Skip to content
← Shochumixer

Ouka 'Song of Praise' Sweet Potato Shochu

Kuroki Honten · Miyazaki · Imo (sweet potato)

  • black koji
  • honkaku
  • atmospheric distilled
  • aged

Pour this first

Jasmine tea, tall over ice. Lime with it.

Jasmine tea on a floral bottle is a flower shop

The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass. Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

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 Kuroki Honten in Miyazaki. Published tasting notes: citrus, floral, caramel, smooth. The profile below is built from the tasting notes published for it.

  • sweet potato
  • citrus
  • floral
  • caramel
  • smooth
  • light-bodied
  • sweet
  • aged
Sweet
5/5
Body
4/5
Aroma
5/5
Fruit
3/5
Floral
2/5
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
80% Tama Akane sweet potato, 20% black koji rice
Koji
black koji
Distillation
atmospheric distillation (jo-atsu)
ABV
25%
Aging
3 years in kame clay pots

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 90 pairings

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Strong match

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

    • Tannin does for caramel what it does for milk tea: gives it something to push against
    • Black tea's tannin sits well with aged notes
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Yuzu

    Strong 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.
    • Doubles the citrus already in the glass
    • Yuzu's perfume sits beside floral notes instead of covering them
    • Kagoshima bartenders reach for yuzu with imo shochu first

  • Blood orange

    Strong match

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

    • Its berry side flatters floral bottles
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • Orange with a raspberry edge. Winter fruit; worth waiting for.

  • Cardamom

    Strong match

    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
    • Spice on aged, nutty notes
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.

  • Hyuganatsu

    Strong 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 bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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.

  • Grapefruit

    Good 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.
    • On an already sweet bottle it turns to grapefruit candy
    • Grapefruit and imo shochu is a Kagoshima bar staple; the bitterness answers the earth
    • Its bitter peel gives floral bottles a spine

  • Lime

    Good match

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

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • Sharper and greener than lemon. The citrus for anything built on brown sugar or tropical fruit.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Strong 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.

    • Quinine and gentian give a measured bitterness where an amaro would take the glass over
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • 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. The bark is the point of it, and it carries a quinine bitterness no citrus will give you.

  • Passion fruit

    Strong match

    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
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.

  • Daidai (bitter orange)

    Good 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's bitterness sits on top of a delicate floral bottle rather than beside it
    • Daidai is the citrus in ponzu, and ponzu is already on the table next to imo shochu
    • The peel is doing what the orange twist on an old fashioned does
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

  • Tonic water

    Strong 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.
    • Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
    • Tonic's quinine lets floral bottles show
    • Imo shochu and tonic is what Kagoshima distilleries now recommend to first-timers

  • 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
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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 bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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 bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Green tea and oolong are how shochu is drunk with dinner across Kyushu. Tea's tannin meets the earth without covering it.
    • Oolong's tannin flattens delicate perfume
    • Oolong's toast meets sweet potato's roast
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • Kumquat's bitter peel stands up to aged, nutty notes
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Good match

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

    • Autumn blossom on a floral bottle
    • Kinmokusei blooms when the new imo shochu is released, same season
    • Honeyed flower on honeyed age
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Tonic syrup (cinchona concentrate)

    Good match

    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.

    • Bottled tonic's sugar is set for a 40 percent spirit, which is why shochu tonics can taste like lemonade
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Sansho pepper

    Good match

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

    • Sansho is citrus peel and pepper in one seed
    • Sansho and yuzu turn up together in Japanese seasoning
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Amaro

    Good match

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

    • Amaro bullies perfume
    • The bitterness lands on the caramel rather than on the alcohol, which is what makes it read as depth
    • Amaro and aged notes are a winter bar
    • Amaro's herbs answer imo shochu's earth

  • Carciofo amaro (Cynar-style)

    Good match

    Cynar, 16.5 percent, which is weaker than most shochu, so equal parts with a 25 percent bottle lands near 20 and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

    • The bottle already smells of caramel, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • 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 most shochu, so equal parts with a 25 percent bottle lands near 20 and the drink stays long. Soda or a grapefruit soda over the top is the producer's own serve.

  • Cinnamon

    Good match

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

    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy
    • 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.

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Good match

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

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

  • Japanese craft bitters (yuzu, shiso, umami)

    Good match

    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.

    • Tokushima yuzu at 27 percent, which is the shochu's own strength, so a dropper moves flavour and not proof
    • 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.

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • Caramel needs a bitter edge or it reads as syrup, and peel gives that without adding acid
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • 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

  • 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.
    • Sweet soda and aged notes argue
    • A lemon soda softens imo shochu for the unconvinced
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • Chamomile

    Good match

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

    • Chamomile is faint enough to be lost, and a smooth bottle leaves it the room it needs
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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.

    • Fresh lemon reads harsh against aged, caramel notes
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • 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.

  • 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.
    • An aged bottle is the one you would not lengthen with a beer substitute
    • 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.

  • Thyme

    Good match

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

    • Thyme, lemon and a spirit is a sour with a garden in it
    • The bottle is already floral, and this puts more of that in the glass.

  • Jasmine

    Good match

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

    • Jasmine amplifies whatever floral note the bottle has
    • 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.

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Good match

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

    • Cherry blossom is the first thing a rough bottle destroys, and this one has no rough edge to do it with
    • Blossom on blossom
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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
    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.
    • Sweet, low-acid Japanese mandarin. Juice it or drop segments in a glass. It needs a squeeze of something sharper alongside.

  • Yuzu kosho

    Good match

    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.

    • Fermented peel gives citrus without the acid a fresh yuzu would add
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • 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.

  • Aromatic bitters

    Good match

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Bitters stomp on perfume
    • Two dashes wake up an aged bottle
    • Bitters give imo shochu a stirred-drink shape
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under 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.
    • Heat blows off delicate perfume
    • Warmth opens caramel; the same bottle cold keeps most of it below the rim
    • Oyuwari: hot water first, then shochu, six of shochu to four of water. Imo shochu opens up in warmth

  • 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.

  • Kiwi

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

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

  • Raspberry

    Good match

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

    • Raspberry has a rose note that floral bottles meet
    • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.
    • Bitter tea and a sweet bottle argue
    • Green tea softens the earth in imo shochu without hiding it
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Maple syrup

    Good match

    Dark, in small amounts, for the cask and sweet-potato bottles.

    • Maple on sweet potato
    • Maple and aged, caramel notes
    • The bottle already smells of caramel, 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.

  • 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.

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Good match

    Campari, Aperol, or a Japanese bitter like Kina. Bitter and sweet at once, and it wants a base with something of its own to answer back.

    • Bitter orange meets citrus
    • 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.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Alpine amaro (Braulio-style)

    Good match

    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.

  • Celery bitters

    Good match

    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.

  • 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 aged notes
    • Honey, lemon and a spirit is a sour
    • 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.

  • 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 distilleries themselves now sell imo shochu as a highball. Soda lifts the aroma off the glass instead of burying it.
    • Ginger beer covers delicate perfume
    • 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.

  • Elderflower

    Good match

    The cordial, sweet and alcohol-free, poured like a syrup. Muscat, lychee and honey in one flower. The liqueur has its own entry below: a different product rather than a stronger or weaker version of this one, and it brings alcohol along with the flower.

    • Nothing here is sharp enough to cut the elderflower down, so it survives at the strength it was poured
    • Elderflower on a floral bottle is the obvious spritz
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • 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.
    • No
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

  • Lemongrass

    Good match

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

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

  • Egg white

    Good match

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • Egg white is what turns citrus and spirit into a sour with a head
    • One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

  • Rose

    Good match

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

    • Rose on a floral bottle is a perfume counter
    • Only for the lychee-scented bottles. On a heavy, roasted imo the flowers simply disappear.

  • Ginger

    Worth trying

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

    • Ginger heat stomps on delicate perfume
    • 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.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Rabarbaro amaro (rhubarb root)

    Worth trying

    Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • The bottle already smells of caramel, and this puts more of it in the glass.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Cappelletti Sfumato, where sfumato means smoked and the smoke is the point, or the sweeter Zucca. At 20 percent it can take a third of the glass and still leave the drink weaker than the bottle it started from.

  • Star anise

    Worth trying

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Anise bullies perfume
    • Anise and aged notes are a winter cabinet
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Worth trying

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

    • Heat kills delicate perfume
    • Chili and lime
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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
    • The newer imo shochu are bred for lychee and tropical aromatics, so tropical fruit is agreeing with the bottle rather than fighting it.
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Orange liqueur

    Worth trying

    Cointreau or a dry curaçao. The sweet-and-citrus half of any sour.

    • Orange on citrus
    • Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Yuzu liqueur (yuzushu)

    Worth trying

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

    • Yuzu liqueur on a citrus bottle
    • Yuzu perfume and floral notes
    • This mixer is sweetened too, so it lengthens the drink without cutting the sweetness that is already there.

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

    • Basil and citrus is a smash

  • Fig

    Worth trying

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

    • Fig meets the dried fruit that kusu awamori and long aged shochu already carry

  • 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.
    • Roast covers delicate perfume
    • Hojicha and imo shochu: a roasted pair
    • Roasted tea and aged notes are a fireside

  • Makgeolli

    Worth trying

    Hana Makgeolli is brewed in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; Makku sells a canned one. Strength varies widely across the category, from around 6 percent in a can to the mid teens for an unfiltered takju, so read the label before deciding how much to pour.

    • The yeasty haze gives back the body distillation took out

  • Matcha

    Worth trying

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

    • Matcha's bitterness flattens perfume
    • 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.

  • Shiso liqueur

    Worth trying

    Usually red shiso, so it comes out pink. Sharper and more herbal than it looks, and a little goes a long way.

    • Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Good match

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • The bottle already smells of citrus, 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.

  • Genmaicha

    Worth trying

    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.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
    • Green tea with popped, toasted rice. Cold-brew it.

  • Vanilla

    Worth trying

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

    • 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.
    • Warm spice gives an earthy bottle a pulse without covering the earth itself.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Citric and malic acid solution

    Worth trying

    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.

    • With no juice in the glass a light bottle can end up tasting thin; a fuller one carries it
    • Sourness with nothing attached to it, so the bottle's own perfume stays in front
    • 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.

  • 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.

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

  • Peach liqueur

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • The perfume sits beside a floral bottle rather than over it
    • 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.

  • 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.

    • Kinome tastes of citrus peel and pepper at once
    • 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.

  • Shiitake

    Worth trying

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

    • No
    • A long aged spirit and dried mushroom share a forest floor note
    • An earthy bottle has a savoury side already, and these meet it rather than trying to sweeten it away.

  • Umeboshi

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt flattens perfume
    • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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 peel, sweetened, on a citrus bottle
    • Yuzu tea and imo shochu oyuwari is a Kagoshima winter
    • 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.

  • Kurozu (Kagoshima black vinegar)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Vinegar flattens a delicate perfume
    • 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.
    • 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.

  • 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

  • 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 sweeter 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 →

  • punchdrink.com · Silver Lyan Team, Washington, D.C.

    Shochu Old-Fashioned

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Satsuma Kuradashi Genshu Shochu, also a sweet potato shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 37%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • 2 1/4 ounces satsuma kuradashi genshu sweet potato shochu
    • 1/3 ounce salted black pepper caramel (see editor's note)
    • 2 dashes ash bitters (see editor's note)
    • 1 dash angostura bitters

    Stirred.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • thesgshochu.com

    Boulevardier

    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 25ml
    • sweet vermouth 20ml
    • campari 15ml

    Built 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.