Shochu that goes with rosemary
Herbs
These are bottles to mix rosemary into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
A sprig, lightly toasted with a lighter, as garnish or stirred. Strong; a little.
Best bottles for rosemary
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Resinous herb against earthy depth
Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
Amami's molasses aroma is already in the bottle, so a green herb has something to sit against.
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
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.
Mugi shochu
A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
Resinous herb against earthy depth
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
Show the other 28 rosemary matches
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, cask, aged
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
Kokuto shochu
Amami's molasses aroma is already in the bottle, so a green herb has something to sit against.
Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace
kokuto, molasses, roasted grain, dry
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
Show the other 13 rosemary matches
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
Awamori
Resinous herb against earthy depth
Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
Imo shochu
Resinous herb against earthy depth
Rosemary and roasted sweet potato is a dinner plate
Kome shochu
Rosemary and cask notes are a fireplace