Shochu that goes with cream
Cream and milk
These are bottles to mix cream into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Half-and-half or heavy cream, in the after-dinner glass only.
Best bottles for cream
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
Chestnut and cream is mont blanc, and the bottle is the chestnut half of it
Brown sugar spirit and cream is a Kyushu flip
dried fruit, chocolate, honey, kokuto
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
kokuto
kokuto
kokuto, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, 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.
Kokuto shochu
Molasses and dairy is dessert. Kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami one, and cream makes it a flip.
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
Brown sugar spirit and cream is a Kyushu flip
dried fruit, chocolate, honey, kokuto
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
Show the other 21 cream matches
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, soft, light-bodied, sweet
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.
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
Chestnut and cream is mont blanc, and the bottle is the chestnut half of it
Maple and cream is what goes on a pancake, and neither of them needs the other explained
Cream and coffee
sweet potato, vanilla, creamy texture, bright
Show the other 145 cream matches
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, tea, vanilla, mushroom
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
Half-and-half or heavy cream, in the after-dinner glass only.
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
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, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, berry, soft, sweet
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, spice, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, sweet, smooth, aged
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, roasted grain, sweet
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, sweet, soft, rich
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, long finish
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, tropical fruit, pepper, sweet
Awamori
Dairy softens awamori rather than fighting it, which is why the cut is an ordinary order in Okinawa.
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
Show the other 96 cream 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, smooth, cereal, sweet
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, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, nutty, dry, aged
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.
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
Show the other 16 cream matches
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, fruity, light-bodied
Kome shochu
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
Show the other 1 cream matches
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Chestnut and cream is mont blanc, and the bottle is the chestnut half of it
Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
chestnut, barley, fruity, rich
Show the other 1 cream matches
chestnut, floral, roasted grain, sweet
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.