Shochu that goes with cranberry
Berries
These are bottles to mix cranberry into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Unsweetened juice. Sharp and a little tannic, useful for cutting sweetness.
Best bottles for cranberry
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 bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
sweet potato, purple sweet potato, berry, yogurt
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
Two dry things that stay dry
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
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
The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
sweet potato, purple sweet potato, berry, yogurt
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
Two dry things that stay dry
Show the other 87 cranberry matches
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
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, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, crisp, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, pineapple, maple, mineral
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
sweet potato, fruity, silky, smooth
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, apple, soft, rich
sweet potato, soft, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich, light-bodied
sweet potato, spice, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, smooth, aged
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, rich
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, long finish
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, tropical fruit, pepper, sweet
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
Cranberry's tannin flattens delicate aromatics
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
Awamori
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, clean, smooth, aged
Show the other 97 cranberry matches
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, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, aged
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, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
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
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Kome shochu
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
Show the other 58 cranberry matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, light-bodied, clean
Mugi shochu
The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
Two dry things that stay dry
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
Show the other 6 cranberry matches
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, smooth, dry
barley, dry, cask, aged
Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
barley, citrus, melon, banana
Soba shochu
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
buckwheat, smooth, aged
Show the other 4 cranberry matches
buckwheat, cask, aged
Two dry things that stay dry
Kokuto shochu
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
kokuto, soft, light-bodied, sweet
Show the other 3 cranberry matches
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure