Shochu that goes with cantaloupe
Melon, cucumber and garden
These are bottles to mix cantaloupe into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Sweeter and muskier than honeydew. Prosciutto logic: it likes salt nearby.
Best bottles for cantaloupe
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
The muskier melon for a bottle with more weight
A light rice spirit takes a green, quiet garden note. Anything savoury leads instead of following.
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, ginjo-like
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, smooth, 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.
Kome shochu
A light rice spirit takes a green, quiet garden note. Anything savoury leads instead of following.
The muskier melon for a bottle with more weight
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
Show the other 54 cantaloupe matches
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, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Mugi shochu
A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
Show the other 19 cantaloupe matches
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
The muskier melon for a bottle with more weight
Cantaloupe and honeyed notes are a fruit plate
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Cantaloupe and honeyed notes are a fruit plate
Awamori
Cantaloupe and honeyed notes are a fruit plate