Shochu that goes with fig
Orchard and stone fruit
These are bottles to mix fig into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.
Best bottles for fig
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
Fig and brown sugar is a dessert plate
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
rice, floral, honey, caramel
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, 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.
Kome shochu
Rice shochu distilled with ginjo yeast carries apple and melon esters already, so orchard fruit is amplification.
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
Show the other 56 fig matches
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
Too heavy for a crisp, delicate bottle
Awamori
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
rice, nutty, dry, aged
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
Show the other 50 fig matches
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
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, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Mugi shochu
Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
Show the other 41 fig matches
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
Fig and nut is a natural pair
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
Imo shochu
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
Show the other 38 fig matches
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, fruity, silky, smooth
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
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, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, sweet, smooth, aged
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, tropical fruit, pepper, sweet
Kokuto shochu
Fig and brown sugar is a dessert plate
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
Show the other 19 fig matches
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, molasses, roasted grain, dry
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry
floral, smooth, aged
Show the other 3 fig matches
Soba shochu
Fig and nut is a natural pair
Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry