Shochu that goes with umeshu
Wine, liqueur and spirits
These are bottles to mix umeshu into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Sweet, sour, almondy. A splash does the work of both syrup and citrus.
Best bottles for umeshu
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, clean, smooth, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, ginjo-like
rice, soft, rich, 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.
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
rice, pear, caramel, rich
Show the other 102 umeshu matches
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, bright, aged
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, sherry-like, 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
rice, nutty, dry, aged
Sweet, sour, almondy. A splash does the work of both syrup and citrus.
rich, smooth, clean, soft
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
Mugi shochu
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
Show the other 93 umeshu matches
barley, chocolate, umami, smooth
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, chocolate, earthy, smooth
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, smooth, long finish, aged
barley, rich, crisp
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
barley, smoky, soft, cask
barley, umami, rich, sweet
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, 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, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, vanilla, spice, cask
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, savory, rich
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
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, soft, cask, aged
barley, smooth, crisp, aged
barley, rich, cask, aged
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, toast, cereal, rich
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, sweet, clean
barley, vanilla, nutty, toast
barley, cask, aged
barley, banana, berry, bread
barley, dry, cask, aged
Imo shochu
Umeshu rounds imo shochu for a first-timer
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
Show the other 72 umeshu matches
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, dry, sweet
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, clean, aged
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
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.
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
Show the other 64 umeshu matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
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, 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, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
rice, light-bodied, clean
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Plum is in this bottle, not just on its nose, so this doubles it rather than introducing it.
citrus, plum, sweet, yuzu
Show the other 6 umeshu matches
Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda
barley, smooth, honey, vanilla
Umeshu rounds imo shochu for a first-timer
chestnut, barley, fruity, rich
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Umeshu rounds imo shochu for a first-timer
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent
Soba shochu
Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent