Skip to content
← Shochumixer

Taiko no Kuro Usagi

Yayoi Shochu Jozosho · Kagoshima · Kokuto (brown sugar)

  • white koji
  • honkaku
  • atmospheric distilled
  • aged
  • cask aged

Pour this first

Ginger beer, tall over ice. Cinnamon with it.

Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

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 Yayoi Shochu Jozosho in Kagoshima. Importer's tasting notes: rice, banana, cherry, rich. Nobody here has tasted this one, so the profile below is estimated from what its importer publishes rather than from the glass.

  • kokuto
  • rice
  • banana
  • cherry
  • rich
  • full-bodied
  • cask
  • aged
  • koji
Sweet
Body
Aroma
Fruit
Floral
Grain
Earth
Umami
Base
kokuto (brown sugar) with rice koji
Koji
white rice koji
Distillation
atmospheric distillation
ABV
24%
Aging
five years in evergreen oak barrels

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 117 pairings

  • Cinnamon

    Strong match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy
    • Brown sugar and cinnamon
    • Cask and cinnamon: an old fashioned instinct

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Brown sugar and bitter orange is rum and orange with the sugar turned down
    • The peel is doing what the orange twist on an old fashioned does

  • Amaro

    Strong match

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

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Amaro and aged notes are a winter bar
    • Cask and amaro
    • Brown sugar and bitter herbs

  • Aromatic bitters

    Strong match

    Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Bitters, sugar, a cask-aged spirit: an old fashioned
    • Kokuto old fashioned
    • Two dashes wake up an aged bottle

  • Black tea (Earl Grey)

    Strong 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's tannin sits well with aged notes
    • Tea and cask is a Scotch idea
    • Black tea and brown sugar is milk tea logic

  • Cardamom

    Strong match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Cardamom and brown sugar is a chai
    • Spice on aged, nutty notes
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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
    • Ginger and rice: think of the pickled ginger next to sushi
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Star anise

    Strong match

    One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Anise and aged notes are a winter cabinet
    • Star anise and brown sugar is a braise
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Vanilla

    Strong match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Vanilla is what oak gives; more of it is coherent
    • Brown sugar and vanilla

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Softer acid than lemon, so the rice sweetness stays in the glass

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Okinawa's citrus against Amami's sugar, which is the whole southern islands in a glass

  • Sudachi

    Strong match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Squeezed over rice, it is the flavor of a Japanese autumn table

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • The classic pair: rice sweetness under yuzu zest

  • Red aperitivo bitter (Campari-style)

    Good match

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

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • A negroni built on shochu is a real drink on real menus
    • Kokuto shochu and red bitter is a boulevardier logic
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Coconut

    Good 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
    • Banana and coconut is a dessert

  • Kumquat

    Good match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • Kumquat's bitter peel stands up to aged, nutty notes
    • A Kyushu winter fruit with a Kyushu winter spirit

  • Matcha

    Good match

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

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Rice and matcha agree, which is why the pairing turns up on menus at all
    • Matcha and brown sugar is a wagashi
    • 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.

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Sansho and rice is a Kyoto kitchen
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Togarashi (chili)

    Good match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Brown sugar and chili is a hot honey logic
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Wasabi

    Good match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • Wasabi and rice is sushi
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Banana

    Good 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.
    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Isoamyl acetate, the banana ester, is one of the two big ginjo aromas
    • Banana and brown sugar is bananas foster

  • Sweet vermouth (rosso)

    Good match

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

    • An aged bottle already has the caramel a manhattan wants; this brings the botanicals
    • Cask notes and vermouth's spice belong in the same stirred glass
    • Brown sugar and sweet vermouth read as one long caramel note

  • Lemon

    Good 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • Fresh lemon reads harsh against aged, caramel notes
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Rice sweetness wants acid, and lemon is the simplest acid there is

  • Pineapple

    Good 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.
    • Pineapple's acid and sugar overwhelm a soft rice bottle
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Brown sugar spirit, pineapple, lime: that is a daiquiri variation

  • 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.

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Kokuto shochu and ginger beer is a dark and stormy at half the proof
    • A shochu mule, and it is on menus

  • Soda water

    Good 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.

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Shochu and soda over ice is the most ordinary drink in Japan
    • Kokuto highball, with a lime

  • Sparkling wine (brut)

    Good match

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

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Shochu and brut sparkling is a French 75 at lower proof; the acid is the point
    • A kokuto shochu French 75

  • Amazake (sweet koji rice)

    Good match

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

    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Koji rice porridge on a rice drink; the same koji, before and after fermentation
    • Koji meets koji

  • Cream

    Good match

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

    • 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
    • Banana and cream

  • 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.

    • 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.
    • Rich bottles are built for warmth
    • Kokuto oyuwari smells of brown sugar candy

  • Blood orange

    Good match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • Kabosu

    Good match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • 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.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • 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.
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • 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.

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Oak rested and 21 percent, so half and half with a cask-aged bottle is one drink at about 23
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Fernet

    Good match

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

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • Fernet and cane spirit is an Argentine instinct
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Green tea (sencha)

    Good match

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

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Ryokucha-hai: rice shochu with green tea is an ordinary Kyushu order
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Oolong tea

    Good match

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

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Rice shochu and oolong is a Kyushu dinner drink
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Black pepper

    Good match

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

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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.

    • Ginger and brown sugar is a dark and stormy. Kokuto shochu makes it at half the alcohol.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Lime

    Good 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's green edge can read metallic against soft rice sweetness
    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Lime and cane sugar spirit is the oldest pairing in rum, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit

  • Ginger ale

    Good match

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

    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Gentler than ginger beer; right for a soft rice bottle

  • Cranberry

    Good match

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

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Tart cranberry gives soft rice sweetness structure

  • Hibiscus

    Good match

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

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Its acid is what rice bottles need

  • 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.

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Black vinegar is rice fermented with koji and then soured, so it is the same mould arriving a second time

  • Raspberry

    Good match

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

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Its acidity is what soft rice bottles need

  • Ume (Japanese plum)

    Good match

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

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Ume sour: the second most ordered shochu drink in Japan after lemon

  • 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.

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.
    • Salt and lactic acid land on the sweetness koji leaves behind

  • Amaretto

    Good match

    A bar spoon, not an ounce. It is very sweet, and its job here is the almond smell rather than the sugar.

    • Almond and oak is the whole idea behind a nut liqueur in a barrel drink
    • Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat

  • Apricot

    Good match

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

    • Long aging turns a spirit towards stone fruit; the apricot joins what is already there
    • Apricot and brown sugar is a jam logic

  • Apricot liqueur

    Good match

    Rothman and Winter, or a Japanese anzu liqueur. Closer to umeshu than to a candy liqueur if you buy a good one.

    • Long aging turns towards stone fruit anyway; this meets it there
    • Apricot and oak is the flavour of an old brandy, at a third of the strength

  • Cherry

    Good match

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

    • Cask notes and cherry is a Manhattan instinct
    • Dark cherry against aged, oxidative notes

  • Dry vermouth

    Good match

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

    • Rice shochu and dry vermouth, stirred, is the martini bars actually serve at this proof
    • Rice shochu, dry vermouth, a lemon twist

  • Egg white

    Good match

    One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Egg white on a rice spirit is a silky, low proof pisco sour

  • Fig

    Good match

    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
    • Fig and brown sugar is a dessert plate

  • Fino sherry

    Good match

    Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

    • Oxidative on oxidative
    • Rice shochu and fino, stirred: a bamboo variation

  • Ginger liqueur

    Good match

    Domaine de Canton or similar. The mule flavour without the sugar load of a ginger beer, and it works hot as well as cold.

    • Warm spice against caramel, without the sugar a ginger beer brings
    • Brown sugar and ginger is the oldest warm drink there is

  • Kinome (sansho leaf)

    Good match

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

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.
    • The classic spring garnish for rice dishes; it belongs on rice wine too

  • Maraschino

    Good match

    Luxardo. Dry rather than sweet despite the name, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

    • It lands exactly on a cherry note the bottle already carries
    • Maraschino is what makes a stirred aged drink taste finished rather than flat

  • Milk

    Good match

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

    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Kokuto shochu and milk is an Amami dessert

  • Orange liqueur

    Good match

    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
    • Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur

  • Sake (in a shochu drink)

    Good match

    A dry junmai as the lengthener for rice shochu, one to two. Low proof, all rice.

    • Rice shochu lengthened with a junmai: the same grain, fermented and distilled, in one glass
    • Koji meets koji

  • Soy milk (tonyu)

    Good match

    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.

    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Bean sweetness and brown sugar land on the same note

  • 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.

    • 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.
    • Rice shochu mizuwari is a dinner drink in Kumamoto

  • Carciofo amaro (Cynar-style)

    Good match

    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.

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Coffee (cold brew)

    Good match

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

    • This bottle's aroma is the reason to own it, and a roasted or smoky mixer covers exactly that.
    • 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
    • Cask notes and coffee: think of a coffee old fashioned

  • Gentian (Suze-style)

    Good match

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

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Hojicha

    Good match

    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.
    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Roasted tea and aged notes are a fireside
    • Hojicha and kokuto is a tea-house dessert

  • 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.

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Jasmine tea

    Good match

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

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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.

  • 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.

    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Quinquina aperitif (Cocchi Americano-style)

    Good match

    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.

    • Brown sugar carries bitterness the way a boulevardier carries whiskey. Amaro and red bitter both land.
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • 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.

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Mikan juice over rice sweetness is gentle and familiar

  • Orange

    Good match

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

    • Cane sugar spirit and lime is the daiquiri, and kokuto shochu is a cane spirit at two thirds the proof.
    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Orange and brown sugar is a rum punch instinct that carries over

  • 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.

    • There is real sugar in this bottle already, and acid is what keeps it from reading as syrup.

  • Amontillado sherry

    Worth trying

    Lustau or González Byass. Fino is salt and living flor; this is what is left after the flor dies, and at 18 percent an ounce lengthens the glass rather than strengthening it.

    • Both have spent years going quietly brown, and they meet in the middle

  • Apple

    Worth trying

    Cold-pressed juice or thin slices. Green apple is already in the aroma of a lot of rice shochu, so this amplifies what is there rather than adding something new.

    • Cask-aged bottles have the wood; apple has the orchard

  • Basil

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.

  • 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.

    • Wood and resin belong in the same stirred glass

  • Blackberry

    Worth trying

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

    • Cask and blackberry: think of a whisky smash

  • Crème de cassis

    Worth trying

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

    • A kir at half the proof: rice shochu and a spoon of cassis

  • Dill

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.

  • Elderflower liqueur

    Worth trying

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

    • Shochu, elderflower liqueur, lemon: a sour that tastes like spring

  • Green tea liqueur

    Worth trying

    Sweeter and rounder than brewing your own matcha, and it dissolves properly, which matcha powder in a cold drink does not.

    • Rice and green tea is an ordinary Japanese meal, not a novelty

  • Kombu

    Worth trying

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

    • Steeping kombu in alcohol is a real preparation in a Japanese kitchen

  • 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.

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.

  • Madeira (dry, Sercial or Verdelho)

    Worth trying

    Blandy's or Barbeito, ten year. It is the one fortified wine that brings real acid, so it can do the lemon's job on a bottle where fresh citrus reads harsh.

    • Barrel against barrel, except this one brings back the acid the cask took away

  • Makrut lime leaf

    Worth trying

    Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.

  • 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.

    • Ginjo-scented rice shochu and melon are the same aroma family

  • Oat milk

    Worth trying

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

    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.

  • Olive brine

    Worth trying

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

    • Dirty, on a rice base: the sweetness and the brine argue in a good way

  • Osmanthus (kinmokusei)

    Worth trying

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

    • Honeyed flower on honeyed age

  • Pickled ginger (gari)

    Worth trying

    A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

    • Gari sits next to sushi rice; it sits next to a rice spirit for the same reason

  • Sakura (cherry blossom)

    Worth trying

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

    • Salt-pickled blossoms in a rice drink is a Japanese spring

  • 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

  • Shiitake

    Worth trying

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

    • A long aged spirit and dried mushroom share a forest floor note

  • 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.

    • Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour

  • 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

  • Thyme

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.

  • 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

  • Tomato

    Worth trying

    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.

    • Tomato juice and a savory junmai is a Japanese bloody mary

  • Umeboshi

    Worth trying

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

    • Ume and rice is a rice ball

  • Umeshu

    Worth trying

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

    • Umeshu is usually built on shochu in the first place, so adding it back is coherent

  • Yellow peach

    Worth trying

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

    • A richer peach for a richer bottle

  • Kokuto (brown sugar) syrup

    Worth trying

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

    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Brown sugar on brown sugar; the spirit's own raw material
    • Cask and brown sugar is an old fashioned
    • 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.

    • This bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.
    • Maple and oak are a bourbon idea
    • Maple and aged, caramel notes
    • The bottle already brings sugar. Add more only to balance a sharp acid, never to sweeten.

  • 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.
    • Coffee and black tea meet the molasses in the bottle rather than arguing with it.
    • Toasted rice tea and a rice spirit are the same grain twice
    • There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

  • Kombucha

    Worth trying

    A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, none of which survive a still.

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

  • Lemon soda (ramune, Sanpellegrino)

    Worth trying

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

    • Sweet soda and aged notes argue
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Rice shochu and lemon soda

  • 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 bottle brings its own sweetness. More sugar is the most common way a drink built on it goes wrong.

  • Tonic water

    Worth trying

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

    • Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
    • Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.
    • Shochu tonic: bitter, sweet, low proof, and better than it sounds

  • Calpico (cultured milk)

    Worth trying

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

    • Calpico and aged notes do not agree
    • Cream and molasses is a flip, and kokuto shochu with milk is an ordinary Amami dessert.
    • Calpis and rice shochu is a sweet-and-sour sour

  • Mint

    Worth trying

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

    • Mint's brightness argues with aged notes
    • 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

  • Shiso

    Worth trying

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

    • Shiso and brown sugar pull apart
    • Mint, lime and a cane spirit is a mojito, and Amami has the sugar for it.
    • Shiso and rice is an onigiri flavour, and rice shochu is rice

  • Gum syrup (gomme)

    Worth trying

    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.

    • 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

  • Izakaya Juraku · Izakaya Juraku

    Hidari Chichi

    Written for a different style

    Written for Takara Shochu Jun, a different bottle. We have this one as the sweeter of the two, which is what will move most in the glass.

    • Lychee liqueur
    • Elderflower liqueur
    • Takara shochu
    • Mio sparkling sake
    • Edible pink glitter, for garnish
    • Dried rosebud, for garnish
    Full method at Izakaya Juraku →

  • Just One Cookbook

    Japanese Yuzu Cocktail (Yuzu Chuhai)

    Written for shochu generally

    • ½ cup club soda (soda water)
    • ¼ cup shochu (any brand or type)
    • 1 tbsp homemade simple syrup
    • 1 tsp yuzu juice (extract)
    • ice cubes
    • 1, 2 tsp korean citron tea (yuja cha) (optional)
    • lime (optional; can use lemon)

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Just One Cookbook →

  • Pickled Plum

    Umeboshi Sour (Pickled Plum Cocktail)

    Written for shochu generally

    • ice cubes
    • 1/4 cup shōchū (such as iichiko)
    • 3/4 cup sparkling water
    • 1 1/2 tablespoon umezu (plum vinegar)
    • 1/2 teaspoon plain rice vinegar
    • 1/2 teaspoon honey (optional)
    • 1 large soft umeboshi (japanese pickled plum)
    • 1 shiso leaf, whole or shredded, for garnish (optional)

    Built in the glass.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

  • punchdrink.com · Brian Evans and George Padilla, Brooklyn, New York

    The Rule of Thirds Chu-Hai

    Written for shochu generally

    • 1 1/2 ounces shochu
    • 1 1/4 ounce grapefruit juice
    • 3/4 ounce sweetened hojicha tea (see editor's note)
    • club soda, to top

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at punchdrink.com →

  • Pickled Plum

    Lemon Sour (Japanese)

    Written for shochu generally

    • juice of 1/2 lemon
    • 1/4 cup shōchū (or soju)
    • 1/2 cup soda water
    • 1 tablespoon simple syrup (1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
    • ice cubes

    Built in the glass, topped with soda.

    Full method at Pickled Plum →

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.