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Shochu that goes with kurozu (kagoshima black vinegar)

Savory and salt

Sakamoto's, fermented outdoors in earthenware jars in Fukuyama and aged at least a year; Toiro and Japanese Taste ship it in the US. A teaspoon in a mizuwari is the whole intervention, and a second one is usually a mistake.

Best bottles for kurozu (kagoshima black vinegar)

The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.

Kuro Kirishima ShochuPouredImo (sweet potato) · Miyazaki

Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar): An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.

Kozuru Kuro Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, rice, funky, sweet

Satoh KuroImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, rice, tea, vanilla

Aka Maoh Shochu Red Satan 12Imo (sweet potato) · Miyazaki

Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar): There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

Jikuya BlackImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, earthy, sweet, koji

Nakamura Gyokuro Kuro Sweet Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · Miyazaki

sweet potato, rice, pear, grassy

Tenshi No Yuwaku Sweet Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, rice, chocolate, sweet

Daiyame Sweet Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, rice, lychee, grape

Komasa Kurano Shikon Green ShochuImo (sweet potato) · Kagoshima

sweet potato, melon, banana, sweet

Seifuku Vintage AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Ishigaki)

rich, full-bodied, aged, umami

Zuisen Hiryu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)

umami, rich, full-bodied, cask

Chuko Ryukyu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)

caramel, smoky, rich, earthy

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.

Imo shochu

Umeboshi in hot shochu is a Kagoshima winter, and salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

Kuro Kirishima ShochuPouredImo (sweet potato) · MiyazakiStart with Pu-erh tea, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)Kozuru Kuro Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · KagoshimaStart with Ginger beer, HyuganatsuSatoh KuroImo (sweet potato) · KagoshimaStart with Ginger beer, HyuganatsuAka Maoh Shochu Red Satan 12Imo (sweet potato) · MiyazakiStart with Ginger beer, Daidai (bitter orange)Jikuya BlackImo (sweet potato) · KagoshimaStart with Ginger beer, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)Nakamura Gyokuro Kuro Sweet Potato ShochuImo (sweet potato) · MiyazakiStart with Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino), Hyuganatsu

55 more, all of them in Imo shochu

Awamori

Seifuku Vintage AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Ishigaki)Start with Pu-erh tea, Daidai (bitter orange)Zuisen Hiryu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)Start with Pu-erh tea, Yuzu koshoChuko Ryukyu AwamoriPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Naha)Start with Pu-erh tea, Black pepperZanpa White AwamoriAwamori · OkinawaStart with Soda water, Green tea (sencha)Seifuku Coffee LiqueurPouredAwamori · Okinawa (Ishigaki)Start with Ginger ale, Hyuganatsu

10 more, all of them in Awamori

Kome shochu

24-DO Kinjo ShiroKome (rice) · KumamotoStart with Oolong tea, Black tea (Earl Grey)

17 more, all of them in Kome shochu

Kokuto shochu

Jougo ShochuKokuto (brown sugar) · KagoshimaStart with Ginger beer, Daidai (bitter orange)Nankai Gold ShochuPouredKokuto (brown sugar) · Kagoshima (Amami Oshima)Start with Ginger beer, Lime

5 more, all of them in Kokuto shochu

Soba shochu

Buckwheat is a savoury grain, and a soba restaurant already serves this spirit next to dashi.

Towari Soba ShochuPouredSoba (buckwheat) · KyotoStart with Ginger beer, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)Soba Unkai ShochuPouredSoba (buckwheat) · Miyazaki (Gokase)Start with Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea), Hojicha

1 more, all of them in Soba shochu

Mugi shochu

Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

Nikaido Oita Mugi ShochuPouredMugi (barley) · Oita (Hiji)Start with Jasmine tea, Green tea (sencha)Yanagita Koma Barley ShochuPouredMugi (barley) · Miyazaki (Miyakonojo)Start with Jasmine tea, Green tea (sencha)

53 more, all of them in Mugi shochu

Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu

Gyokuro Excellent Green ShochuPouredShochu · FukuokaStart with Kombucha, Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

3 more, all of them in Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu