Shochu that goes with watermelon
Melon, cucumber and garden
These are bottles to mix watermelon into. Some of them taste of it too, and where that is the reason a bottle is here, its line says so.
Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.
Best bottles for watermelon
The strongest matches in the catalogue, across every style. Everything below is the same ranking opened out by what the shochu is made from.
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, sweet, clean, smooth
rice, light-bodied, clean
rice, clean
The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, melon, banana, floral
barley, clean, off-dry, smooth
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
rice, umami, crisp, 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.
Kome shochu
A light rice spirit takes a green, quiet garden note. Anything savoury leads instead of following.
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
rice, rich, clean, bright
rice, light-bodied, clean
Show the other 64 watermelon matches
rice, umami, crisp, sweet
rice, light-bodied, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, fruity
rice, citrus, silky, light-bodied
rice, floral, fruity, smooth
rice, citrus, apple, pineapple
rice, rich, bright
rice, pear, jasmine, light-bodied
rice, smooth, rich
Watermelon is too fresh for aged notes
rice, vanilla, caramel, chocolate
rice, aged, cask, smooth
rice, ginjo-like, floral, aged
rice, soft, umami, rich
rice, vanilla, smooth, cask
rice, vanilla, smooth, sweet
rice, rich, aged
rice, soft, rich, aged
rice, citrus, dried fruit, floral
rice, floral, smooth, soft
rice, soft, light-bodied, aged
rice, light-bodied, dry, aged
rice, banana, vanilla, chocolate
rice, vanilla, cask, aged
rice, steamed rice, citrus, pineapple
rice, smooth, aged, cask
rice, smooth, crisp, aged
rice, cask, aged
rice, smooth, light-bodied, sweet
rice, soft, smoky, creamy texture
Mugi shochu
A clean barley highball takes a garden note without losing its own grain under it.
The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.
barley, citrus, melon, banana
barley, melon, banana, floral
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
barley, bright, clean, light-bodied
Show the other 59 watermelon matches
barley, soft, clean
barley, umami, savory, clean
barley, apple, pineapple, creamy texture
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
barley, rice, umami
barley, earthy, clean, bright
barley, sweet, clean
barley, earthy, mineral, pepper
barley, tropical fruit, light-bodied
barley, smooth, rich, light-bodied
barley, pear, soft, spice
barley, rich, crisp
barley, smooth
barley, umami, rich, sharp
barley, chocolate, rich, full-bodied
barley, honey, chocolate, spice
barley, roasted grain
barley, sesame, grassy, chocolate
barley, smooth, mint, caramel
barley, vanilla, chocolate, nutty
barley, toast, rich, light-bodied
barley, banana, white peach, tea
barley, umami, light-bodied
barley, smooth, dry
barley, white peach, cherry, soft
barley, soft, bright
barley, soft, chocolate, toast
barley, banana, toast
barley, toast, light-bodied, sweet
barley, crisp, light-bodied, fruity
barley, fruity, light-bodied
barley, banana, berry, bread
Watermelon is too fresh for aged notes
barley, soft, light-bodied, clean
barley, smooth, light-bodied, clean
Awamori
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
rich, smooth, clean, soft
clean, off-dry, soft, light-bodied
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
rice, smooth, cereal, sweet
Show the other 47 watermelon matches
rice, cherry, vanilla, chocolate
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, rich, sweet
rice, light-bodied, sweet
rice, caramel, chocolate, crisp
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, smooth, sweet
rice, soft, smooth
rice, earthy, mushroom, rich
rice, sweet, rich, full-bodied
Watermelon is too fresh for aged notes
rice, umami, clean, light-bodied
rice, clean, bright, aged
rice, soft, clean, aged
rice, smooth, soft, clean
Korui, the continuous-still shochu
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
sweet potato, soft, crisp, clean
soft, light-bodied, clean, sweet
barley, soft, crisp, clean
Imo shochu
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
sweet potato, banana, vanilla, clean
The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.
Shiso, sesame, yuzu and other flavoured shochu
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
sesame, nutty, toast, off-dry
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
Soba shochu
Rice shochu and watermelon juice is a Kumamoto summer
Kasutori, chestnut and other bases
Watermelon and a clean bottle is a summer festival
Kokuto shochu
The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.