying

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • Barley shochu sour, dry shake, egg white: a real bar drink
    • Egg white is what turns citrus and spirit into a sour with a head
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

  • Elderflower

    Worth trying

    The cordial, sweet and alcohol-free, poured like a syrup. Muscat, lychee and honey in one flower. The liqueur has its own entry below: a different product rather than a stronger or weaker version of this one, and it brings alcohol along with the flower.

    • Two florals at the same height, which is why the drink reads as one flower rather than a bouquet

  • Ginger

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, a syrup, or a good ginger beer. The spice that makes a low-proof drink feel like it has a backbone.

    • Ginger heat gives earthy bottles a pulse

  • Green tea liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • It doubles a tea note the bottle already has

  • 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.

    • It adds body and savour where a sugar syrup would only add sugar

  • 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.

    • Both are high sweet florals, so they read as one aroma rather than two competing ones

  • Milk

    Worth trying

    Cold whole milk. Fat rounds a spirit off the way it does in coffee, and it is not a dare.

    • Milk and barley shochu is a Kyushu grandmother's drink
    • Milk softens tannin, so a tea that would be harsh against a spirit turns creamy instead
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Cold whole milk. Fat rounds a spirit off the way it does in coffee, and it is not a dare.

  • Mint

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Orange liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Orange on citrus

  • Shiso liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan

  • Sweet vermouth (rosso)

    Worth trying

    Carpano Antica or Cocchi. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold, makes a manhattan-style drink: on a 25 percent shochu that is about 23 before the ice gets to it, where a 40 percent rye starts nearer 35.

    • There is enough weight here to carry vermouth without being flattened

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Worth trying

    A rim of shichimi, or a slice of fresh chili. Heat on fruit, not on rice.

    • Chili and lime

  • 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

  • Cranberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Hibiscus

    Worth trying

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

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Kiwi

    Worth trying

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

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Passion fruit

    Worth trying

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

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Pineapple

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, or grilled wedges for a smokier drink. The awamori fruit.

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Raspberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Worth trying

    Campari, Aperol, or a Japanese bitter like Kina. Bitter and sweet at once, and it wants a base with something of its own to answer back.

    • Shochu and Campari with soda is an Americano with a Kyushu accent
    • Bitter orange meets citrus
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Cantaloupe

    Worth trying

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

    • The muskier melon for a bottle with more weight
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • 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.

    • The Umami expression is kelp, shiitake and bonito, aimed at the savoury side the bottle is described with
    • Tokushima yuzu at 27 percent, which is the shochu's own strength, so a dropper moves flavour and not proof
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Worth trying

    Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. The bark is the point of it, and it carries a quinine bitterness no citrus will give you.

    • It brings acid and grape sugar, two things a pot still leaves behind
    • Quinine and gentian give a measured bitterness where an amaro would take the glass over
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Rosemary

    Worth trying

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

    • Resinous herb against earthy depth
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Yellow peach

    Worth trying

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

    • A richer peach for a richer bottle
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Bolder than white peach, closer to apricot. For bottles with more weight.

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

    • Basil and earthy funk do not resolve
    • Basil and citrus is a smash
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Honeydew melon

    Worth trying

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

    • Earth and melon do not agree
    • The bottle is already described as melon, and honeydew is that note as fruit
    • A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.

  • Muscat grape

    Worth trying

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

    • Earth and muscat pull in opposite directions
    • Grape on grape, and muscat is the aromatic one, so it lifts rather than repeats
    • Green muscat grapes, halved or juiced. Shine Muscat if you can find it.

  • Yuzu kosho

    Worth trying

    The Kyushu condiment, in a tube in any Japanese grocer: fermented yuzu peel, green chili and salt. A quarter teaspoon stirred into an oyuwari, which is the serve Asahi publishes.

    • Salt and chili walk over a peach note
    • Fermented peel gives citrus without the acid a fresh yuzu would add
    • The salt in it raises the perceived sweetness of koji
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

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

Show 8 more

  • thesgshochu.com

    Pegu Club

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu MUGI, also a barley shochu. We have this one as the more fruit-forward of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

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

    Shaken.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • thesgshochu.com

    Mamie Taylor

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu MUGI, also a barley shochu. We have this one as the more fruit-forward of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

    • the sg shochu mugi 40ml
    • home made ginger honey 40ml
    • lime 13ml
    • soda 75ml

    Shaken.

    Full method at thesgshochu.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 more fruit-forward 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 tall in the glass.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Yuzu Chuhai

    Written for iichiko

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

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

    Built tall in the glass.

    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
    • Garnish: lemon peel

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • 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 →

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

    Tree-Chu-Hi

    Written for Mizu Saga Barley Shochu

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

    • 1 1/2 ounces mizu saga barley shochu
    • 1/2 ounce bittermens commonwealth tonic liqueur
    • 4 ounces fever-tree sparkling pink grapefruit soda
    • Garnish: grated grapefruit zest or a grapefruit twist, and a pinch of salt

    Built tall in the glass.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

What this can stand in for

If a recipe calls for something else and this is what you have. The verdict is for this bottle rather than for its style, so a bottle without the strength a stirred drink needs is not offered for one.

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

Imported in the US by iichiko USA, Inc., Umami Mart

Filed under mugi shochu.