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Mizu Shochu Saga Barley

Munemasa Shuzo · Saga · Mugi (barley)

Mizu is Nehan Spirits LLC's brand. This bottle is distilled by Munemasa Shuzo in Saga.

  • black koji
  • honkaku

Pour this first

Tonic water, tall over ice. Grapefruit with it.

The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one. Bitter, bright and forgiving. Ruby or white both work; white is drier. The grapefruit sour is a real bar order in Japan, not a novelty.

One part shochu to three or four parts of the long mixer, over plenty of ice, then the accent on top. If it tastes thin, go two to three next time.

What it tastes like

Mugi shochu from Munemasa Shuzo in Saga. Importer's tasting notes: melon, banana, floral, vanilla. The profile below is built from the tasting notes its importer publishes.

  • barley
  • melon
  • banana
  • floral
  • vanilla
  • bread
  • earthy
  • light-bodied
  • bright
  • whisky-like
Sweet
3/5
Body
1/5
Aroma
4/5
Fruit
1/5
Floral
1/5
Grain
4/5
Earth
1/5
Umami
0/5
Base
67% two-row barley and 33% black koji rice, all harvested in Saga Prefecture, much of it from small farms near Imari
Koji
black koji
Distillation
single distillation of the moromi, then cut with soft mountain water from kurokami-yama
ABV
35%
Strength
genshu, undiluted by water after distillation

What to mix with it

Tap a family to narrow it down. Every suggestion carries its reasoning, so if the reasoning does not convince you, ignore the suggestion.

A longer wedge did better on this bottle than the others here. It is not a score, and not a comparison with any other bottle.

Explore all 88 pairings

  • Tonic water

    Strong match

    A dry tonic (Fever-Tree, Q). One part spirit, three parts tonic, a citrus wedge.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Shochu tonic is the drink US bars pour most when they list shochu
    • Tonic's quinine lets floral bottles show
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Ginger ale

    Strong match

    The gentle ginger. For bottles that a ginger beer would bully.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Barley shochu and ginger ale is an izakaya highball
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Strong match

    Hoppy Beverage Co. has made it in Tokyo since 1948; at 0.8 percent it is legally a soft drink, and it is hard to find outside Japan. Chill the bottle, the shochu and the mug and no ice is needed.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • One part shochu to five parts Hoppy drinks like a pint with none of beer's body. A 25 percent bottle lands just under 5; the figure follows the bottle, so a 40 percent one is nearer 7
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Good match

    The shortcut to a sour when there is no fresh lemon. Less sweet is better.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Lemon sour in one pour
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Soda water

    Good match

    Cold, and fizzy enough to matter. One part shochu to three or four parts soda; if it tastes thin, go one to two next time.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • The shochu highball: ice, shochu, cold soda, nothing else
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Good match

    Dry cava or crémant. Acid and bubbles in one pour, which is exactly what a distilled spirit has none of.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Bubbles carry floral notes to the nose
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Grapefruit

    Strong match

    Bitter, bright and forgiving. Ruby or white both work; white is drier. The grapefruit sour is a real bar order in Japan, not a novelty.

    • Barley shochu and grapefruit is the Kyushu sour after the lemon one
    • Its bitter peel gives floral bottles a spine
    • Bitter, bright and forgiving. Ruby or white both work; white is drier. The grapefruit sour is a real bar order in Japan, not a novelty.

  • Jasmine tea

    Strong match

    Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

    • Jasmine tea on a floral bottle is a flower shop
    • Jasmine is perfumed without being sweet, so it gives barley shochu an aromatic top without touching its dryness
    • Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

  • Oolong tea

    Strong match

    Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice. Drinks with food better than almost anything else here.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Oolong's tannin flattens delicate perfume
    • Roasted oolong meets barley on its own ground: the tea is toasty where the shochu is toasty, so neither has to win
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Lemongrass

    Strong match

    Bruised stalks steeped in the spirit, or a syrup. Citrus without acid, which is useful when you want aroma but not sourness.

    • A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Thyme

    Strong match

    Gentler than rosemary. Steep a sprig, or use a thyme syrup.

    • Barley shochu and thyme is an unexpected, clean match
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Cucumber

    Strong match

    Ribbons or muddled slices. Cucumber is what turns a serious glass into something you drink outside without thinking about it.

    • Cucumber is melon's cool cousin; the two are the same family of aromas
    • Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room
    • Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.

  • Kombucha

    Good match

    A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, none of which survive a still.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Blood orange

    Strong match

    Orange with a raspberry edge. Winter fruit; worth waiting for.

    • Its berry side flatters floral bottles
    • Orange with a raspberry edge. Winter fruit; worth waiting for.

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Strong match

    Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. Ocha-wari is one of the everyday ways shochu is drunk in Japan, alongside the oolong version.

    • Oolong-hai and green tea highballs are on every izakaya menu, and barley is clean enough to let the tea lead.
    • Green tea brings grassy bitterness and a little tannin, which gives a soft barley shochu an edge to push against

  • Lemon

    Strong match

    Juice and peel are two different tools. Fresh juice, never bottled, is the whole basis of the lemon sour and the quickest way to put acid into a distilled base. The peel expressed over the top gives the oil and no acid at all, which is what a sweet or roasted bottle usually wants instead.

    • The lemon sour is the single most ordered shochu drink in Japan, and barley is what it is usually built on.
    • The lemon sour is the drink most izakaya sell more of than anything else on the list

  • Hot water (oyuwari)

    Good match

    Hot water in the glass first, spirit poured on top so it mixes itself. Around 40C in the glass is the sweet spot. This is not the only way, it is one way.

    • Heat blows off delicate perfume
    • A bread note is yeast and warmth brings it forward, which is why it is stronger in a warm bakery
    • Vanilla is volatile and warmth releases it; the same bottle over ice keeps it shut
    • Heat pulls the earth and the sweetness out of a bottle

  • Hyuganatsu

    Good match

    A Miyazaki citrus eaten with the white pith left on, which is sweet rather than bitter. Gentler and more floral than lemon, so it flavours a drink without taking it over.

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • A Miyazaki citrus eaten with the white pith left on, which is sweet rather than bitter. Gentler and more floral than lemon, so it flavours a drink without taking it over.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Genever

    Good match

    Bols Genever, around thirty-five dollars. The split base for a grain shochu, in a way plain gin is not.

    • Malt walks over a delicate perfume
    • Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways
    • Malt wine tastes of grain and bread before it tastes of juniper
    • Half an ounce lifts a grain shochu a little without turning it into a whisky drink

  • Maraschino

    Good match

    Luxardo. It is sweetened, whatever the name suggests: their own account of the process ends by adding a syrup of water and sugar to bring it to 32 percent. What makes it read as dry is the stone. The cherries are distilled with their pits, and that almond bitterness plus three years in ash arrives before the sugar does. So measure it as a sweetener that tastes bitter, not as a dry modifier, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Orgeat (almond syrup)

    Good match

    Almond syrup with a touch of orange blossom. The tiki sweetener, and kokuto shochu is a tiki spirit waiting to happen.

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Blanc vermouth

    Good match

    Dolin blanc or Lillet. Sweeter and more floral than dry; for the aromatic bottles.

    • Blanc vermouth's flowers and vanilla meet floral bottles
    • The bottle already smells of vanilla, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Chamomile

    Good match

    Cold-brewed chamomile as a lengthener, or steeped in the spirit.

    • Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Dry vermouth

    Good match

    Dolin dry or Noilly Prat. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold.

    • Shochu and dry vermouth is a martini with koji where the juniper was
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Ginger beer

    Good match

    A spicy one, not a sweet one. The mule format works for every dark shochu, and it is the most forgiving way to serve one.

    • The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
    • Ginger beer covers delicate perfume
    • Ginger heat gives earthy bottles a pulse
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Peach liqueur

    Good match

    A good one (Giffard, Merlet). A shortcut to the bellini when peaches are out of season.

    • Barley shochu, peach liqueur, oolong: a Japanese izakaya order
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Vanilla

    Good match

    A split bean in a syrup, or a good extract, in small amounts.

    • Banana and vanilla
    • The bottle already smells of vanilla, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Watermelon

    Good match

    Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

    • The bottle already smells of melon, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Fresh juice, strained. Add a pinch of salt.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

    Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.

    • Kabosu and barley shochu are both Oita's and that is how Oita drinks them; the gentler acid suits a mugi wherever it was distilled
    • Oita's citrus, softer than sudachi. Bartenders in Oita mix it with the local barley shochu and soda.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Sudachi

    Good match

    A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.

    • Sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets, which is what makes it worth the trip from Tokushima
    • A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Yuzu

    Good match

    The Japanese citrus that tastes like grapefruit, mandarin and lemon at once, with a floral peel. A little zest or juice goes a long way.

    • Yuzu's perfume sits beside floral notes instead of covering them
    • The Japanese citrus that tastes like grapefruit, mandarin and lemon at once, with a floral peel. A little zest or juice goes a long way.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Coconut

    Good match

    Coconut water for lengthening, coconut milk or cream for weight.

    • Banana and coconut is a dessert
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Celery

    Good match

    Juiced, or a stalk as the stirrer. Savory, salty and cold.

    • Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair
    • Juiced, or a stalk as the stirrer. Savory, salty and cold.

  • Goya (bitter melon)

    Good match

    Two slices from any Asian grocery, seeds out. The bitterness is water soluble, so at 25 percent it steeps in minutes and stops there, where a 40 percent spirit pulls it medicinal within the hour.

    • Bitterness that answers earth without adding any sweetness to it
    • Two slices from any Asian grocery, seeds out. The bitterness is water soluble, so at 25 percent it steeps in minutes and stops there, where a 40 percent spirit pulls it medicinal within the hour.

  • Honey

    Good match

    Diluted one to one with warm water so it mixes cold. A little goes far; taste before adding more.

    • Honey and flowers are one thing
    • Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy

  • Pear

    Good match

    Ripe pear, muddled or as nectar. Delicate, so it belongs with delicate bottles.

    • Melon and pear are neighbors on the aroma wheel
    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.

  • Shiso

    Good match

    Green shiso leaves, slapped or muddled gently. Red shiso as a syrup. Japan already makes shiso shochu, which tells you it works.

    • Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Cold water (mizuwari)

    Good match

    Soft water, cold, over ice or not. One to one is normal. Mix a day ahead (maewari) and the edges round off.

    • Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic
    • Barley has less to open up than sweet potato, so water shows you exactly what is there. That is a fair test and not always a flattering one: a thin mugi has nowhere to hide in it.

  • White peach

    Good match

    The bellini fruit. Nectar from a Japanese market, or a ripe peach muddled through a strainer.

    • Peach and floral notes are one perfume
    • The bellini fruit. Nectar from a Japanese market, or a ripe peach muddled through a strainer.

  • Yuzu liqueur (yuzushu)

    Good match

    Sweet yuzu liqueur, usually on a sake or shochu base. A shortcut to yuzu when the fruit is out of season.

    • Yuzu perfume and floral notes
    • Barley shochu, yuzushu, soda: a yuzu sour without a yuzu

  • Genmaicha

    Good match

    Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Two toasted grains
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.
    • Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

  • Kumquat

    Good match

    Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • Lime

    Good match

    Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

    • Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Good match

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

    Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

    • Tannin and melon do not agree
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Cold-brewed Earl Grey brings bergamot; plain black tea brings tannin. For the aged and brown-sugar bottles.

  • White crème de cacao

    Good match

    Tempus Fugit or Giffard. Clear, so the drink stays pale, and at about the shochu's own strength, so an ounce lengthens rather than fortifies.

    • The bottle already smells of vanilla, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Hibiscus

    Good match

    Cold-brewed hibiscus tea: sour, cranberry-red and floral. Acid and color in one pour.

    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Good match

    A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

    • Barley shochu and gari brine is a bartender's shortcut to a ginger sour
    • A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

  • Sea salt

    Good match

    A pinch in the glass or a half rim. Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts; it makes it taste more like itself.

    • Salt on melon, which is why a pinch of it lifts a melon drink at all
    • A pinch in the glass or a half rim. Salt does not make a drink salty in small amounts; it makes it taste more like itself.

  • Mikan (satsuma)

    Good match

    Sweet, low-acid Japanese mandarin. Juice it or drop segments in a glass. It needs a squeeze of something sharper alongside.

    • Sweet, low-acid Japanese mandarin. Juice it or drop segments in a glass. It needs a squeeze of something sharper alongside.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Orange

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

    • Orange juice turns thin against earthy bottles
    • Orange oil sits on top of vanilla. Juice would cut it, which is the opposite of the point
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • Pu-erh tea

    Worth trying

    Loose or bagged, brewed weak: at full strength it takes the glass over. Takara's own guide to tea-wari lists it alongside mugicha and sobacha.

    • Dark fermented tea dulls a bright bottle
    • Fermented and dark where oolong is astringent and light, so it meets earth instead of covering it
    • Loose or bagged, brewed weak: at full strength it takes the glass over. Takara's own guide to tea-wari lists it alongside mugicha and sobacha.

  • Falernum

    Worth trying

    John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum, about twenty dollars. At 11 percent it behaves like a syrup, so it sweetens and thickens without raising the drink.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Madeira (dry, Sercial or Verdelho)

    Worth trying

    Blandy's or Barbeito, ten year. It is the one fortified wine that brings real acid, so it can do the lemon's job on a bottle where fresh citrus reads harsh.

    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Allspice dram

    Worth trying

    St. Elizabeth, in 375ml. A bar spoon is the whole dose: concentrated enough to flavour a low-proof drink without diluting it or raising it.

    • Clove and cinnamon give an earthy bottle the warmth hot water usually provides, in a cold glass

  • Apple

    Worth trying

    Cold-pressed juice or thin slices. Green apple is already in the aroma of a lot of rice shochu, so this amplifies what is there rather than adding something new.

    • Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.

  • Apricot

    Worth trying

    Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.

    • Fresh in season, dried the rest of the year. Apricot and umeshu share a family, which is why they get along.

  • Banana

    Worth trying

    Ripe banana, muddled or as a syrup. Isoamyl acetate, the ester behind a ginjo aroma, is the same compound that makes a banana smell of banana.

    • Isoamyl acetate, the banana ester, is one of the two big ginjo aromas

  • Cardamom

    Worth trying

    A few crushed pods, or a syrup. Floral, citrusy and warm at once; it bridges fruit and spice.

    • Cardamom is a floral spice; floral bottles meet it

  • Cherry

    Worth trying

    Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.

    • Fresh in early summer; morello or amarena in syrup otherwise. Dark cherry for aged bottles, bright cherry for sparkling.

  • Cinnamon

    Worth trying

    A stick in hot water with the spirit, or a light syrup. Winter.

    • Both are warm aromatics rather than sharp ones, so they stack instead of arguing

  • Cream

    Worth trying

    Half-and-half or heavy cream, in the after-dinner glass only.

    • Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
    • Banana and cream
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Calpis sour is a national drink in Japan and it is usually barley underneath. Cream is a different and much narrower idea.

  • Dill

    Worth trying

    Fronds, gently muddled. For the savory, saline glass.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Elderflower

    Worth trying

    Cordial or the liqueur. Muscat, lychee and honey in one flower.

    • Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz

  • Elderflower liqueur

    Worth trying

    St-Germain or similar. A half ounce is enough.

    • The liqueur version of the flower, for stirred drinks

  • Gum syrup (gomme)

    Worth trying

    Small Hand Foods', or sugar, water and gum arabic from the baking aisle at home. Worth knowing that most Japanese gum syrup on a shelf today has no arabic gum in it at all.

    • A 25 percent spirit brings far less viscosity than a 40 percent one, so a shaken sour goes thin

  • Jasmine

    Worth trying

    A syrup or a few dried blossoms steeped. See jasmine tea for the long drink.

    • Jasmine amplifies whatever floral note the bottle has

  • Lychee

    Worth trying

    Fresh in early summer, canned in syrup the rest of the year (drain it). The signature aroma of a whole school of imo shochu.

    • Lychee is half fruit, half flower, and floral bottles agree

  • Lychee liqueur

    Worth trying

    Kwai Feh or Dita. Perfumed and quite sweet, so treat it as the aroma and let the shochu stay the drink.

    • Lychee and a floral bottle are one perfume, not two

  • Mint

    Worth trying

    Slapped, not muddled to bits. Mint reads as cold, which makes any low-proof drink feel more refreshing.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Worth trying

    Dried osmanthus flowers steeped, or the syrup. Apricot and honey, and the smell of October in Japan.

    • Autumn blossom on a floral bottle

  • Passion fruit

    Worth trying

    The most useful tropical fruit for mixing: intensely aromatic and properly sour. Pulp with seeds, or a good puree.

    • Its own floral note joins the bottle's

  • Pedro Ximénez sherry (PX)

    Worth trying

    Lustau San Emilio. Effectively a raisin syrup that happens to be wine, so a bar spoon sweetens and adds body where sugar syrup would only add sugar.

    • Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds

  • Pineapple

    Worth trying

    Fresh juice, or grilled wedges for a smokier drink. The awamori fruit.

    • Banana and pineapple is a fruit-forward pair

  • Raspberry

    Worth trying

    Sour enough to be useful. Muddle a handful, or use a good puree.

    • Raspberry has a rose note that floral bottles meet

  • Umeshu

    Worth trying

    Sweet, sour, almondy. A splash does the work of both syrup and citrus.

    • Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda

  • Cantaloupe

    Worth trying

    Sweeter and muskier than honeydew. Prosciutto logic: it likes salt nearby.

    • The muskier melon for a bottle with more weight
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Sweeter and muskier than honeydew. Prosciutto logic: it likes salt nearby.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Worth trying

    Suze or Salers. Bitter root, bright yellow. A little in a highball changes everything.

    • Gentian is earth in a bottle; earthy shochu meets it
    • Barley shochu, gentian, tonic: a bitter highball
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Melon liqueur

    Worth trying

    Midori, or a drier Japanese one if you can find it. Half an ounce is plenty; this is a flavour, not a base.

    • Melon over an earthy bottle reads as two drinks in one glass
    • The bottle is already described as melon; this says it louder
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Amaretto

    Worth trying

    A bar spoon, not an ounce. It is very sweet, and its job here is the almond smell rather than the sugar.

    • Amaretto's sweetness dulls a bright, high-acid bottle
    • Almond and vanilla is marzipan, and the bottle is already halfway there
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

  • Kinome (sansho leaf)

    Worth trying

    Young sansho leaves, clapped between the palms and floated. Hard to find outside Japanese markets in spring, worth the hunt.

    • A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Sumomo (Japanese plum) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Dewazakura's from Yamagata plums, or Machida Shuzo's on Amami kokuto shochu. It does umeshu's job and leaves the glass drier, which matters when the bottle is already sweet.

    • Acid and colour at once, and the drink stays drier than it would with umeshu
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Worth trying

    The Korean-style yuzu preserve sold in jars. A spoon in hot water with shochu, or shaken cold.

    • Yuzu tea and barley shochu in hot water is a winter izakaya drink
    • Harder to find outside Japan than most of this list. Worth ordering or a trip to a Japanese grocery, and where something easier works as well, that comes first.

  • Honeydew melon

    Worth trying

    Ripe honeydew, juiced or in cubes. If a bottle says melon on the label, this is the proof.

    • Earth and melon do not agree
    • Melon is the number one daiginjo descriptor, and the fruit agrees
    • Ripe honeydew, juiced or in cubes. If a bottle says melon on the label, this is the proof.

  • Muscat grape

    Worth trying

    Green muscat grapes, halved or juiced. Shine Muscat if you can find it.

    • Earth and muscat pull in opposite directions
    • Muscat is the most floral grape there is
    • Green muscat grapes, halved or juiced. Shine Muscat if you can find it.

  • Tomato

    Worth trying

    Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. The savour koji leaves behind and the savour in a tomato are the same glutamate.

