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Komasa Akazaru Shochu

Komasa Jyozo · Kagoshima · Imo (sweet potato)

  • white koji
  • honkaku

Pour this first

Soda water, tall over ice. Passion fruit with it.

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

Its own floral note joins the bottle's. The most useful tropical fruit for mixing: intensely aromatic and properly sour. Pulp with seeds, or a good puree.

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 Komasa Jyozo in Kagoshima. Importer's tasting notes: floral, fruity, clean, bright. The profile below is built from the tasting notes its importer publishes.

  • sweet potato
  • floral
  • fruity
  • clean
  • bright
  • sweet
  • purple sweet potato
Sweet
4/5
Body
3/5
Aroma
5/5
Fruit
3/5
Floral
2/5
Grain
1/5
Earth
3/5
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
Purple Sweet Lord purple sweet potato (Norin No. 56), blended with Kogane Sengan, fermented with red wine yeast
Koji
white koji
ABV
24%

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 82 pairings

  • Hyuganatsu

    Strong 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
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.

  • Yuzu

    Strong 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.
    • Yuzu's perfume sits beside floral notes instead of covering them
    • A clean bottle gives yuzu a blank page
    • Kagoshima bartenders reach for yuzu with imo shochu first

  • Blood orange

    Strong match

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

    • The red fruit in a purple potato bottle wants a citrus that is also red, not a yellow one
    • Its berry side flatters floral bottles
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Passion fruit

    Strong match

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

    • Its own floral note joins the bottle's
    • Tropical acid against sweet-potato depth is a modern Kagoshima cocktail
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Tonic water

    Strong 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 quinine lets floral bottles show
    • 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

  • Hibiscus

    Strong match

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

    • The purple stays behind in the mash rather than coming over the still, so the flower is where any colour in the glass comes from, and its acid brightens the fruit instead of fighting it
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • 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.

  • 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
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.

  • 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
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • 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.

  • 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
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.

  • 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.
    • On an already sweet bottle it turns to grapefruit candy
    • Grapefruit and imo shochu is a Kagoshima bar staple; the bitterness answers the earth
    • Its bitter peel gives floral bottles a spine

  • Citric and malic acid solution

    Strong 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.

    • A clean bottle has nowhere to hide, so acid reads as brightness rather than as a correction
    • Sourness with nothing attached to it, so the bottle's own perfume stays in front
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Kiwi

    Strong match

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

    • Kiwi's tartness shows on a clean bottle
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Muddled with the seeds. Green, sour and refreshing, and cheap year round.

  • Raspberry

    Strong match

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

    • Purple sweet potato ferments toward red fruit rather than toward caramel, so berry meets what is already there
    • Raspberry has a rose note that floral bottles meet
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Lemon

    Good 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.

    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • 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.

  • Lime

    Good match

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

    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

  • 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 citrus bubbles on a clean bottle
    • A lemon soda softens imo shochu for the unconvinced
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    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.
    • 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.

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

  • Jasmine tea

    Strong match

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

    • Jasmine tea on a floral bottle is a flower shop
    • Perfumed tea on a clean bottle
    • Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

  • 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.

    • 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

  • Pineapple

    Good match

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

    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Fresh juice, or grilled wedges for a smokier drink. The awamori fruit.

  • Umezu (ume plum vinegar)

    Good match

    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.

    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

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

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

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

  • 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's bitterness sits on top of a delicate floral bottle rather than beside it
    • Daidai is the citrus in ponzu, and ponzu is already on the table next to imo shochu
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • 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 tannin flattens delicate perfume
    • Oolong's toast meets sweet potato's roast
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Lemongrass

    Good match

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

    • Lemongrass perfume shows on a clean bottle
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • 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.

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

  • Jasmine

    Good match

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

    • Jasmine amplifies whatever floral note the bottle has
    • 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.

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Good match

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

    • Autumn blossom on a floral bottle
    • Kinmokusei blooms when the new imo shochu is released, same season
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Good 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.
    • Bitter tea and a sweet bottle argue
    • Cold-brewed sencha on a clean bottle is quiet and grown-up
    • Green tea softens the earth in imo shochu without hiding it

  • 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.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Cardamom

    Good match

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

    • Cardamom is a floral spice; floral bottles meet it
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

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

    • Umeboshi's salt flattens delicate perfume
    • Salt-plum and imo shochu in hot water is a Kagoshima winter
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Good match

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Intense citrus perfume on a clean bottle
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that 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.

  • Chamomile

    Good match

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

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Ginger beer covers delicate perfume
    • 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.

  • Melon liqueur

    Good match

    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
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Calpico (cultured milk)

    Good match

    The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan.

    • These bottles often read faintly of yogurt, and a lactic mixer takes that and makes it the drink
    • Calpis softens imo shochu for people who think they do not like it
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan.

  • Thyme

    Good match

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

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

  • Rose

    Good match

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

    • Rose on a floral bottle is a perfume counter
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Good match

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

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

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Worth trying

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

    • 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 blows off delicate perfume
    • Oyuwari: hot water first, then shochu, six of shochu to four of water. Imo shochu opens up in warmth

  • 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.

    • Vinegar flattens a delicate perfume
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Cinnamon

    Worth trying

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

    • Cinnamon on sweet potato is a pie
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • 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.

    • Lychee is half fruit, half flower, and floral bottles agree
    • The newer imo shochu are bred for lychee and tropical aromatics, so tropical fruit is agreeing with the bottle rather than fighting it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • 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.

    • Lychee and a floral bottle are one perfume, not two
    • A clean bottle is the right blank page for something this perfumed
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Worth trying

    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.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Tonic syrup (cinchona concentrate)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Bottled tonic's sugar is set for a 40 percent spirit, which is why shochu tonics can taste like lemonade
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • 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.

  • Alpine amaro (Braulio-style)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • 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.

  • 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

  • Carciofo amaro (Cynar-style)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • 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

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • 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 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.

  • Mint

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint on a clean bottle is a mojito with the rum swapped out

  • 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

  • Kumquat

    Worth trying

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

    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • 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
    • This bottle already reads sweet, on aroma rather than on sugar. Adding real sugar to it is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • 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.

  • Cranberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Cranberry's tannin flattens delicate aromatics
    • An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
    • The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.

  • Dry vermouth

    Worth trying

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

    • Dry vermouth and a sweet bottle argue
    • Two clean, dry things
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Orange

    Worth trying

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

    • This bottle already reads sweet, on aroma rather than on sugar. Adding real sugar to it is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • Peach liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Karin (quince) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.

    • The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over 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.

  • 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.

  • Sansho pepper

    Worth trying

    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.
    • 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.

  • Sumomo (Japanese plum) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Dewazakura's from Yamagata plums, or Machida Shuzo's on Amami kokuto shochu. It does umeshu's job and leaves the glass drier, which matters when the bottle is already sweet.

    • Acid and colour at once, and the drink stays drier than it would with umeshu
    • 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

    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.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • 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.

  • Amaro

    Worth trying

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

    • Amaro bullies perfume
    • 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.

  • Aromatic bitters

    Worth trying

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Bitters stomp on perfume
    • Bitters give imo shochu a stirred-drink shape
    • Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

  • 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.

    • Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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 stomps on delicate perfume
    • 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.

  • Umeboshi

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt flattens perfume
    • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Worth trying

    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
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • 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.

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

    Sweet Potato Toddy

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu IMO, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 24% against 38%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu imo 30ml
    • hot water 120ml
    • maple syrup 8ml
    • salted butter 1 bar spoon
    • cinnamon stick
    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.

    • 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 →

  • punchdrink.com · Silver Lyan Team, Washington, D.C.

    Shochu Old-Fashioned

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Satsuma Kuradashi Genshu Shochu, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 24% against 37%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • 2 1/4 ounces satsuma kuradashi genshu sweet potato shochu
    • 1/3 ounce salted black pepper caramel (see editor's note)
    • 2 dashes ash bitters (see editor's note)
    • 1 dash angostura bitters

    Stirred.

    Full method at punchdrink.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 →

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.