Shochu that goes with calpico (cultured milk)
Cream and milk
These are bottles to mix calpico (cultured milk) into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan.
Best bottles for calpico (cultured milk)
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
A lactic mixer on a bottle that already reads lactic: the same note twice, at the same pitch
These bottles often read faintly of yogurt, and a lactic mixer takes that and makes it the drink
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, toast, sweet
rice
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does
rice
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.
Imo shochu
Dairy softens imo shochu, and for somebody who thinks they dislike it that is exactly the point. Milk or Calpis is the usual route in.
A lactic mixer on a bottle that already reads lactic: the same note twice, at the same pitch
These bottles often read faintly of yogurt, and a lactic mixer takes that and makes it the drink
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, pineapple, maple, mineral
sweet potato, berry, soft, sweet
Show the other 111 calpico (cultured milk) matches
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
Calpis softens imo shochu for people who think they do not like it
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, purple sweet potato, berry, yogurt
Calpico and aged notes do not agree
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
sweet potato, apple, soft, rich
sweet potato, soft, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich, light-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, sweet, soft
sweet potato, spice, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, melon, banana, sweet
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, roasted grain, sweet
sweet potato, vanilla, creamy texture, bright
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, rich, crisp, soft
sweet potato, tea, vanilla, mushroom
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, crisp, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, sweet, soft, rich
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, long finish
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
Awamori
Dairy softens awamori rather than fighting it, which is why the cut is an ordinary order in Okinawa.
Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, toast, sweet
Show the other 97 calpico (cultured milk) matches
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, clean, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, clean, smooth
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, citrus, umami, soft
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
Calpico and aged notes do not agree
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
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, smooth, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, aged
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, smooth, maple, umami
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, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, floral, honey, caramel
rice, clean, sharp, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Kome shochu
Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
rice, ginjo-like
rice, rich, clean, bright
Show the other 27 calpico (cultured milk) matches
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, smooth, full-bodied, cask
rice, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, sweet, clean, smooth
rice, chocolate, sweet
rice, rich, bright
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, sweet
Mugi shochu
The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan, usually on a neutral shochu, and a clean mugi slots in without fuss. Cream is a different and much narrower idea.
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, light-bodied
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
Show the other 7 calpico (cultured milk) matches
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, rice, umami
Kokuto shochu
Molasses and dairy is dessert. Kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami one, and cream makes it a flip.
The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan.
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
Show the other 4 calpico (cultured milk) matches
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does
Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
tropical fruit, rich
shiso, red shiso
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does
Calpis softens imo shochu for people who think they do not like it
chestnut, barley, fruity, rich
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
The Calpis sour is built on a neutral base, which is exactly what this is.
Calpis softens imo shochu for people who think they do not like it
Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does
Soba shochu
Calpis is lactic rather than merely sweet, so it rounds a spirit off without flattening it the way syrup does