Shochu that goes with dashi
Savory and salt
These are bottles to mix dashi into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Warm kombu-and-bonito stock, lightly seasoned, mixed with the spirit. It sounds strange and tastes like an oden counter.
Best bottles for dashi
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Roast and dashi are both savoury rather than sweet, which is the half of an imo most drinks ignore
Warm dashi carries a spirit's savoury side forward the way hot water carries its aroma
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Dashi works because the shochu is already savoury: kombu and katsuo extend that rather than contrast with it
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, umami, light-bodied
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
Warm dashi and the rice in the bottle make a savoury glass, the broth carrying the grain
rice, smooth, aged
rice, aged
rice, 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.
Awamori
Warm dashi carries a spirit's savoury side forward the way hot water carries its aroma
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
Warm dashi and the rice in the bottle make a savoury glass, the broth carrying the grain
Show the other 73 dashi matches
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, nutty, dry, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
Imo shochu
Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.
Roast and dashi are both savoury rather than sweet, which is the half of an imo most drinks ignore
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
Show the other 13 dashi matches
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, vanilla, creamy texture, bright
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
Dashi and sweetness do not agree
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
Kome shochu
Warm dashi carries a spirit's savoury side forward the way hot water carries its aroma
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
Warm dashi and the rice in the bottle make a savoury glass, the broth carrying the grain
Show the other 31 dashi matches
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, smooth, rich
Dashi and sweetness do not agree
Mugi shochu
Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.
Dashi works because the shochu is already savoury: kombu and katsuo extend that rather than contrast with it
Warm dashi carries a spirit's savoury side forward the way hot water carries its aroma
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
Show the other 20 dashi 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, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
Dashi and sweetness do not agree
Soba shochu
Buckwheat is a savoury grain, and a soba restaurant already serves this spirit next to dashi.
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.