Shochu that goes with melon liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix melon liqueur into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.
Best bottles for melon 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.
A ginjo-like aroma and melon liqueur share their fruit, so this turns up what is already there
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
rice, floral, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, floral, honey, caramel
rich, smooth, clean, soft
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, clean, smooth, aged
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.
A ginjo-like aroma and melon liqueur share their fruit, so this turns up what is already there
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
Show the other 63 melon liqueur matches
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
The bottle is already described as melon; this says it louder
rice, light-bodied, clean
Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
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.
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
rich, smooth, clean, soft
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
Show the other 100 melon liqueur matches
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, clean, sweet
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, 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, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, 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, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Imo shochu
A ginjo-like aroma and melon liqueur share their fruit, so this turns up what is already there
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
Show the other 13 melon liqueur matches
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
Mugi shochu
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 8 melon liqueur matches
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
The bottle is already described as melon; this says it louder
barley, sweet, clean
Melon over an earthy bottle reads as two drinks in one glass
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
rice, soft, crisp, clean
soft, light-bodied, clean, sweet
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
floral, fruity, sweet, plum
chestnut, floral, roasted grain, sweet
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
Sweet enough to need a clean base under it