Shochu that goes with umezu (ume plum vinegar)
Savory and salt
These are bottles to mix umezu (ume plum vinegar) into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Eden Foods sells it as Ume Plum Vinegar in most US supermarkets, and it is one of the cheapest things on this list. A bar spoon, and unlike a crushed umeboshi it can go into a shaken drink.
Best bottles for umezu (ume plum vinegar)
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 red shiso that colours it is a flavour and a colour at once
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, berry, soft, sweet
sweet potato, sweet
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.
Imo shochu
Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.
The red shiso that colours it is a flavour and a colour at once
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
sweet potato, citrus, fruity, mint
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
Show the other 154 umezu (ume plum vinegar) matches
sweet potato, fruity, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, soft, light-bodied
sweet potato, berry, soft, sweet
sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, sweet, soft
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, floral, fruity, clean
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, smooth
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, roasted grain, sweet
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, rich, crisp, soft
sweet potato, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, crisp, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, sweet, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, fruity, earthy, mineral
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, rich, sweet
sweet potato, pineapple, maple, mineral
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, rich, clean, sweet
sweet potato, citrus, floral, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, umami, sweet, rich
sweet potato, fruity, silky, smooth
sweet potato, sweet, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, apple, soft, rich
sweet potato, soft, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, smooth, rich, light-bodied
sweet potato, spice, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, rich, sweet
sweet potato, rich, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, floral, fruity, umami
sweet potato, soft, sweet
sweet potato, smooth, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, smooth, aged
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
sweet potato, soft, light-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, citrus, floral, caramel
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied, sweet
sweet potato, floral, soft, maple
sweet potato, sweet, soft, rich
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, long finish
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, sweet
sweet potato, tropical fruit, floral, caramel
sweet potato, tropical fruit, pepper, sweet
muscat, citrus, floral, sweet potato
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, lychee, floral, fruity
Salt and sour cut across a vanilla note rather than joining it
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
sweet potato, tea, vanilla, mushroom
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, floral, full-bodied
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, aged
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, umami, soft, full-bodied
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
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
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, fruity, umami, rich
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, aged
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
The flowers in this bottle are delicate enough that a tannic or savoury mixer simply erases them.
Awamori
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
rice, smooth, savory, aged
caramel, smoky, rich, earthy
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
Show the other 11 umezu (ume plum vinegar) matches
Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts. It makes a savoury bottle taste more like itself. The pairing reads as strange and drinks as obvious.
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, aged
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, smooth, maple, umami
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, citrus, umami, soft
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Soba shochu
Buckwheat is a savoury grain, and a soba restaurant already serves this spirit next to dashi.
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita
An earthy, heavy spirit flattens out without acid. This is the ingredient doing structural work, not decoration.
buckwheat, smooth
buckwheat, soft
buckwheat, barley, rice
Show the other 3 umezu (ume plum vinegar) matches
buckwheat, sweet
buckwheat, cask, aged
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.
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita
barley, toast, savory, rich
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
barley, banana, berry, bread
Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
Eden Foods sells it as Ume Plum Vinegar in most US supermarkets, and it is one of the cheapest things on this list. A bar spoon, and unlike a crushed umeboshi it can go into a shaken drink.
Show the other 87 umezu (ume plum vinegar) matches
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, sesame, caramel, chocolate
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, smooth
barley, rich, clean
barley, umami, rich, sweet
barley, umami, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, soft, sweet
barley, smooth, rich, aged
barley, smooth, rich, whisky-like
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, rich, full-bodied, cask
barley, light-bodied
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
barley, rice, umami
barley, rice, umami
barley, fruity, soft
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, cask
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, rich, aged
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, smooth, crisp, cask
barley, toast, spice, rich
barley, umami, aged
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, chocolate, coffee, rich
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, bright
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, aged
barley, banana, toast
barley, pear, banana, bread
barley, caramel, chocolate, smoky
barley, cask, aged
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, rich
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, sweet, clean
barley, silky, smooth
barley, clean, sharp
barley, cask, aged
barley, dry, cask, aged
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita
Plum is in this bottle itself, not just on its nose, so this adds more of the same rather than a second flavour.
citrus, plum, sweet, yuzu
Show the other 3 umezu (ume plum vinegar) matches
plum, sweet, citrus
Kokuto shochu
The sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Shiso is in this bottle itself, not just on its nose, so this adds more of the same rather than a second flavour.
shiso, red shiso
There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
Kome shochu
Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts. It makes a savoury bottle taste more like itself. The pairing reads as strange and drinks as obvious.
Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Salt and acid arrive together, which is what a salted rim does for a margarita