Shochu that goes with shiso
Herbs
These are bottles to mix shiso into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Green shiso leaves, slapped or muddled gently. Red shiso as a syrup. Japan already makes shiso shochu, which tells you it works.
Best bottles for shiso
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, rich, clean
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
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.
Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 94 shiso matches
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
barley, rice, umami
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, rich, crisp
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, banana, toast
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, banana, berry, bread
barley, dry, cask, aged
Awamori
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, bright, aged
Show the other 98 shiso matches
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
floral, clean, sharp, aged
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
Kome shochu
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 64 shiso matches
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
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, smooth, rich
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Imo shochu
The bottle already smells of shiso, and this puts more of it in the glass.
The bottle already smells of mint, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
Show the other 16 shiso matches
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Shiso and ume grew up together
citrus, plum, sweet, yuzu
Show the other 6 shiso matches
chestnut, barley, fruity, rich
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Only where the herb agrees with the bottle's own botanical. Shiso on shiso works; rosemary on shiso does not.
Shiso is in this bottle, not just on its nose, so this doubles it rather than introducing it.
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
sesame, nutty, toast, off-dry
Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
Show the other 4 shiso matches
coffee, chocolate, brown sugar, rice
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice
Shiso on a clean bottle is the most Japanese drink you can build
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
soft, light-bodied, clean, sweet
Kokuto shochu
Amami's molasses aroma is already in the bottle, so a green herb has something to sit against.
Shiso and brown sugar pull apart
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Soba shochu
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice