Shochu that goes with kokuto (brown sugar) syrup
Sweeteners
These are bottles to mix kokuto (brown sugar) syrup into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Okinawan or Amami kokuto dissolved one to one in water. Molasses, minerals, a little salt.
Best bottles for kokuto (brown sugar) syrup
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Brown sugar on brown sugar; the spirit's own raw material
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, cask, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
Kuromitsu on sweet potato is a wagashi
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
dried fruit, chocolate, honey, kokuto
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.
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.
Brown sugar on brown sugar; the spirit's own raw material
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, cask, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
Show the other 15 kokuto (brown sugar) syrup matches
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
dried fruit, chocolate, honey, kokuto
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
Imo shochu
Kuromitsu on sweet potato is a wagashi
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
lychee, grape, jasmine, rich
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
Show the other 73 kokuto (brown sugar) syrup matches
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
Mugi shochu
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, citrus, melon, banana
Show the other 11 kokuto (brown sugar) syrup matches
barley, cask
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
Brown sugar and coffee
barley, cask, aged
barley, vanilla, cask
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
Kome shochu
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, full-bodied, cask
Show the other 7 kokuto (brown sugar) syrup matches
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, cask, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
Soba shochu
Buckwheat's sweetness is dark rather than bright, so a dark syrup extends it and a pale one sits on top.
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
buckwheat, savory, nutty, earthy
buckwheat, nutty, earthy, vanilla
buckwheat, smooth, aged
buckwheat, smooth
Show the other 4 kokuto (brown sugar) syrup matches
buckwheat, barley, rice
buckwheat, sweet
Awamori
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Kuromitsu on sweet potato is a wagashi
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
smooth, rich, cask, aged
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Kuromitsu on sweet potato is a wagashi