Shochu that goes with makgeolli
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix makgeolli into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Hana Makgeolli is brewed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Makku sells a canned one. Strength varies widely across the category, from around 6 percent in a can to the mid teens for an unfiltered takju, so read the label before deciding how much to pour.
Best bottles for makgeolli
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
Rice fermented and rice distilled, in one glass, both still tasting of rice
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
rice, ginjo-like
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
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.
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 yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
Rice fermented and rice distilled, in one glass, both still tasting of rice
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
Show the other 64 makgeolli matches
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, light-bodied, clean
The bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, rich, bright
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Cloudy rice and cask wood argue
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
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.
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
rice, light-bodied, sweet
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
Show the other 102 makgeolli matches
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
The bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rice, nutty, dry, aged
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
Hana Makgeolli is brewed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Makku sells a canned one. Strength varies widely across the category, from around 6 percent in a can to the mid teens for an unfiltered takju, so read the label before deciding how much to pour.
rich, smooth, clean, soft
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
Cloudy rice and cask wood argue
Imo shochu
Rice fermented and rice distilled, in one glass, both still tasting of rice
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, smooth, rich, light-bodied
Show the other 22 makgeolli matches
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, rich, crisp, soft
sweet potato, crisp, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
Mugi shochu
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
The bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.
barley, rice, umami
barley, clean, off-dry, smooth
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
Show the other 16 makgeolli matches
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, rich, crisp
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, fruity, light-bodied
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Its lactic tang keeps a crisp bottle from going flat as the ice melts
citrus, bright, bitter, crisp
Kokuto shochu
The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Soba shochu
The bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.