Skip to content

← All mixers

Shochu that goes with aquavit

Wine, liqueur and spirits

Linie, around thirty-five dollars, rested in oloroso casks at sea so it brings a little wood as well. A quarter ounce as a split base.

Best bottles for aquavit

The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.

Gyokuro Excellent Green ShochuPouredShochu · Fukuoka

Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go

Zuisen Hiryu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)

umami, rich, full-bodied, cask

24-DO Kinjo ShiroKome (rice) · Kumamoto

Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

HyakuKome (rice) · Kumamoto

rice, umami, rich, koji

MotokoKome (rice) · Miyazaki

rice, umami, rich, aged

Beniotome Sesame ShochuPouredSesame shochu · Fukuoka (Kurume)

Seed against seed, both of them toasted

Chuko Ryukyu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)

It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants

Dassai ShochuPouredKome (rice) · Yamaguchi

rice, floral, ginjo-like, clean

Kiuchi Rice Shochu ClassicPouredKome (rice) · Ibaraki

rice, aged, cask, smooth

Kiuchi Rice Shochu GinkaPouredKome (rice) · Ibaraki

rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged

Kuro Kirishima ShochuPouredImo (sweet potato) · Miyazaki

sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky

Seifuku Vintage AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Ishigaki)

rich, full-bodied, aged, umami

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 and anything poured at our bar come first. The ranking is the same engine that recommends a mixer from a bottle, run the other way round.

Kome shochu

Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.

Dassai ShochuPouredKome (rice) · YamaguchiStart with Tonic water, YuzuKiuchi Rice Shochu ClassicPouredKome (rice) · IbarakiStart with Oolong tea, Black tea (Earl Grey)Kiuchi Rice Shochu GinkaPouredKome (rice) · IbarakiStart with Jasmine tea, Yuzu

37 more, all of them in Kome shochu

Mugi shochu

Aokage 'Forty-One Genshu - Throughbred Stallion' Barley ShochuMugi (barley) · MiyazakiStart with Mugicha (barley tea), Coffee (cold brew)Asahi MannenboshiMugi (barley) · MiyazakiStart with Mugicha (barley tea), Coffee (cold brew)Hitotsubu No Mugi ShochuMugi (barley) · KagoshimaStart with Mugicha (barley tea), Genmaichaiichiko SaitenMugi (barley) · OitaStart with Mugicha (barley tea), GenmaichaIkiMugi (barley) · NagasakiStart with Mugicha (barley tea), GenmaichaKakushiguraMugi (barley) · KagoshimaStart with Mugicha (barley tea), Genmaicha

5 more, all of them in Mugi shochu

Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu

Gyokuro Excellent Green ShochuPouredShochu · FukuokaStart with Kombucha, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)Beniotome Sesame ShochuPouredSesame shochu · Fukuoka (Kurume)Start with Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino), Hyuganatsu

3 more, all of them in Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu

Imo shochu

Kuro Kirishima ShochuPouredImo (sweet potato) · MiyazakiStart with Pu-erh tea, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

4 more, all of them in Imo shochu

Awamori

Zuisen Hiryu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)Start with Pu-erh tea, Yuzu koshoChuko Ryukyu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)Start with Pu-erh tea, Black pepperSeifuku Vintage AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Ishigaki)Start with Pu-erh tea, Daidai (bitter orange)

1 more, all of them in Awamori

Soba shochu

Towari Soba ShochuPouredSoba (buckwheat) · KyotoStart with Ginger beer, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

1 more, all of them in Soba shochu

Kokuto shochu

Jougo ShochuKokuto (brown sugar) · KagoshimaStart with Ginger beer, Daidai (bitter orange)Nankai Kokuto ShochuKokuto (brown sugar)Start with Jasmine tea, Cardamom