    • Tomato and perfume do not belong in one glass
    • Tomato is savoury and acidic at once, which is exactly what a dry barley shochu has no supply of
    • Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. The savour koji leaves behind and the savour in a tomato are the same glutamate.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Worth trying

    Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

    • Umeboshi's salt flattens delicate perfume
    • Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order
    • Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Worth trying

    Cold, unsweetened barley tea. Every Japanese fridge has a pitcher in summer. Mix one to three over ice.

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Roasted tea covers perfume
    • Barley tea on barley shochu is the same grain, roasted, twice
    • Grain and roast are the same flavour arrived at twice, once by the still and once by the pan.

Ways to serve it

  • Mizuwari (with water)
  • On the rocks

Barley is the easiest shochu to hand to someone who has never had any. It behaves like a clean grain spirit with a little cereal sweetness, so a highball with lemon needs no explaining and no apology.

Cocktails other people made

Nobody has published a cocktail written for this exact bottle. These were written for other bottles, so each one says which, and what changes if you pour this instead.

Show 8 more

  • thesgshochu.com

    Old Fashioned

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu MUGI, also a barley shochu. This bottle is lighter, 35% against 40%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu mugi 45ml
    • oloroso sherry 15ml
    • maple syrup 2 bar spoons
    • angostura bitters 2 dashes
    • orange peel

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Oolong-Hai (Shochu Iced Tea)

    Written for barley shochu

    • 6 parts oolong tea (substitute with sencha (green tea) for a sencha-hai)
    • 4 parts shochu (i recommend satsuma imo (sweet potato) or mugi (barley))
    • ice

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • liquor.com

    Haiballer

    Written for Mizu

    Mizu is a range rather than one bottle, so the strength and the style vary across it. Treat this as a starting point.

    • 1 1/2 ounces mizu shochu
    • 1/2 ounce whisky
    • 5 ounces golden delicious soda*
    • 3 dashes bitters
    • garnish: dried burdock root chip

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at liquor.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Orlando Franklin McCray, New York City

    Ringo Soda

    Written for Mizu

    Mizu is a range rather than one bottle, so the strength and the style vary across it. Treat this as a starting point.

    • 2 ounces shochu, preferably mizu
    • 3 ounces fresh-pressed granny smith apple juice
    • 3 ounces fresh-pressed gala apple juice

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • punchdrink.com · Orlando Franklin McCray, Nightmoves, New York

    Tree-Chu-Hi

    Written for Mizu Saga Barley Shochu

    We hold no record for that bottle, so treat this as a starting point rather than a match.

    • 1 1/2 ounces mizu saga barley shochu
    • 1/2 ounce bittermens commonwealth tonic liqueur
    • 4 ounces fever-tree sparkling pink grapefruit soda
    • Garnish: grated grapefruit zest or a grapefruit twist, and a pinch of salt

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Yuzu Chuhai

    Written for iichiko

    iichiko is a range rather than one bottle, so the strength and the style vary across it. Treat this as a starting point.

    • 2.5 oz iichiko bar yuzu liqueur
    • 1 oz iichiko barley shochu
    • 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
    • ice
    • club soda
    • Garnish: lemon peel

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Ohayo-Hai

    Written for iichiko

    iichiko is a range rather than one bottle, so the strength and the style vary across it. Treat this as a starting point.

    • 3 oz iichiko barley shochu
    • 2 oz umami mart x far leaves ohayo hojicha tea
    • ice
    • Garnish: lemon peel

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • punchdrink.com · Kenta Goto, Bar Goto, New York City

    Improved Shochu Cocktail

    Written for Mizu No Mai

    We hold no record for that bottle, so treat this as a starting point rather than a match.

    • 2 ounces barley shochu, preferably mizu no mai
    • 2 teaspoons aged gin, preferably berkshire ethereal gin
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons cane syrup (2:1, sugar:water)
    • 1 pinch hitachino no shizuku

    Stirred.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

What this can stand in for

If a recipe calls for something else and this is what you have. The verdict is for this bottle rather than for its style, so a bottle without the strength a stirred drink needs is not offered for one.

Bottles like this one

Closest on the flavour profile within the same style family, so the mixers above tend to carry across.

Sources and verification

Imported in the US by Total Wine & More, Nehan Spirits LLC

Filed under mugi shochu.