Shochu that goes with shiso liqueur
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix shiso liqueur into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Usually red shiso, so it comes out pink. Sharper and more herbal than it looks, and a little goes a long way.
Best bottles for shiso liqueur
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
rice, clean, smooth, aged
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, citrus, aged
rice, clean, aged
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, clean, sweet
rice, clean, smooth
rice, clean, aged
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.
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, bright, aged
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour
rice, clean, sweet
Show the other 101 shiso liqueur matches
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rich, smooth, clean, soft
floral, clean, sharp, aged
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, cask, aged
rice, whisky-like, cask, aged
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, 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, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
rice, cherry, vanilla, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, nutty, dry, aged
Usually red shiso, so it comes out pink. Sharper and more herbal than it looks, and a little goes a long way.
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
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.
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour
rice, rich, clean, bright
Show the other 64 shiso liqueur matches
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, sweet, clean, smooth
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, light-bodied, clean
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, floral, smooth, soft
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, smooth, aged, cask
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
Imo shochu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
Show the other 19 shiso liqueur matches
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
A shiso bottle and a shiso liqueur are the same plant twice
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
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, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
Mugi shochu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 11 shiso liqueur matches
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour
barley, rice, umami
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sweet, clean
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan
sesame, nutty, toast, off-dry
Shiso is in this bottle itself, not just on its nose, so this adds more of the same rather than a second flavour.
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
soft, light-bodied, clean, sweet
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan
citrus, plum, sweet, yuzu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
Kokuto shochu
The herb needs a quiet base or it just tastes like the herb
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Soba shochu
Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour