Okuri Okura

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.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• 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.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Montenegro, Nonino, Averna. Equal parts with a dark shochu over ice is a whole drink.

Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than the shochu itself, so equal parts lands near 20 percent and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than the shochu itself, so equal parts lands near 20 percent and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Scrappy's leads with the seed, Fee Brothers has garlic and ginger behind it, The Bitter Truth reads more astringent than bitter. Two dashes.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

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.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• 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.

Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. Lillet dropped its quinine in 1985, so only the Americano side of the category still tastes of the bark, and equal parts with a shochu is about 21 percent.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Cocchi Americano: moscato steeped with cinchona bark, gentian and bitter orange. Lillet dropped its quinine in 1985, so only the Americano side of the category still tastes of the bark, and equal parts with a shochu is about 21 percent.

Jack Rudy's Extra Bitter, made with real cinchona bark, or Small Hand Foods'. Half a teaspoon and soda, set to the bottle in front of you rather than to a tonic maker's idea of a spirit.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Jack Rudy's Extra Bitter, made with real cinchona bark, or Small Hand Foods'. Half a teaspoon and soda, set to the bottle in front of you rather than to a tonic maker's idea of a spirit.

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

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

A bar spoon. Cassis-oolong is one of the most common izakaya orders in Japan.

• Cassis and oolong with shochu is an izakaya standard

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

• Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair

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

• Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

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

• Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

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.

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

• Shochu and dry vermouth is a Japanese martini at half the proof

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

• Malt wine and barley shochu are the same grain distilled two different ways

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

• Honey and barley shochu in hot water is a Kyushu cold remedy

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.

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

Zuiyo's Kuririn, from Japanese chestnuts at 11 percent, or Dover's wa-shu kuri, which is on a rum base. A dessert direction, and not the same thing as kuri shochu, which is a base spirit.

• A chestnut liqueur on a chestnut shochu is the same nut twice, which is the whole idea

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

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

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

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.

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

Carpano Antica or Cocchi. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold, is a manhattan at well under half the usual proof.

• There is enough weight here to carry vermouth without being flattened

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.

• Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order

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

• Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order

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

• One umeboshi in a glass of barley shochu and hot water is the oldest shochu drink there is

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

• Barley shochu with a float of umeshu and soda

Bolder than white peach, closer to apricot. For bottles with more weight.

• A richer peach for a richer bottle

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.

• Acid frames a single strong flavour and keeps it from turning syrupy.

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

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

• Barley shochu, yuzushu, soda: a yuzu sour without a yuzu

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under 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.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

The Kyushu condiment, in a tube in any Japanese grocer: fermented yuzu peel, green chili and salt. A quarter teaspoon stirred into an oyuwari, which is the serve Asahi publishes.

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.

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

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

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

• Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.

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

• 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.

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

Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

• 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.

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

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.

• Works for the sweet and nutty bottles, sesame especially. Not for the sharp herbal ones.