Shochu that goes with rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root)
Bitter and aperitivo
These are bottles to mix rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root) into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.
Best bottles for rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root)
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
In a 40 percent spirit the smoke and the alcohol heat compete; at 25 there is no heat to compete with, so the smoke arrives as flavour
The bottle already smells of caramel, and this puts more of it in the glass.
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, floral, honey, caramel
Root, smoke and roast are one long dark note
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
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.
Awamori
Aged kusu is intense enough to meet amaro without either one winning.
In a 40 percent spirit the smoke and the alcohol heat compete; at 25 there is no heat to compete with, so the smoke arrives as flavour
The bottle already smells of caramel, and this puts more of it in the glass.
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
Show the other 85 rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root) matches
rice, floral, honey, caramel
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, smooth, savory, aged
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, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, citrus, umami, soft
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, chocolate, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, nutty, dry, aged
Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.
rice, toast, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, citrus
Kome shochu
A light rice spirit can be bullied by amaro. Keep the bitter under a quarter ounce or pick a heavier bottle.
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, smooth, aged
rice, umami, rich, aged
Show the other 29 rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root) matches
Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, rich
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, sweet
Kokuto shochu
Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
Show the other 12 rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root) matches
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
Mugi shochu
Root, smoke and roast are one long dark note
The bottle already smells of caramel, and this puts more of it in the glass.
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
In a 40 percent spirit the smoke and the alcohol heat compete; at 25 there is no heat to compete with, so the smoke arrives as flavour
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
Imo shochu
A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth