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Kiccho Houzan

Nishi Shuzo · Kagoshima · Imo (sweet potato)

  • black koji
  • honkaku
  • atmospheric distilled
  • aged

Pour this first

Soda water, tall over ice. Cinnamon with it.

The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.

Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy. A stick in hot water with the spirit, or a light syrup. Winter.

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

Imo shochu from Nishi Shuzo in Kagoshima. Importer's tasting notes: spice, clean, sharp. The profile below is built from the tasting notes its importer publishes.

  • sweet potato
  • spice
  • clean
  • sharp
  • aged
Sweet
3/5
Body
4/5
Aroma
4/5
Fruit
2/5
Floral
1/5
Grain
1/5
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
Kogane Sengan sweet potato grown in Kagoshima, with rice koji from Kagoshima grown rice
Koji
black koji
Distillation
atmospheric distillation
ABV
25%
Aging
both the first and second fermentation stages are done in kame, traditional clay pots

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 113 pairings

  • 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.

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Daiyame and other new-wave imo shochu are marketed as highballs by the distilleries themselves
    • Bubbles on a clean bottle: the simplest refreshing drink on this list
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • 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.

    • Green tea and oolong are how shochu is drunk with dinner across Kyushu. Tea's tannin meets the earth without covering it.
    • Cold-brewed sencha on a clean bottle is quiet and grown-up
    • Green tea softens the earth in imo shochu without hiding it
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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.

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Imo shochu mule: ginger beer, lime, over ice
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Amaro

    Strong match

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

    • Amaro and aged notes are a winter bar
    • Amaro's herbs answer imo shochu's earth
    • A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Aromatic bitters

    Strong match

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Two dashes wake up an aged bottle
    • Bitters give imo shochu a stirred-drink shape
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

  • Cinnamon

    Strong match

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

    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy
    • Cinnamon on sweet potato is a pie
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Ginger

    Strong match

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

    • Ginger here is heat rather than a new flavour, so it extends the bottle instead of covering it
    • Ginger and sweet potato is a Japanese autumn kitchen
    • Ginger and sweet potato are the same autumn kitchen. Heat gives an earthy bottle a pulse.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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.

    • Hot water is the Kagoshima serve and it earns its reputation: heat pulls the earth and the sweetness up out of the glass. Cold water does the opposite and lengthens it without changing its shape.
    • Heat carries spice aromatics up out of the glass; cold leaves them sitting in it
    • Oyuwari: hot water first, then shochu, six of shochu to four of water. Imo shochu opens up in warmth

  • Cold water (mizuwari)

    Strong match

    Soft water, cold, over ice or not. One to one is normal. Mix a day ahead (maewari) and the edges round off.

    • Hot water is the Kagoshima serve and it earns its reputation: heat pulls the earth and the sweetness up out of the glass. Cold water does the opposite and lengthens it without changing its shape.
    • Mizuwari shows a clean bottle as it is, just lighter
    • Maewari: mix imo shochu and water a day ahead and it rounds out

  • 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
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

  • Jasmine tea

    Strong match

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

    • Perfumed tea on a clean bottle
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

  • 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.

    • Green tea and oolong are how shochu is drunk with dinner across Kyushu. Tea's tannin meets the earth without covering it.
    • Oolong's toast meets sweet potato's roast
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Strong match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Sweet soda and aged notes argue
    • Sweet citrus bubbles on a clean bottle
    • A lemon soda softens imo shochu for the unconvinced

  • Tonic water

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
    • Clean bottle and tonic is a gin and tonic without the juniper
    • Imo shochu and tonic is what Kagoshima distilleries now recommend to first-timers

  • 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.

    • Daidai is the citrus in ponzu, and ponzu is already on the table next to imo shochu
    • 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.
    • 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.

    • Hyuganatsu is Miyazaki's citrus and imo shochu is what Miyazaki pours it beside; the soft acid does the same work on a sweet potato bottle from anywhere
    • 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.
    • 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

    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.

    • Citrus acid cuts sweet potato's weight. That's why Kagoshima bars reach for grapefruit and yuzu before anything else.
    • A clean bottle gives yuzu a blank page
    • Kagoshima bartenders reach for yuzu with imo shochu first
    • 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.

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying 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)

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Cardamom

    Good match

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

    • Spice on aged, nutty notes
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Good match

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

    • A clean bottle and gentian is a white negroni
    • A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under 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.

    • Citrus acid cuts sweet potato's weight. That's why Kagoshima bars reach for grapefruit and yuzu before anything else.
    • Grapefruit and imo shochu is a Kagoshima bar staple; the bitterness answers the earth

  • 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.

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • Orange peel is the standard partner for a warm spice, which is why anything mulled has both
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • Star anise

    Good match

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Anise and aged notes are a winter cabinet
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Wasabi

    Good match

    A rice-grain amount, dissolved. For the savory, cucumber glass, not the fruit one.

    • A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Hojicha

    Good match

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Hojicha and imo shochu: a roasted pair
    • Roasted tea and aged notes are a fireside
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Good match

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Mugicha softens imo shochu's earth into something you drink all evening
    • Unsweetened, cold, and a summer staple in Japan
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • An aged bottle is the one you would not lengthen with a beer substitute
    • It was built around neutral shochu, and that is still where it fits best
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Good match

    Dried osmanthus flowers steeped, or the syrup. Apricot and honey, and the smell of October in Japan.

    • Kinmokusei blooms when the new imo shochu is released, same season
    • Honeyed flower on honeyed age
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • Milder than sudachi, so it does not fight a delicate bottle
    • Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Kagoshima bartenders pair imo shochu with mikan when it is in season
    • Sweet, low-acid Japanese mandarin. Juice it or drop segments in a glass. It needs a squeeze of something sharper alongside.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Sharper and more bitter than a lime, which is what keeps it from disappearing into a light bottle
    • 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.
    • 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.

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • Sudachi's green sharpness shows best on a clean bottle
    • A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.
    • 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.

  • Honey

    Good match

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

    • Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
    • Honey and aged notes

  • Kiwi

    Good match

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

    • Kiwi's tartness shows on a clean bottle
    • Muddled with the seeds. Green, sour and refreshing, and cheap year round.

  • Maple syrup

    Good match

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

    • Maple on sweet potato
    • Maple and aged, caramel notes

  • Olive brine

    Good match

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

    • A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Passion fruit

    Good match

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

    • Tropical acid against sweet-potato depth is a modern Kagoshima cocktail
    • The most useful tropical fruit for mixing: intensely aromatic and properly sour. Pulp with seeds, or a good puree.

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Good match

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

    • Sweet-sour ginger on a clean bottle
    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • 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.

    • A salt rim on an imo shochu drink is a Kagoshima bar trick
    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • 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
    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Umeboshi

    Good match

    One salted plum, crushed with a spoon in the glass. Salty, sour, savory.

    • Imo shochu, hot water, umeboshi: a Kagoshima winter
    • Umeboshi in hot shochu is a Kagoshima winter, and salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Alpine amaro (Braulio-style)

    Good match

    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.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Good match

    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.

    • A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Black pepper

    Good match

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

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

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

  • Carciofo amaro (Cynar-style)

    Good match

    Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than most shochu, so equal parts with a 25 percent bottle lands near 20 and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than most shochu, so equal parts with a 25 percent bottle lands near 20 and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

  • Celery bitters

    Good match

    Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

  • Fernet

    Good match

    A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

  • Japanese craft bitters (yuzu, shiso, umami)

    Good match

    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.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • 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.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Good match

    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.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Good match

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

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Tonic syrup (cinchona concentrate)

    Good match

    Jack Rudy's Extra Bitter, made with real cinchona bark, or Small Hand Foods'. Half a teaspoon and soda, set to the bottle in front of you rather than to a tonic maker's idea of a spirit.

    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Jack Rudy's Extra Bitter, made with real cinchona bark, or Small Hand Foods'. Half a teaspoon and soda, set to the bottle in front of you rather than to a tonic maker's idea of a spirit.

  • Vanilla

    Good match

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

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Ginger liqueur

    Good match

    Barrow's Intense, made in Brooklyn, or Domaine de Canton, which is the easier one to find. Ginger and sugar arrive together either way, and both work hot as well as cold. Being spirits themselves they add alcohol along with the volume, which a juice or a syrup does not.

    • Sugar and heat on a bottle whose whole quality is that it is clean
    • Ginger and sweet potato is a winter kitchen pairing before it is a bar one
    • Warm spice against caramel, without the sugar a ginger beer brings
    • It joins the pepper already in the glass rather than arguing with it

  • Kombucha

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • No
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Jasmine

    Good match

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

    • Jasmine against imo shochu's floral side is a real Kagoshima cocktail idea
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Sansho pepper

    Good match

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

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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 kosho

    Good match

    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.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Citric and malic acid solution

    Worth trying

    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.

    • A clean bottle has nowhere to hide, so acid reads as brightness rather than as a correction

  • Agave syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • A neutral sweetener that does not add flavor of its own

  • 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.

    • Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat

  • Amontillado sherry

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Both have spent years going quietly brown, and they meet in the middle

  • Apricot

    Worth trying

    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

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

    • Basil on a clean bottle reads like a gin smash

  • Blackberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Blackberry and imo shochu is a bramble with a Kyushu accent

  • Celery

    Worth trying

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

    • Celery on a clean bottle reads as a savory highball

  • Cherry

    Worth trying

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

    • Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes

  • Coconut

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Cucumber

    Worth trying

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

    • Cucumber on a clean bottle is the most refreshing thing on this list

  • Dry vermouth

    Worth trying

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

    • Two clean, dry things

  • Fig

    Worth trying

    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

  • Fino sherry

    Worth trying

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Oxidative on oxidative

  • 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.

    • A clean bottle lets the tea bitterness read as bitterness rather than mud

  • Kokuto (brown sugar) syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • Kuromitsu on sweet potato is a wagashi

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Lemongrass

    Worth trying

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

    • Lemongrass perfume shows on a clean bottle

  • 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.

    • The newer imo shochu are bred for lychee and tropical aromatics, so tropical fruit is agreeing with the bottle rather than fighting it.

  • Lychee liqueur

    Worth trying

    Kwai Feh or Dita. Perfumed and quite sweet, so treat it as the aroma and let the shochu stay the drink.

    • A clean bottle is the right blank page for something this perfumed

  • Mango

    Worth trying

    Ripe mango puree. Needs lime beside it or it goes flat.

    • Ripe mango puree. Needs lime beside it or it goes flat.

  • 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.

    • Maraschino is what makes a stirred aged drink taste finished rather than flat

  • Melon liqueur

    Worth trying

    Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.

    • Sweet enough to need a clean base under it

  • Orange liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur

  • Pineapple

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Pu-erh tea

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Earth and age bury a bottle whose whole quality is that it is clean
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Shiso

    Worth trying

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

    • Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build

  • 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.

    • The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb

  • Toasted sesame

    Worth trying

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

    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt-plum and imo shochu in hot water is a Kagoshima winter

  • Umeshu

    Worth trying

    Sweet, sour, almondy. A splash does the work of both syrup and citrus.

    • Umeshu rounds imo shochu for a first-timer

  • 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.

    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Worth trying

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cold brew, unsweetened. For barley, brown-sugar, cask-aged and awamori bottles; it will bury a delicate, perfumed one.

  • Genmaicha

    Worth trying

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

  • Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Good match

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

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

  • 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 single leaf on a clean bottle changes the whole 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.

  • 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.

    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.
    • 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.

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Intense citrus perfume on a clean bottle
    • 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)

    Worth trying

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

    • Yuzu tea and imo shochu oyuwari is a Kagoshima winter
    • 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.

  • Chamomile

    Worth trying

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

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Cream

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Egg white

    Worth trying

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • 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.

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Hibiscus

    Worth trying

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

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Milk

    Worth trying

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

    • Dairy softens imo shochu, and for somebody who thinks they dislike it that is exactly the point. Milk or Calpis is the usual route in.

  • Oat milk

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Rose

    Worth trying

    A drop of rose water, or a rose syrup. A drop; it takes over.

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Worth trying

    Salt-pickled blossoms (rinsed) or sakura syrup. Floral, faintly almond, a touch of salt.

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Soy milk (tonyu)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • 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.

Ways to serve it

  • On the rocks
  • Mizuwari (with water)

Sweet potato shochu is the one people are told they have to drink with hot water. Hot water is genuinely good, and it is also the hardest first sip to sell. Start it long and cold with soda and a wedge of grapefruit, and come back to the hot water once you like the spirit.

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 8 more

  • thesgshochu.com

    Satsuma Libre

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu IMO, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 38%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu imo 45ml
    • lime wedge 1/8
    • cola
    • salt rim

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • Nankai Shochu · Jonathan Tse, Doe Bar

    Hojicha Cocktail

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Imo Black, also a sweet potato shochu. We have this one as the less fruity of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

    • 2 oz Nankai Imo Black
    • 1 oz hojicha cold brew
    • 1 oz toasted oat orgeat
    • For the cold brew: 350 ml cold water, 5 g hojicha tea
    • For the orgeat: 250 ml oat milk, 100 g cane sugar, 100 g brown sugar, 5 g hojicha powder, 25 g whole oats

    Shaken.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • thesgshochu.com

    Boulevardier

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu IMO, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 38%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu imo 25ml
    • sweet vermouth 20ml
    • campari 15ml

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Oolong-Hai (Shochu Iced Tea)

    Written for sweet potato 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 →

  • Tokyo Weekender · Shun Kosaka

    Hana Shigure

    Written for Daiyame

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

    • daiyame (imo shochu) 30ml
    • aphrodite sakura 15ml
    • bols parfait amour 5ml
    • 1883 maison routin lemon syrup 10ml
    • hinoki bitters 2 dashes
    • narutomaki beet slice to garnish
    • lime peel to garnish
    Full method at Tokyo Weekender →

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 JFC International

Filed under imo shochu.