Shochu that goes with olive brine
Savory and salt
These are bottles to mix olive brine into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.
Best bottles for olive brine
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Salt brings umami forward
rice, soft, umami, rich
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
barley, rice, umami
barley, rice, umami
tea, umami, savory, rich
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
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.
Imo shochu
Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.
Salt brings umami forward
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
Show the other 103 olive brine matches
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
Brine and sweetness do not agree
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, vanilla, creamy texture, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, rich, crisp, soft
sweet potato, tea, vanilla, mushroom
sweet potato, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
Brine flattens perfume
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
Awamori
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Salt brings umami forward
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, savory, aged
Show the other 79 olive brine matches
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
Brine and sweetness do not agree
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, soft, aged
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, nutty, dry, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
Kome shochu
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
rice, rich, clean, bright
Show the other 51 olive brine matches
rice, light-bodied, clean
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
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, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
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
Brine flattens perfume
Brine and sweetness do not agree
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.
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
barley, rice, umami
Brine and sweetness do not agree
Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts. It makes a savoury bottle taste more like itself. The pairing reads as strange and drinks as obvious.
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
Show the other 80 olive brine matches
Salt brings umami forward
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, umami, light-bodied
A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, rich, crisp
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, smooth
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, smooth, dry
barley, soft, bright
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, banana, berry, bread
barley, dry, cask, aged
Soba shochu
Buckwheat is a savoury grain, and a soba restaurant already serves this spirit next to dashi.
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
Salt brings umami forward
A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.
buckwheat, nutty, earthy, vanilla
buckwheat, smooth, aged
Show the other 3 olive brine matches
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Salt brings umami forward
roasted grain, umami, smooth
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine
sesame, nutty, toast, off-dry
Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way
Kokuto shochu
A clean bottle can take a splash of brine