Shochu that goes with genever
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix genever into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.
Best bottles for genever
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, citrus, melon, banana
buckwheat, barley, rice
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, banana, berry, bread
Malt walks over a delicate perfume
Against a soba bottle it reads as more of the same thing, not a second idea
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
rice, smooth, aged
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
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.
Mugi shochu
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, banana, berry, bread
Malt walks over a delicate perfume
Show the other 94 genever matches
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, rice, umami
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, dry, cask, aged
barley, clean, off-dry, smooth
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
Soba shochu
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
Against a soba bottle it reads as more of the same thing, not a second idea
buckwheat, smooth, aged
Show the other 4 genever matches
buckwheat, cask, aged
buckwheat, nutty, earthy, vanilla
Awamori
Awamori has enough character to be the base of a cocktail, not the neutral part of one. So an orange liqueur or a mezcal sits beside it instead of covering it.
The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
Half an ounce lifts a grain shochu a little without turning it into a whisky drink
Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.
rich, smooth, clean, soft
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
Show the other 100 genever matches
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, 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, 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, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
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
Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini with koji where the juniper was. The strength depends on the bottle, not on the swap. Most shochu is 25 and lands well under a gin martini. The 40 percent bottles land beside one.
The bottle carries the grain and the mixer carries it roasted, so it is one ingredient reaching the glass two ways.
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
Show the other 61 genever matches
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, light-bodied, clean
Half an ounce lifts a grain shochu a little without turning it into a whisky drink
Malt walks over a delicate perfume
Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.
rice, soft, umami, rich
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, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
Imo shochu
Half an ounce lifts a grain shochu a little without turning it into a whisky drink
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
chestnut, barley, fruity, rich
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways