Shochu that goes with pedro ximénez sherry (px)
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix pedro ximénez sherry (px) into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Lustau San Emilio. Effectively a raisin syrup that happens to be wine, so a bar spoon sweetens and adds body where sugar syrup would only add sugar.
Best bottles for pedro ximénez sherry (px)
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
Brown sugar and dried fig, with the sugar already oxidised so it does not read as dessert
The bottle already smells of dried fruit, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
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.
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, floral, honey, caramel
Show the other 91 pedro ximénez sherry (px) matches
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Lustau San Emilio. Effectively a raisin syrup that happens to be wine, so a bar spoon sweetens and adds body where sugar syrup would only add sugar.
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
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, toast, sweet
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, 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, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, citrus
rice, citrus, umami, soft
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
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.
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
The bottle already smells of dried fruit, and this puts more of it in the glass.
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
Show the other 57 pedro ximénez sherry (px) matches
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
Lustau San Emilio. Effectively a raisin syrup that happens to be wine, so a bar spoon sweetens and adds body where sugar syrup would only add sugar.
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, ginjo-like
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, floral, aged
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, smooth, full-bodied, cask
rice, citrus, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, umami, rich
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, umami, rich, 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, cask, aged
rice, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Kokuto shochu
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
Brown sugar and dried fig, with the sugar already oxidised so it does not read as dessert
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Show the other 17 pedro ximénez sherry (px) matches
kokuto, cask, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, tropical fruit, vanilla, sweet
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
kokuto, soft, light-bodied, sweet
Mugi shochu
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
Show the other 12 pedro ximénez sherry (px) matches
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, vanilla, cask
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
Imo shochu
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
A bar spoon does what a syrup would, and it tastes of coffee's own dark fruit
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both
Soba shochu
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Raisin and cocoa come off the same shelf, and PX brings both