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Nouka no Yome Murasaki Yaki Imo Sweet Potato Shochu

Kirishimacho Joryujo · Kagoshima · Imo (sweet potato)

  • black koji
  • honkaku
  • atmospheric distilled

Pour this first

Soda water, tall over ice. Grapefruit with it.

The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.

Citrus acid cuts sweet potato's weight. That's why Kagoshima bars reach for grapefruit and yuzu before anything else. 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

Imo shochu from Kirishimacho Joryujo in Kagoshima. Published tasting notes: white peach, grape, berry, honey. The profile below is built from the tasting notes published for it.

  • sweet potato
  • white peach
  • grape
  • berry
  • honey
  • yogurt
  • purple sweet potato
Sweet
4/5
Body
3/5
Aroma
4/5
Fruit
4/5
Floral
1/5
Grain
1/5
Earth
2/5
Umami
2/5

Read from the words above rather than measured. Where it says not described, none of the sources behind this page mention it, which is not the same as it not being there.

Base
Ayamurasaki roasted purple sweet potato with rice koji
Koji
black koji (rice)
Distillation
atmospheric distillation
ABV
25%

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 is a family we'd reach for sooner with this bottle, worked out from its flavours rather than tasted. It isn't a score, or a comparison with other bottles.

Explore all 86 pairings

  • Blood orange

    Strong match

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

    • The red fruit in a purple potato bottle wants a citrus that is also red, not a yellow one
    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • 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.

    • Citrus acid cuts sweet potato's weight. That's why Kagoshima bars reach for grapefruit and yuzu before anything else.
    • Grapefruit and imo shochu is a Kagoshima bar staple; the bitterness answers the earth
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Raspberry

    Strong match

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

    • Purple sweet potato ferments toward red fruit rather than toward caramel, so berry meets what is already there
    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Hibiscus

    Strong match

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

    • A berry aroma with no acid under it. Hibiscus brings the acid, and the colour comes with it
    • The purple stays behind in the mash rather than coming over the still, so the flower is where any colour in the glass comes from, and its acid brightens the fruit instead of fighting it
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Strong match

    Bitter orange: sour and aromatic rather than sweet, the citrus that goes into ponzu. Bottled juice is sold for cooking and works straight in a glass. Use the peel too, it carries most of the smell.

    • Daidai is the citrus in ponzu, and ponzu is already on the table next to imo 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Bitter orange: sour and aromatic rather than sweet, the citrus that goes into ponzu. Bottled juice is sold for cooking and works straight in a glass. Use the peel too, it carries most of the smell.

  • 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.

    • Hyuganatsu is Miyazaki's citrus and imo shochu is what Miyazaki pours it beside; the soft acid does the same work on a sweet potato bottle from anywhere
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Citrus acid cuts sweet potato's weight. That's why Kagoshima bars reach for grapefruit and yuzu before anything else.
    • Kagoshima bartenders reach for yuzu with imo shochu first
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Passion fruit

    Strong match

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

    • Tropical acid against sweet-potato depth is a modern Kagoshima cocktail
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • The most useful tropical fruit for mixing: intensely aromatic and properly sour. Pulp with seeds, or a good puree.

  • Soda water

    Strong 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Daiyame and other new-wave imo shochu are marketed as highballs by the distilleries themselves
    • 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)

    Strong match

    Dry cava or crémant. Acid and bubbles in one pour.

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Grape meeting grape, one of them with bubbles and acid the other does not have
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Lemon

    Good 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 sweetness here is aroma rather than sugar, because sugar does not come over a still. Acid is what keeps the impression from turning cloying.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • Lime

    Good match

    Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

  • Cranberry

    Strong match

    Unsweetened juice. Sharp and a little tannic, useful for cutting sweetness.

    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • Shikuwasa

    Good match

    Okinawa's own citrus, picked green and sharp, more bitter than lime and more floral than sudachi. Squeezed over awamori and soda it is what the islands actually drink.

    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Okinawa's own citrus, picked green and sharp, more bitter than lime and more floral than sudachi. Squeezed over awamori and soda it is what the islands actually 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.

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • Ginger beer

    Strong 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Imo shochu mule: ginger beer, lime, over ice
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • A lemon soda softens imo shochu for the unconvinced
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Tonic water

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Imo shochu and tonic is what Kagoshima distilleries now recommend to first-timers
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Citric and malic acid solution

    Strong match

    Food-grade citric and malic powder from the canning aisle, 10 grams whisked into 100 grams of cold water; two parts citric to one malic is close to lime. Some bartenders find a drink with no juice in it thin, so it is worth trying both ways.

    • Half an ounce of lemon juice paints over a peach note; this does not
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Good 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Kiwi

    Strong match

    Muddled with the seeds. Green, sour and refreshing, and cheap year round.

    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Muddled with the seeds. Green, sour and refreshing, and cheap year round.

  • Kombucha

    Good match

    A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, all three in one pour.

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Pineapple

    Good match

    Fresh juice, or grilled wedges for a smokier drink. The awamori 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • Fresh juice, or grilled wedges for a smokier drink. The awamori fruit.

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

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

    • Salt-plum and imo shochu in hot water is a Kagoshima winter
    • 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.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Umezu (ume plum vinegar)

    Good match

    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.

    • 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.
    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

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

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

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Good match

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

    • Green tea and oolong are how shochu is drunk with dinner across Kyushu. Tea's tannin meets the earth without covering it.
    • Green tea softens the earth in imo shochu without hiding it

  • 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.

    • Hot water is the Kagoshima serve and it earns its reputation: heat pulls the earth and the sweetness up out of the glass. Cold water does the opposite and lengthens it without changing its shape.
    • Oyuwari: hot water first, then shochu, six of shochu to four of water. Imo shochu opens up in warmth

  • Oolong tea

    Good match

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

    • Green tea and oolong are how shochu is drunk with dinner across Kyushu. Tea's tannin meets the earth without covering it.
    • Oolong's toast meets sweet potato's roast

  • 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.

    • Hot water is the Kagoshima serve and it earns its reputation: heat pulls the earth and the sweetness up out of the glass. Cold water does the opposite and lengthens it without changing its shape.
    • Maewari: mix imo shochu and water a day ahead and it rounds out

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Good match

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

    • Kinmokusei blooms when the new imo shochu is released, same season
    • The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Blueberry

    Good match

    Muddled, or as a syrup. Mild; bring acid from elsewhere.

    • Berry against a lactic note is what a lassi does, with the fruit on top
    • These bottles run to berry rather than to anything an orange potato gives, and blueberry sits on top of that
    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

    Good match

    Sakamoto's, fermented outdoors in earthenware jars in Fukuyama and aged at least a year; Toiro and Japanese Taste ship it in the US. A teaspoon in a mizuwari is the whole intervention, and a second one is usually a mistake.

    • 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.
    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.
    • Fruit without acid goes flat fast. A squeeze of something sour is what keeps a fruity bottle tasting fresh instead of sweet.
    • 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.

  • Blackberry

    Good match

    Late summer fruit with a savory edge. For the deeper bottles.

    • Blackberry and imo shochu is a bramble with a Kyushu accent
    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Calpico (cultured milk)

    Good match

    The concentrate, diluted with soda. Yogurt-sweet and sour. The Calpis sour is a familiar order in Japan.

    • A lactic mixer on a bottle that already reads lactic: the same note twice, at the same pitch
    • These bottles often read faintly of yogurt, and a lactic mixer takes that and makes it the drink
    • Calpis softens imo shochu for people who think they do not like it
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • The distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Amaro

    Good match

    Montenegro, Nonino, Averna. Equal parts with a dark shochu over ice is a whole drink.

    • Amaro's herbs answer imo shochu's earth
    • A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.

  • Aromatic bitters

    Good match

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Bitters give imo shochu a stirred-drink shape
    • Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

  • Black pepper

    Good match

    A few grinds over the top. Aroma more than heat.

    • Strawberry and black pepper is a chef's pairing that works in a glass
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Ginger

    Good match

    Fresh juice, a syrup, or a good ginger beer. The spice that makes a low-proof drink feel like it has a backbone.

    • Ginger and sweet potato is a Japanese autumn kitchen
    • Ginger and sweet potato are the same autumn kitchen. Heat gives an earthy bottle a pulse.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Good match

    Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. The bark is the point of it, and it carries a quinine bitterness no citrus will give you.

    • It brings acid and grape sugar, two things a pot still leaves behind
    • Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. The bark is the point of it, and it carries a quinine bitterness no citrus will give you.

  • 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.

    • A salt rim on an imo shochu drink is a Kagoshima bar trick
    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Umeboshi

    Good match

    One salted plum, crushed with a spoon in the glass. Salty, sour, savory.

    • Imo shochu, hot water, umeboshi: a Kagoshima winter
    • Umeboshi in hot shochu is a Kagoshima winter, and salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Jasmine tea

    Good match

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

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

  • Matcha

    Good match

    Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

    • Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

  • Pu-erh tea

    Good match

    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.

    • 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.

  • Strawberry

    Good match

    Fresh, muddled. Japanese strawberries in winter and spring are the ideal; any ripe strawberry works.

    • Strawberry and yogurt needs no explaining, and here the yogurt is the bottle
    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Fig

    Good match

    Fresh figs muddled, or fig jam. For the aged and the brown-sugar bottles only.

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

  • Chamomile

    Good match

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

    • Chamomile and honey
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Jasmine

    Good match

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

    • Jasmine against imo shochu's floral side is a real Kagoshima cocktail idea
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Rose

    Good match

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

    • Raspberry and rose
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Cinnamon

    Worth trying

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

    • Cinnamon on sweet potato is a pie
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • White peach

    Worth trying

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

    • Muscat and white peach are the two aromas a Japanese fruit parlour is built on, and they do not fight
    • The bottle is already described as white peach, and the fruit makes it plain
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Alpine amaro (Braulio-style)

    Worth trying

    Braulio, made in Bormio from gentian, juniper, peppermint and yarrow, around forty-five dollars. A summer drink on shochu and a winter one on whisky, which is one bottle behaving two ways.

    • Braulio, made in Bormio from gentian, juniper, peppermint and yarrow, around forty-five dollars. A summer drink on shochu and a winter one on whisky, which is one bottle behaving two ways.

  • Bénédictine

    Worth trying

    D.O.M. Bénédictine, on most back bars. Rounder and much sweeter than the alpine liqueurs, so it suits bottles that already lean sweet rather than clean.

    • Honey and saffron landing on a bottle that already smells of honey

  • Cardamom

    Worth trying

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

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Celery bitters

    Worth trying

    Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

    • Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

  • Fernet

    Worth trying

    A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

    • A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Worth trying

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

    • A bitter answers the earth with more earth, amaro and gentian most of all. A split-base imo drink then reads as intentional rather than odd.

  • Japanese craft bitters (yuzu, shiso, umami)

    Worth trying

    The Japanese Bitters, five 100ml expressions, sold at Astor Wines in New York. Angostura at nearly 45 percent is a small spike in a 25 percent drink in a way these are not.

    • The Japanese Bitters, five 100ml expressions, sold at Astor Wines in New York. Angostura at nearly 45 percent is a small spike in a 25 percent drink in a way these are not.

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

    A small piece steeped in the bottle overnight. Savory depth without salt.

    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Olive brine

    Worth trying

    A bar spoon, no more. Salt, and the savory note that comes with it.

    • Salt is the fastest way to make an earthy bottle taste like more of itself.

  • Shiitake

    Worth trying

    A dried shiitake steeped in the spirit for a day. Savory and strange in the best way.

    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Star anise

    Worth trying

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Thyme

    Worth trying

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

    • Thyme and honey is an old pair

  • Toasted sesame

    Worth trying

    A sesame syrup, or a rim of ground sesame and salt. Toasty and rich.

    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Worth trying

    A rim of shichimi, or a slice of fresh chili. Heat on fruit, not on rice.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Wasabi

    Worth trying

    A rice-grain amount, dissolved. For the savory, cucumber glass, not the fruit one.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Kumquat

    Worth trying

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

    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • 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.

    • Kagoshima bartenders pair imo shochu with mikan when it is in season
    • This bottle already reads sweet, on aroma rather than on sugar. Adding real sugar to it is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • 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.

  • Hojicha

    Worth trying

    Cold-brewed or hot. Roasted green tea, low in bitterness, high in toast. The oyuwari of teas.

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • Hojicha and imo shochu: a roasted pair
    • Cold-brewed or hot. Roasted green tea, low in bitterness, high in toast. The oyuwari of teas.

  • 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.
    • Mugicha softens imo shochu's earth into something you drink all evening
    • Cold, unsweetened barley tea. Every Japanese fridge has a pitcher in summer. Mix one to three over ice.

  • Sumomo (Japanese plum) liqueur

    Good match

    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.

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

    • This bottle already reads sweet, on aroma rather than on sugar. Adding real sugar to it is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • Cherry

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle already smells of berry, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Karin (quince) liqueur

    Worth trying

    Ayagiku's, on a shochu base, or Kikusui's. Quince is too hard and astringent to eat raw, so the liqueur is the convenient way to get that scent into a glass; it opens up in hot water.

    • Karin is honey with a faint drying grip behind it, which is what keeps it from cloying
    • 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.

  • Sansho pepper

    Worth trying

    A pinch of ground sansho over the top, or a few peppercorns steeped. Numbing, citrusy, green.

    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • 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 imo shochu oyuwari is a Kagoshima winter
    • The bottle already smells of honey, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • This bottle already reads sweet, on aroma rather than on sugar. Adding real sugar to it is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • 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.

  • Cream

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Egg white

    Worth trying

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

  • Milk

    Worth trying

    Cold whole milk. Fat rounds a spirit off the way it does in coffee, and it is not a dare.

    • Dairy softens imo shochu, and for somebody who thinks they dislike it that is exactly the point. Milk or Calpis is the usual route in.

  • Oat milk

    Worth trying

    The dairy-free milk that tastes of cereal, which is why it likes grain spirits.

    • The dairy-free milk that tastes of cereal, which is why it likes grain spirits.

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Worth trying

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

    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Soy milk (tonyu)

    Worth trying

    Unsweetened, four parts shochu to six parts soy milk, which is how the Japanese recipes write it. Stronger than it tastes, so pour it knowing that.

    • Unsweetened, four parts shochu to six parts soy milk, which is how the Japanese recipes write it. Stronger than it tastes, so pour it knowing that.

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Worth trying

    The non-alcoholic koji drink, sweet from rice starch alone. Blend with the spirit and ice; it is a shochu smoothie.

    • Amazake softens imo shochu into a winter dessert
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • The non-alcoholic koji drink, sweet from rice starch alone. Blend with the spirit and ice; it is a shochu smoothie.
    • 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.

Ways to serve it

  • On the rocks
  • Mizuwari (with water)

Sweet potato shochu is the one people are told they have to drink with hot water. Hot water is genuinely good, and it is also the hardest first sip to sell. Start it long and cold with soda and a wedge of grapefruit, and come back to the hot water once you like the spirit.

Cocktails other people made

We haven't found 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

    Sweet Potato Toddy

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu IMO, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 38%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu imo 30ml
    • hot water 120ml
    • maple syrup 8ml
    • salted butter 1 bar spoon
    • cinnamon stick
    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • Nankai Shochu · Jonathan Tse, Doe Bar

    Hojicha Cocktail

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Imo Black, also a sweet potato shochu. We have this one as the less floral of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

    • 2 oz Nankai Imo Black
    • 1 oz hojicha cold brew
    • 1 oz toasted oat orgeat
    • For the cold brew: 350 ml cold water, 5 g hojicha tea
    • For the orgeat: 250 ml oat milk, 100 g cane sugar, 100 g brown sugar, 5 g hojicha powder, 25 g whole oats

    Shaken.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • thesgshochu.com

    Coffee & Tonic

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for SG Shochu IMO, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 38%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • the sg shochu imo 35ml
    • cold brew coffee 45ml
    • maple shrub (maple syrup 3: apple vinegar2) 10ml
    • tonic water
    • fresh rosemary

    Built tall in the glass.

    Full method at thesgshochu.com →

  • Umami Mart blog

    Oolong-Hai (Shochu Iced Tea)

    Written for sweet potato 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 tall in the glass.

    Full method at Umami Mart blog →

  • Tokyo Weekender · Shun Kosaka

    Hana Shigure

    Written for Daiyame

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

    • daiyame (imo shochu) 30ml
    • aphrodite sakura 15ml
    • bols parfait amour 5ml
    • 1883 maison routin lemon syrup 10ml
    • hinoki bitters 2 dashes
    • narutomaki beet slice to garnish
    • lime peel to garnish
    Full method at Tokyo Weekender →

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

Filed under imo shochu.