Shochu that goes with elderflower
Flowers
These are bottles to mix elderflower into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
The cordial, sweet and alcohol-free, poured like a syrup. Muscat, lychee and honey in one flower. The liqueur has its own entry below: a different product rather than a stronger or weaker version of this one, and it brings alcohol along with the flower.
Best bottles for elderflower
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
Two florals at the same height, which is why the drink reads as one flower rather than a bouquet
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rich, smooth, clean, soft
shiso, red shiso, herbal, floral
clean, off-dry, 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.
Kome shochu
The cleanest of the shochu bases, so a flower actually reads instead of being swallowed.
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
Two florals at the same height, which is why the drink reads as one flower rather than a bouquet
rice, aged, cask, smooth
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
Show the other 63 elderflower matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, rich, bright
rice, cask, aged
rice, light-bodied, clean
Awamori
Awamori carries perfume of its own, so a flower works when it is quiet enough to sit beside that rather than argue with it.
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
rich, smooth, clean, soft
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
Show the other 102 elderflower matches
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, smooth
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
rice, smooth, soft, clean
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, clean, sweet
rice, soft, aged
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Imo shochu
Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
Show the other 97 elderflower matches
Two florals at the same height, which is why the drink reads as one flower rather than a bouquet
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
Pear and elderflower
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
Elderflower tastes of muscat and lychee already
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, fruity, silky, smooth
sweet potato, smooth, rich, light-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, smooth, aged
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, long finish
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
Mugi shochu
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
Show the other 19 elderflower matches
Pear and elderflower
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
Two florals at the same height, which is why the drink reads as one flower rather than a bouquet
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
barley, smooth, dry
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
tea, umami, savory, rich
smooth, rich, aged
roasted grain, umami, smooth
Show the other 5 elderflower matches
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
chestnut, floral, roasted grain, sweet
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
smooth, rich, cask, aged
Soba shochu
The nutty base will swallow a delicate flower unless the drink is otherwise very plain.
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
buckwheat, smooth, aged
buckwheat, nutty, earthy, vanilla
buckwheat, barley, rice
Show the other 4 elderflower matches
Kokuto shochu
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured