Takachiho Kin

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

• Barley tea on barley shochu is the same grain, roasted, twice
• Cold, unsweetened barley tea. Every Japanese fridge has a pitcher in summer. Mix one to three over ice.

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

• Oolong-hai is the second most common shochu drink in Japanese izakaya
• Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice.

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 and roasted barley are one idea arrived at from two grains
• 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.

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 barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.
• The shochu highball: ice, shochu, cold soda, nothing else

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

• Tokushima's citrus on a Kyushu spirit, sharper and greener than the lemon a barley sour usually gets
• A small green citrus from Tokushima, sharper and more herbal than lime. Sold frozen or as juice in Japanese markets.

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

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.

• Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
• Cask-aged bottles have the wood; apple has the orchard

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

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

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

• Barley shochu and celery is an unlikely, real pair
• Juiced, or a stalk as the stirrer. Savory, salty and cold.

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

• Gentle flower, gentle bottle
• Chamomile softens barley shochu into an evening drink

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

• Cinnamon and aged notes are a hot toddy
• Cask and cinnamon: an old fashioned instinct

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

• Cucumber and a clean barley highball is the most refreshing thing you can build out of this category.
• Barley shochu, cucumber, soda: a highball that tastes like a cool room

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

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

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.

• Barley has less to open up than sweet potato, so water shows you exactly what is there. That is a fair test and not always a flattering one: a thin mugi has nowhere to hide in it.
• Mugi oyuwari in winter, with an umeboshi

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

• A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
• A US barley shochu is literally made with lemongrass; the pairing is proven

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

• Maple and oak are a bourbon idea
• Maple and aged, caramel notes

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

• Barley's light sweetness reads as orchard fruit already, so apple and pear extend the bottle rather than decorate it.
• Soft bottles and pear are quiet together, which is the point

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

• A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
• Shiso and barley shochu is an izakaya sour

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

• Barley has less to open up than sweet potato, so water shows you exactly what is there. That is a fair test and not always a flattering one: a thin mugi has nowhere to hide in it.
• Six parts shochu to four parts water, the classic

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

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

• A clean barley spirit takes herbs the way vodka does, but with a cereal sweetness underneath that gives them something to sit on.
• Barley shochu and thyme is an unexpected, clean match

Good tomato juice, or a ripe tomato muddled and strained. The savour koji leaves behind and the savour in a tomato are the same glutamate.

• Barley shochu and tomato juice is an izakaya standard order
• 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.

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

• Barley shochu with an umeboshi dropped in is a real izakaya order
• Umeboshi (salt-pickled), ume syrup, or the fruit's own liqueur. Sour, salty and savory at once.

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

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

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 barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the way.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

• The barley highball is the default shochu drink in Japan. Clean spirit, cold soda, nothing in the 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.

• 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.

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.

• Black vinegar is rice fermented with koji and then soured, so it is the same mould arriving a second time
• 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.

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

• Miso is koji too; the bottle and the paste share a mold
• White miso whisked into a syrup, a small spoon per drink. Salty, sweet and savory at once.

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

• Barley shochu and gari brine is a bartender's shortcut to a ginger sour
• A spoon of the brine, and a slice as garnish. Sweet, sour and hot at once.

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

A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.

• A long aged spirit and aged soy share the same brown, oxidative notes
• A drop. Think of it as salt with depth, for the savory glass only.

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

• One umeboshi in a glass of barley shochu and hot water is the oldest shochu drink there is
• Dashi-wari and an umeboshi in hot barley shochu are real izakaya orders, but they belong to a winter counter rather than a summer glass.

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.

• Salt and lactic acid land on the sweetness koji leaves behind
• 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.