Shochu that goes with cherry
Orchard and stone fruit
These are bottles to mix cherry into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.
Best bottles for cherry
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
rice, vanilla, cask, 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.
Mugi shochu
Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
Show the other 94 cherry matches
barley, cask, aged
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
The bottle already smells of cherry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, crisp, clean
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, rice, umami
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, smooth, dry
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, sweet, clean
Kome shochu
Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
Show the other 64 cherry matches
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
rice, light-bodied, clean
Awamori
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
The bottle already smells of cherry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Show the other 55 cherry matches
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
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, soft, rich, sweet
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, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Imo shochu
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
Show the other 24 cherry matches
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
sweet potato, berry, soft, sweet
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
Kokuto shochu
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes
Show the other 3 cherry matches
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
Soba shochu
Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes