Shochu that goes with karin (quince) liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Raw quince is inedible and gives up its scent only in alcohol, so the liqueur is the only practical form; 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.
Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, smooth
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
rice, aged, cask, smooth
Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
floral, clean, sharp, aged
shiso, herbal, floral, green
Orchard fruit meeting orchard fruit, one of them cooked
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 and anything poured at our bar come first. The ranking is the same engine that recommends a mixer from a bottle, run the other way round.
Kome shochu
Rice shochu stirred with vermouth is a martini at half the proof.
37 more, all of them in Kome shochu
Imo shochu
9 more, all of them in Imo shochu
Mugi shochu
Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu
4 more, all of them in Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu
Awamori
1 more, all of them in Awamori