Skip to content
← Shochumixer

Seegore

Nishihira Honke · Kagoshima · Kokuto (brown sugar)

  • white koji
  • honkaku

Pour this first

Ginger beer, tall over ice. Cinnamon with it.

Kokuto shochu and ginger beer is a dark and stormy at half the proof

One part shochu to three or four parts mixer, over plenty of ice. If it tastes thin, go two to three next time.

What it tastes like

Kokuto shochu from Nishihira Honke in Kagoshima. Published tasting notes: soft, light bodied. The profile below is built from the tasting notes published for it.

  • kokuto
  • soft
  • light-bodied
Sweet
3/5
Body
2/5
Aroma
3/5
Fruit
0/5
Floral
0/5
Grain
1/5
Earth
2/5
Umami
1/5
Base
brown sugar with white koji
Koji
white koji
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.

Explore all 83 pairings

  • Banana

    Strong match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.
    • Banana and brown sugar is bananas foster

  • Cardamom

    Strong match

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

    • Cardamom and brown sugar is a chai
    • A few crushed pods, or a syrup. Floral, citrusy and warm at once; it bridges fruit and spice.

  • Cinnamon

    Strong match

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

    • Brown sugar and cinnamon
    • A stick in hot water with the spirit, or a light syrup. Winter.

  • Coconut

    Strong match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.
    • Brown sugar spirit and coconut is Amami and the Caribbean agreeing

  • 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.

    • Brown sugar and bitter orange is rum and orange with the sugar turned down
    • 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.

  • Ginger

    Strong 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 brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy with an Amami accent

  • Kumquat

    Strong match

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

    • A Kyushu winter fruit with a Kyushu winter spirit
    • Eaten whole, peel and all. Muddle a few in a glass; the peel gives bitterness, the flesh gives tartness.

  • Lemon

    Strong match

    Fresh juice, never bottled. It is the whole basis of the lemon sour, and the quickest way to put acid into a spirit that has almost none of its own.

    • Brown sugar and lemon is the daiquiri logic, in a lighter spirit
    • Fresh juice, never bottled. It is the whole basis of the lemon sour, and the quickest way to put acid into a spirit that has almost none of its own.

  • Lime

    Strong match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • Lime and cane sugar spirit is the oldest pairing in rum, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit

  • Orange

    Strong match

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

    • Orange and brown sugar is a rum punch instinct that carries over
    • Fresh juice when you want it long and easy; the peel when the bottle is aged and the drink is stirred.

  • Pineapple

    Strong match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.
    • Brown sugar spirit, pineapple, lime: that is a daiquiri variation

  • Shikuwasa

    Strong 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.

    • Okinawa's citrus against Amami's sugar, which is the whole southern islands in a glass
    • 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.

  • Star anise

    Good match

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Star anise and brown sugar is a braise
    • One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Good match

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

    • Brown sugar and chili is a hot honey logic
    • A rim of shichimi, or a slice of fresh chili. Heat on fruit, not on rice.

  • Vanilla

    Good match

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

    • Brown sugar and vanilla
    • A split bean in a syrup, or a good extract, in small amounts.

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Good match

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

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Black tea and brown sugar is milk tea logic

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Good match

    Cold brew, unsweetened. For barley, brown-sugar, cask-aged and awamori bottles; it will bury a daiginjo.

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Brown sugar spirit and coffee is a rum-and-coffee, and Amami makes coffee liqueur from it

  • Hojicha

    Good match

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

    • Hojicha and kokuto is a tea-house dessert
    • Cold-brewed or hot. Roasted green tea, low in bitterness, high in toast. The oyuwari of teas.

  • 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.

    • Kokuto oyuwari smells of brown sugar candy
    • 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.

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

    • Matcha and brown sugar is a wagashi
    • Whisked into a slurry first, never dumped in dry. Bitter, umami and creamy at once.

  • Mint

    Good match

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

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.
    • Brown sugar spirit, mint, lime, soda: a mojito with an Amami accent

  • Black pepper

    Good match

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

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

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • 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.

    • 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.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

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

  • Kiwi

    Good match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.

  • Lychee

    Good match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.

  • Mikan (satsuma)

    Good match

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

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

  • Passion fruit

    Good match

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

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.

  • Sansho pepper

    Good match

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

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

  • Sudachi

    Good match

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

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

  • Wasabi

    Good match

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

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

  • 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.

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

  • Yuzu 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.

    • 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.

  • Gum syrup (gomme)

    Good match

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

    • A 25 percent spirit brings far less viscosity than a 40 percent one, so a shaken sour goes thin
    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Kokuto (brown sugar) syrup

    Good match

    Okinawan or Amami kokuto dissolved one to one in water. Molasses, minerals, a little salt.

    • Brown sugar on brown sugar; the spirit's own raw material
    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Orgeat (almond syrup)

    Good match

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

    • Orgeat and cane spirit is a mai tai
    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Apricot

    Worth trying

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

    • Apricot and brown sugar is a jam logic

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Blueberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Gentle fruit for a gentle bottle

  • Chamomile

    Worth trying

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

    • Gentle flower, gentle bottle

  • Coffee liqueur

    Worth trying

    Mr Black or a good Japanese one. Awamori and shochu makers bottle their own, so this is not a foreign idea imposed on the spirit.

    • Brown sugar and coffee is the pairing Amami distillers make themselves

  • Dill

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Falernum

    Worth trying

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

    • A cane liqueur from a cane island, poured onto a cane spirit

  • Genmaicha

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Ginger beer

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Kokuto shochu and ginger beer is a dark and stormy at half the proof

  • Ginger liqueur

    Worth trying

    Barrow's Intense, made in Brooklyn, is the one to look for: much more ginger and much less sugar than most, so it works as the spice in a drink rather than as the sweetener. Domaine de Canton is the easier one to find and the sweeter one. Either gets you the mule flavour without the sugar load of a ginger beer, and both work hot as well as cold. They carry their own alcohol, so they lengthen a shochu less than a juice or a syrup would.

    • Brown sugar and ginger is the oldest warm drink there is

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Worth trying

    Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. The green tea highball is one of the most common ways shochu is actually drunk in Japan.

    • Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. The green tea highball is one of the most common ways shochu is actually drunk in Japan.

  • Hoppy (beer-taste mixer)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • One part shochu to five parts Hoppy lands near 4 percent and drinks like a pint with none of beer's body

  • Jasmine tea

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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.

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

  • Lemongrass

    Worth trying

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

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

  • 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

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

  • Miso

    Worth trying

    White miso whisked into a syrup, a small spoon per drink. Salty, sweet and savory at once.

    • Miso caramel is a dessert, and kokuto is the caramel

  • Mugicha (barley tea)

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Oolong tea

    Worth trying

    Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice.

    • Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice.

  • Orange liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Kokuto shochu, orange liqueur, lime: a margarita shape with a cane spirit

  • Pear

    Worth trying

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

    • Soft bottles and pear are quiet together, which is the point

  • Pedro Ximénez sherry (PX)

    Worth trying

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

    • Brown sugar and dried fig, with the sugar already oxidised so it does not read as dessert

  • Pu-erh tea

    Worth trying

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

    • 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.

  • Sea salt

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt and brown sugar

  • Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea)

    Worth trying

    Roasted buckwheat, in any Japanese grocery, hot or cold. In a soba restaurant the same serve is made with soba-yu, the starchy water the noodles were boiled in, which is thicker and cannot be bought.

    • Roasted buckwheat, in any Japanese grocery, hot or cold. In a soba restaurant the same serve is made with soba-yu, the starchy water the noodles were boiled in, which is thicker and cannot be bought.

  • Soda water

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Kokuto highball, with a lime

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Worth trying

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

    • A kokuto shochu French 75

  • Cold water (mizuwari)

    Worth trying

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

    • Warmth brings the molasses forward. Cold water is the better choice if the bottle is already sweet, because it lengthens without pushing the sugar further.

  • Sumomo (Japanese plum) liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • The Amami bottlings are literally kokuto shochu with plum steeped in it

  • Sweet vermouth (rosso)

    Worth trying

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

    • Brown sugar and sweet vermouth read as one long caramel note

  • Thyme

    Worth trying

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

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

  • Toasted sesame

    Worth trying

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

    • Sesame and brown sugar is a wagashi

  • Amaro

    Worth trying

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

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Brown sugar and bitter herbs

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Worth trying

    Campari, Aperol, or a Japanese bitter like Kina. Shochu is low enough in proof to make an aperitivo you can actually have two of.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Kokuto shochu and red bitter is a boulevardier logic

  • Aromatic bitters

    Worth trying

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Kokuto old fashioned
    • Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

  • Cream

    Worth trying

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

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Brown sugar spirit and cream is a Kyushu flip

  • Fernet

    Worth trying

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

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Fernet and cane spirit is an Argentine instinct
    • A quarter ounce. Menthol and bitterness, for the darkest bottles.

  • Milk

    Worth trying

    Cold whole milk. Shochu milk-wari is a real order in Kyushu, not a dare.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Kokuto shochu and milk is an Amami dessert

  • 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.

    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.
    • Bean sweetness and brown sugar land on the same note
    • 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.

  • Mango

    Worth trying

    Ripe mango puree. Needs lime beside it or it goes flat.

    • Everything the tiki canon does with rum works here, and works better, because the drink does not end the evening.
    • This is a light bottle and this is a heavy ingredient. It will not taste bad, it will taste like the ingredient.

  • Agave syrup

    Worth trying

    The neutral sweetener. Use when you want to balance acid without adding a flavor.

    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Honey

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Maple syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • Yuzu marmalade (yuja-cha)

    Worth trying

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

    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

Ways to serve it

  • On the rocks
  • Mizuwari (with water)

Brown sugar shochu is legally only made on the Amami islands, and it is a cane spirit in everything but name. Every rum drink you know is available to it at two thirds the alcohol.

Cocktails other people made

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

Show 8 more

  • Nankai Shochu

    Yuzu Martini

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Shochu (Original), also a brown sugar shochu.

    • 2.25 oz Nankai Shochu
    • 0.75 oz dry vermouth
    • 2 to 5 dashes yuzu juice
    • 1 dash orange bitters
    • Lemon peel, expressed

    Stirred.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu

    Amami Sazerac

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Gold Shochu, also a brown sugar shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 43%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • 2 oz Nankai Gold
    • 0.25 oz absinthe or Herbsaint, as a rinse
    • 1 sugar cube
    • 0.25 oz fresh lemon juice
    • 2 to 3 dashes aromatic bitters, Peychaud's or Angostura
    • Lemon peel, expressed

    Stirred.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu · Carey Jones and John McCarthy

    Sencha Shochu

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Shochu (Original), also a brown sugar shochu.

    • 2 oz Nankai Shochu
    • 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
    • 0.5 oz simple syrup
    • 1 egg white
    • 1 tbsp sencha tea leaves

    Shaken.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu · Gersom Gamez

    Habu's Neck, aka the Shochu Buck

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Gold Shochu, also a brown sugar shochu. This bottle is lighter, 25% against 43%, so cut the mixer back or it will disappear.

    • 1.5 oz Nankai Gold
    • 0.5 oz pomelo juice
    • 4 oz ginger beer
    • A long pomelo peel, for garnish

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu

    Nankai Greyhound

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai Shochu (Original), also a brown sugar shochu.

    • 1.5 oz Nankai Shochu
    • 3 oz grapefruit juice
    • 0.5 oz elderflower liqueur
    • A pinch of sea salt, or a salt rimmed glass

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu · Matthew Biancaniello and Adam Chapman

    Shiitake Old Fashioned

    Written for a similar bottle

    Written for Nankai White Oak Shochu, also a brown sugar shochu.

    • 2 oz shiitake-infused Nankai White Oak
    • 0.25 oz kokuto syrup
    • 1 dash candy cap bitters
    • For the infusion: 1 bottle Nankai White Oak, 2 dried shiitake, 2 fresh shiitake
    • For the bitters: 180 ml aromatic bitters, 1 handful candy cap mushrooms
    • For the syrup: 1 cup kokuto sugar

    Stirred.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

  • Nankai Shochu

    Hana Hana Highball

    Written for brown sugar shochu

    • 2 oz Nankai Shochu or Nankai Gold
    • 4 oz soda water, the more carbonated the better
    • One third of a lemon, squeezed in

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Nankai Shochu →

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 kokuto shochu.