Shochu that goes with honey
Sweeteners
These are bottles to mix honey into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Diluted one to one with warm water so it mixes cold. A little goes far; taste before adding more.
Best bottles for honey
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
Honey and aged notes
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
Honey and flowers are one thing
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
Honey is the oldest correction for a bitter drink and it does not thin it the way syrup does
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
floral, clean, sharp, 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.
Mugi shochu
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
Honey and aged notes
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
Show the other 94 honey matches
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, savory, rich
Honey and flowers are one thing
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, rice, umami
barley, roasted grain
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, banana, berry, bread
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
Honey and aged notes
Honey and flowers are one thing
Yuzu and honey is the pairing behind yuzu tea, and it works cold as well as hot
Show the other 10 honey matches
floral, fruity, sweet, plum
Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy
chestnut, floral, roasted grain, sweet
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
Awamori
floral, clean, sharp, aged
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
Show the other 55 honey matches
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
rice, clean, smooth, aged
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, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
Kome shochu
Honey and flowers are one thing
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
Show the other 28 honey matches
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
Honey is the oldest correction for a bitter drink and it does not thin it the way syrup does
rice, floral, ginjo-like, clean
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
Imo shochu
Honey and flowers are one thing
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
Show the other 28 honey matches
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
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, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
Kokuto shochu
It reads sweet without carrying any sugar, so added sweetness is easy to overdo. Put it in only to balance a sharp acid.
Honey rounds a spice edge without flattening it, which sugar syrup does
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
Show the other 14 honey matches
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, molasses, roasted grain, dry
The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Soba shochu
Honey and buckwheat is a known pair, and buckwheat honey is the proof of it.
Honey and aged notes
Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy
buckwheat, cask, aged
buckwheat, savory, nutty, earthy
buckwheat, nutty, earthy, vanilla
Show the other 4 honey matches
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Honey is the oldest correction for a bitter drink and it does not thin it the way syrup does
Shiso juice is made sweetened, and honey is the version of that with more body than sugar
Yuzu and honey is the pairing behind yuzu tea, and it works cold as well as hot
Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy
Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy