Shochu that goes with orange liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix orange liqueur into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Cointreau or a dry curaçao. The sweet-and-citrus half of any sour.
Best bottles for orange 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.
Orange on citrus
rice, citrus, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
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.
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.
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
Show the other 102 orange liqueur matches
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, aged
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, soft, aged
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, sherry-like, aged
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, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rice, nutty, dry, aged
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
rich, smooth, clean, soft
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, clean, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, clean, smooth
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, smooth
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
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.
Orange on citrus
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
Show the other 63 orange liqueur matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Cointreau or a dry curaçao. The sweet-and-citrus half of any sour.
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, sweet, clean, smooth
rice, chocolate, sweet
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
rice, light-bodied, clean
Mugi shochu
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
Show the other 33 orange liqueur matches
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, sweet
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, pear, banana, bread
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, toast, cereal, rich
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
Imo shochu
Orange on citrus
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
Show the other 18 orange liqueur matches
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
Kokuto shochu
Kokuto shochu, orange liqueur, lime: a margarita shape with a cane spirit
kokuto, cask, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
Show the other 16 orange liqueur matches
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
kokuto, molasses, roasted grain, dry
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Orange on citrus
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Show the other 6 orange liqueur matches
smooth, rich, full-bodied, sweet
smooth, rich, cask, aged
Citrus is in this bottle, not just on its nose, so this doubles it rather than introducing it.
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Citrus is in this bottle, not just on its nose, so this doubles it rather than introducing it.
Soba shochu
Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur