Shochu that goes with bénédictine
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix bénédictine into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
D.O.M. Bénédictine, on most back bars. Rounder and much sweeter than the alpine liqueurs, so it suits bottles that already lean sweet rather than clean.
Best bottles for bénédictine
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, full-bodied, cask
rice, toast, sweet
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.
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
Show the other 97 bénédictine matches
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
D.O.M. Bénédictine, on most back bars. Rounder and much sweeter than the alpine liqueurs, so it suits bottles that already lean sweet rather than clean.
rich, smooth, clean, soft
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, clean, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
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.
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
Show the other 60 bénédictine matches
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
D.O.M. Bénédictine, on most back bars. Rounder and much sweeter than the alpine liqueurs, so it suits bottles that already lean sweet rather than clean.
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, light-bodied, clean
Mugi shochu
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
Show the other 19 bénédictine matches
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, cask, aged
Imo shochu
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
Show the other 3 bénédictine matches
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
Kokuto shochu
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
kokuto, cask, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
smooth, rich, cask, aged
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
It gives a toasty bottle the depth people usually go to an aged spirit for
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey
Soba shochu
Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass