Shochu that goes with wasabi
Spice and warmth
These are bottles to mix wasabi into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
A rice-grain amount, dissolved. For the savory, cucumber glass, not the fruit one.
Best bottles for wasabi
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Wasabi and rice is sushi
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, clean, sharp, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, smooth
rice, aged
rice, aged
rice, aged
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, rich
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
Spice reads as native on this base rather than imported, star anise and chilli and ginger most of all.
Wasabi and rice is sushi
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
Show the other 102 wasabi matches
rice, pear, caramel, rich
rice, smooth, savory, aged
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, bright, aged
rice, citrus, cereal, aged
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, smooth, soft, aged
rice, roasted grain, aged
rice, sherry-like, aged
rice, aged
rice, soft, smooth
rice, steamed rice, soft, caramel
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, vanilla, funky, creamy texture
rice, citrus, tropical fruit, vanilla
rice, nutty, dry, aged
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
rich, full-bodied, aged, umami
umami, rich, full-bodied, cask
aged, caramel, smooth, spice
Wasabi and sweetness do not agree
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, smooth, rich
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, soft, rich, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, sweet, smooth, rich
rice, sweet, crisp, smooth
rice, citrus, roasted grain, sweet
rice, citrus, vanilla, chocolate
rice, sweet, soft, smooth
rice, smooth, sweet, aged
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
floral, clean, sharp, aged
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
Kokuto shochu
Warm spice meets the brown-sugar aroma the distillate keeps. The sugar itself is gone, so sweeten separately if the drink needs it.
kokuto, light-bodied, clean, aged
dried fruit, chocolate, honey, kokuto
kokuto, rich, long finish, aged
kokuto, smooth, smoky, cask
Show the other 19 wasabi matches
kokuto, smooth, cask, aged
kokuto, sweet, clean, rich
kokuto, molasses, roasted grain, dry
kokuto, molasses, vanilla, spice
kokuto, vanilla, spice, cask
kokuto, rum-like, chocolate
kokuto, chocolate, nutty, sweet
Imo shochu
Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
sweet potato, spice, clean, sharp
sweet potato, smooth, clean, aged
sweet potato, umami, soft, clean
sweet potato, clean, aged
citrus, pear, sweet potato, clean
Show the other 100 wasabi matches
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, dry
lychee, grape, jasmine, rich
vanilla, cask, rich, crisp
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, umami, silky
sweet potato, tropical fruit, bright, aged
sweet potato, smooth, aged
sweet potato, tea, rich
sweet potato, milky, soft, aged
sweet potato, aged
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, shiso, smooth, tea
sweet potato, umami, smooth
sweet potato, whisky-like, cask
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, umami, rich
sweet potato, earthy, crisp, aged
sweet potato, yogurt, creamy texture
sweet potato, rich, full-bodied
sweet potato, vanilla, creamy texture, bright
sweet potato, rich, purple sweet potato
sweet potato, whisky-like, aged
sweet potato, rich, crisp, soft
sweet potato, tea, vanilla, mushroom
sweet potato, rich, soft, aged
sweet potato, umami, rich, aged
sweet potato, smooth, nutty, umami
sweet potato, soft, smooth, aged
sweet potato, vanilla, toast, spice
sweet potato, lychee, chocolate, bright
sweet potato, soft, smooth, rich
sweet potato, chocolate, sherry-like, cask
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, aged
Wasabi and sweetness do not agree
sweet potato, roasted sweet potato, rich, clean
sweet potato, smooth, soft, clean
sweet potato, crisp, bitter
sweet potato, pineapple, tropical fruit, fruity
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, soft, tea
sweet potato, light-bodied, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, grape, muscat
sweet potato, fruity, soft
sweet potato, umami
sweet potato, roasted grain
sweet potato, smooth, toast
sweet potato, rich, smooth, umami
sweet potato, smooth, umami, light-bodied
sweet potato, earthy
sweet potato, coffee, earthy, pepper
sweet potato, funky
sweet potato, light-bodied, dry, aged
sweet potato, fruity
sweet potato, smooth, fruity, bright
sweet potato, pear, grassy, light-bodied
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, white peach, grape, berry
sweet potato, crisp
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, bright
sweet potato, smooth
sweet potato, tropical fruit, spice, light-bodied
sweet potato, smoky, rich, long finish
sweet potato, lychee, white peach, tropical fruit
sweet potato, sweet, clean, soft
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
sweet potato, light-bodied, clean, sweet
sweet potato, sweet, clean, rich
sweet potato, sweet, clean, fruity
sweet potato, pear, grassy, rich
sweet potato, smooth, sweet, vanilla
Kome shochu
Wasabi and rice is sushi
rice, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 50 wasabi matches
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, melon, vanilla, toast
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, cask, aged
Wasabi and perfume clash
Wasabi and sweetness do not agree
Mugi shochu
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
barley, crisp, clean, aged
barley, crisp, clean
barley, soft, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 7 wasabi matches
Wasabi and rice is sushi
barley, rice, umami
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
sesame, nutty, toast, off-dry
Wasabi and rice is sushi
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
A tiny amount on a clean bottle reads as a green, savory heat
There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.