Shochu that goes with soy sauce
Savory and salt
These are bottles to mix soy sauce into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.
Best bottles for soy sauce
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
rice, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
Soy and rice
rice, smooth, aged
rice, aged
rice, aged
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, umami, rich, aged
Sweet and soy is teriyaki, not a drink
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
A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
Show the other 84 soy sauce matches
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
Sweet and soy is teriyaki, not a drink
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, nutty, dry, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
A long aged spirit and aged soy share the same brown, oxidative notes
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, soft, smooth
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, sweet, oily
Kome shochu
A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
Show the other 35 soy sauce matches
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, rich, bright
rice, smooth, rich
rice, light-bodied, clean
Sweet and soy is teriyaki, not a drink
Imo shochu
Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.
A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
Show the other 1 soy sauce matches
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
Mugi shochu
Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.
A long aged spirit and aged soy share the same brown, oxidative notes
A drop of soy in a savoury glass is seasoning rather than flavouring
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, rice, umami
Show the other 80 soy sauce matches
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
barley, soft, silky, smooth
barley, soft, cask, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
Sweet and soy is teriyaki, not a drink
barley, umami, rich, sweet
A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, crisp, clean
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, smooth, dry
barley, soft, bright
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, banana, berry, bread
Kokuto shochu
A long aged spirit and aged soy share the same brown, oxidative notes
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
Show the other 1 soy sauce matches
Soba shochu
Buckwheat is a savoury grain, and a soba restaurant already serves this spirit next to dashi.
A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.