Shochu that goes with tomato
Melon, cucumber and garden
These are bottles to mix tomato into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. Savoury and acidic at once.
Best bottles for tomato
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
barley, rice, umami
rice, soft, umami, rich
Pepper and tomato is a plate of food, and the tomato's umami does what salt would
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
rice, soft, umami, rich
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
rice, umami, rich
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, umami
barley, umami, 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.
Mugi shochu
A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
barley, rice, umami
Pepper and tomato is a plate of food, and the tomato's umami does what salt would
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, umami, rich, sharp
Show the other 94 tomato matches
barley, citrus, melon, white peach
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
Tomato is savoury and acidic at once, which is exactly what a dry barley shochu has no supply of
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
barley, crisp, clean, aged
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, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, smooth, dry
barley, banana, toast
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
barley, jasmine, honey, vanilla
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
Sweet bottles make tomato taste like ketchup
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, caramel, rich, sweet
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
Tomato and perfume do not belong in one glass
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, sweet, clean
Kome shochu
A light rice spirit takes a green, quiet garden note. Anything savoury leads instead of following.
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
Rice is mild and a little sweet, which leaves tomato's savoury, acidic side room to lead
Show the other 64 tomato matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
rice, light-bodied, clean
Sweet bottles make tomato taste like ketchup
Tomato and perfume do not belong in one glass
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Awamori
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
Rice is mild and a little sweet, which leaves tomato's savoury, acidic side room to lead
Show the other 74 tomato matches
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, nutty, dry, aged
Sweet bottles make tomato taste like ketchup
Imo shochu
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
Show the other 10 tomato matches
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
Pepper and tomato is a plate of food, and the tomato's umami does what salt would
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
tea, umami, savory, rich
Tomato is savoury and acidic at once, which is exactly what a dry barley shochu has no supply of
Soba shochu
Rice is mild and a little sweet, which leaves tomato's savoury, acidic side room to lead
Tomato is savoury, and so is a bottle described as having umami, so the two meet rather than compete
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Rice is mild and a little sweet, which leaves tomato's savoury, acidic side room to lead
Tomato is savoury and acidic at once, which is exactly what a dry barley shochu has no supply of
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Rice is mild and a little sweet, which leaves tomato's savoury, acidic side room to lead