Ipponduri

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.
• Cucumber on a clean bottle is the most refreshing thing on this list
• Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

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.
• Heat pulls the earth and the sweetness out of a bottle
• Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi

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
• Lemongrass perfume shows on a clean bottle

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 on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
• Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour

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.
• Mizuwari shows a clean bottle as it is, just lighter
• Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic

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

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

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

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.
• Ginger heat gives earthy bottles a pulse

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.

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 the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
• It was built around neutral shochu, and that is still where it fits best

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.

• Mild enough that a light bottle is still the thing you taste
• 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.

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.
• The lemon sour is Japan's most-ordered shochu drink for a reason

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 bottle gives yuzu a blank page
• 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 spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

• Sweet-sour ginger on a clean bottle
• 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.

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

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

• Two clean, dry things
• Shochu and dry vermouth is a Japanese martini at half the proof

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.

• Bitterness that answers earth without adding any sweetness to it
• 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.

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.
• A single leaf on a clean bottle changes the whole glass

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.
• Intense citrus perfume on a clean bottle

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.
• Mint on a clean bottle is a mojito at half the proof

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

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.

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.

Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

• Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
• Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

• The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

• Acid with an amino depth behind it, which suits the koji side better than a lemon does
• 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 bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.

• A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
• A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.

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

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

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.