Shochu that goes with apricot
Orchard and stone fruit
These are bottles to mix apricot into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.
Best bottles for apricot
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, smooth, aged
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, aged
barley, crisp, clean, aged
Grouped by what the shochu is made from, because that is the level the reasoning works at: what this does to an imo shochu is a fact about imo shochu rather than about one bottle. Within each style the strongest matches come first, and bottles we pour are marked rather than promoted. The scores are the same engine that recommends a mixer from a bottle, run the other way round, but the labels are not: a bottle page badges at most twelve strong matches and at most three per family, so that the twelve describe that bottle rather than the same citrus and soda every time. Here there is no cap, so a pairing badged strong on this page can read as a good match on the bottle's own.
Mugi shochu
Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
Show the other 94 apricot matches
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, crisp, clean
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, rice, umami
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, sweet, clean
barley, banana, berry, bread
Kome shochu
Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
Show the other 63 apricot matches
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
rice, light-bodied, clean
Awamori
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
Show the other 53 apricot matches
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Kokuto shochu
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
Show the other 16 apricot matches
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Apricot and brown sugar is a jam logic
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Imo shochu
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
Show the other 15 apricot matches
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Ume and apricot are botanical cousins
Show the other 11 apricot matches
citrus, plum, sweet, yuzu
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
Soba shochu
Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there