Shochu that goes with apricot liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix apricot liqueur into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Rothman and Winter, or a Japanese anzu liqueur. Closer to umeshu than to a candy liqueur if you buy a good one.
Best bottles for apricot liqueur
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 towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
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.
Kome shochu
Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini with koji where the juniper was. The strength depends on the bottle, not on the swap. Most shochu is 25 and lands well under a gin martini. The 40 percent bottles land beside one.
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
Show the other 59 apricot liqueur matches
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
Rothman and Winter, or a Japanese anzu liqueur. Closer to umeshu than to a candy liqueur if you buy a good one.
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, chocolate, sweet
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
Too much sugar for a bottle whose whole quality is that it is clean
Awamori
Awamori has enough character to be the base of a cocktail, not the neutral part of one. So an orange liqueur or a mezcal sits beside it instead of covering it.
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength
Show the other 98 apricot liqueur matches
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, aged
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, nutty, dry, aged
Rothman and Winter, or a Japanese anzu liqueur. Closer to umeshu than to a candy liqueur if you buy a good one.
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, smooth
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
Too much sugar for a bottle whose whole quality is that it is clean
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, clean, sharp, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Mugi shochu
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
Show the other 32 apricot liqueur matches
barley, cask, aged
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, umami, rich, sweet
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, vanilla, cask
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
Imo shochu
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength
Show the other 16 apricot liqueur matches
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
Kokuto shochu
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
It joins the dried fruit rather than adding a new flavour
Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength
Show the other 4 apricot liqueur matches
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
smooth, rich, cask, aged
floral, smooth, aged
Show the other 3 apricot liqueur matches
Soba shochu
Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there