Shochu that goes with karin (quince) liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix karin (quince) liqueur into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.
Best bottles for karin (quince) liqueur
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
rice, floral, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.
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
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.
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
Show the other 100 karin (quince) liqueur matches
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, toast, sweet
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, clean, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, clean, smooth
rice, soft, aged
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, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, citrus, umami, soft
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, clean, sharp, aged
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 perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, floral, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
Show the other 64 karin (quince) liqueur matches
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, ginjo-like
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, full-bodied, cask
rice, citrus, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, clean, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, clean, aged
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, umami, rich, aged
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, sweet, clean, smooth
rice, chocolate, sweet
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, cask, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, light-bodied, clean
Imo shochu
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
Show the other 10 karin (quince) liqueur matches
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
floral, fruity, sweet, plum
chestnut, floral, roasted grain, sweet
Mugi shochu
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
Kokuto shochu
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying