Shochu that goes with quinquina aperitif (cocchi americano-style)
Bitter and aperitivo
Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. Lillet dropped its quinine in 1985, so only the Americano side of the category still tastes of the bark, and equal parts with a shochu is about 21 percent.
Best bottles for quinquina aperitif (cocchi americano-style)
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style): Amaro and gentian answer the earth with more earth, which is why a split-base imo drink reads as intentional rather than odd.
sweet potato, rice, lychee, grape
lychee, grape, jasmine, rich
Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style): Aged kusu is intense enough to meet amaro without either one winning.
rice, citrus, vanilla, aged
Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style): Quinine and gentian give a measured bitterness where an amaro would take the glass over
sweet potato, rice, citrus, mint
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style): Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
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 and anything poured at our bar come first. The ranking is the same engine that recommends a mixer from a bottle, run the other way round.
Imo shochu
Amaro and gentian answer the earth with more earth, which is why a split-base imo drink reads as intentional rather than odd.
54 more, all of them in Imo shochu
Awamori
Aged kusu is intense enough to meet amaro without either one winning.
22 more, all of them in Awamori
Kome shochu
A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.
21 more, all of them in Kome shochu
Kokuto shochu
Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
8 more, all of them in Kokuto shochu
Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu
A strong bitter will argue with the botanical rather than support it. Keep it to a dash.
5 more, all of them in Shiso, sesame, tea and other single-botanical shochu