Shochu that goes with aquavit
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix aquavit into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
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.
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
tea, umami, savory, rich
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, rich
barley, umami, savory, clean
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, umami, rich, 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.
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.
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
Show the other 102 aquavit matches
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.
floral, clean, sharp, aged
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
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, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
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, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
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.
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
Show the other 64 aquavit matches
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.
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, light-bodied, clean
Imo shochu
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
Show the other 16 aquavit matches
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
Mugi shochu
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go
Seed against seed, both of them toasted
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
barley, umami, rich, sweet
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
Show the other 11 aquavit matches
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, rice, umami
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, banana, berry, bread
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Soba shochu
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
Kokuto shochu
It reads as seasoning rather than as perfume, which is what a savoury bottle wants
kokuto, soft, light-bodied, sweet
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Seed against seed, both of them toasted
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Caraway and dill point at the dashi and miso end of the table, where juniper does not go