Nakano Beninanko Umeshu Shochu

Dry cava or crémant. Topping sake with it adds the acid and the bubbles sake lacks in one pour.

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

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

A plain or ginger kombucha. It brings acid, bubbles and funk, all things sake is short of.

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

Cold, and fizzy enough to matter. One part spirit to three or four parts soda for shochu; one to one for sake.

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

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.

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.

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

A spicy one, not a sweet one. The mule format works for every dark shochu and most sake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cold-brewed. Floral without sugar. The jasmine highball is a real menu item in Japan.

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

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

Fresh juice, never bottled. The building block of the lemon sour, and the fastest way to give sake the acidity it does not have on its own.

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

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

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

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

Fresh orange juice for a sparkling sake mimosa; the peel for stirred drinks with aged bottles.

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

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

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

A drop of rose water, or a rose syrup. A drop; it takes over.

Salt-pickled blossoms (rinsed) or sakura syrup. Floral, faintly almond, a touch of salt.

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

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

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

Muddled gently with citrus. Thai basil brings anise, Italian basil brings pepper.

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

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

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

Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

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

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