Zanpa Premium 35 Awamori

Dry cava or crémant. Acid and bubbles in one pour.

• The awamori highball is an easy summer drink and the simplest way into the category.
• Shochu and brut sparkling is a French 75 with rice under it; the acid is the point
• Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

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

• Chili and tropical fruit is a Mexican fruit stand
• Chili and lime
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• A rim of shichimi, or a slice of fresh chili. Heat on fruit, not on rice.

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

• The awamori highball is an easy summer drink and the simplest way into the category.
• Sweet soda and aged notes argue
• Rice shochu and lemon soda
• The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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

• The awamori highball is an easy summer drink and the simplest way into the category.
• Tonic's sweetness fights aged notes
• Shochu tonic: bitter and sweet at once, and better than it sounds
• The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Softer acid than lemon, so the rice sweetness stays in the glass
• 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.

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

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Mikan juice over rice sweetness is gentle and familiar
• 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.

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

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Squeezed over rice, it is the flavor of a Japanese autumn table
• 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.

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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Doubles the citrus already in the glass
• The classic pair: rice sweetness under yuzu zest
• 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.

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

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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

• Under its strength awamori is sweet and floral, and that is the half of it tropical fruit answers.
• The bottle already smells of tropical fruit, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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

• Under its strength awamori is sweet and floral, and that is the half of it tropical fruit answers.
• The bottle already smells of tropical fruit, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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

• Okinawa grows the pineapple, the passion fruit and the shikuwasa, and distils the spirit. The pairing is geography.
• The bottle already smells of tropical fruit, and this puts more of it in the glass.

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.

• 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.
• 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.

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

• The bottle already smells of vanilla, 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.
• A split bean in a syrup, or a good extract, in small amounts.

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

• Almond and vanilla is marzipan, and the bottle is already halfway there
• Marzipan against caramel, which is a dessert people already eat
• A bar spoon, not an ounce. It is very sweet, and its job here is the almond smell rather than the sugar.

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

• Rice shochu and dry vermouth, stirred, is a martini that tastes of its base instead of juniper
• Rice shochu, dry vermouth, a lemon twist
• Dolin dry or Noilly Prat. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold.

One white, dry-shaken. Texture without flavor.

• Egg white on a rice spirit is a pisco sour with the grain left in
• Egg white is what turns citrus and spirit into a sour with a head
• Dairy softens awamori rather than fighting it, which is why the cut is an ordinary order in Okinawa.

Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

• Oxidative on oxidative
• Rice shochu and fino, stirred: a bamboo variation
• Fino or manzanilla. Savory, salty, bone dry.

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

• Tropical flower with tropical fruit
• Its acid is what rice bottles need
• Hibiscus is an Okinawan flower and this is an Okinawan spirit, and the flower supplies the acid the still leaves behind in the mash.

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

• Orange on citrus
• Aged bottles and orange peel liqueur
• Awamori has enough character to be the base of a cocktail, not the neutral part of one. So an orange liqueur or a mezcal sits beside it instead of covering it.

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
• Red shiso and citrus is the flavour of a summer drink in Japan
• Usually red shiso, so it comes out pink. Sharper and more herbal than it looks, and a little goes a long way.

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

• Amaro and aged notes are a winter bar
• Aged kusu is intense enough to meet amaro without either one winning.
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

Angostura or a Japanese aromatic. Two dashes.

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

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

• Gentian and grapefruit
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Suze or Salers. Bitter root, bright yellow. A little in a highball changes everything.

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 rice: think of the pickled ginger next to sushi
• Spice reads as native on this base rather than imported, star anise and chilli and ginger most of all.
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. Ocha-wari is one of the everyday ways shochu is drunk in Japan, alongside the oolong version.

• Green tea's tannin gives clean rice shochu the grip it does not have on its own
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• Cold-brewed sencha, unsweetened. Ocha-wari is one of the everyday ways shochu is drunk in Japan, alongside the oolong version.

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.

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

• Rice and matcha agree, which is why the pairing turns up on menus at all
• 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.

Unsweetened, cold. One part shochu to three or four parts tea, over ice. Drinks with food better than almost anything else here.

• A rice base and oolong is what gets poured alongside dinner
• Oolong and jasmine both belong to the same Chinese-adjacent kitchen awamori grew up in.
• 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.

• Quinine and gentian give a measured bitterness where an amaro would take the glass over
• 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.

One star, steeped, for the dark bottles.

• Anise and aged notes are a winter cabinet
• Spice reads as native on this base rather than imported, star anise and chilli and ginger most of all.
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• Cut with water over ice is a common way to drink awamori in Okinawa. With an aged kusu it's the serve that lets the age show instead of burying it.
• Mizuwari on a rice base is a dinner drink, not an aperitif

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

• Wasabi and rice is sushi
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• A rice-grain amount, dissolved. For the savory, cucumber glass, not the fruit one.

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

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• 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.

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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• 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.

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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Fresh lemon reads harsh against aged, caramel notes
• Rice sweetness wants acid, and lemon is the simplest acid there is
• 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.

• Awamori carries citrus and tropical aromatics of its own, out of an all-koji ferment rather than out of anything added. Citrus meets what is already there instead of introducing it.
• Lime's green edge can read metallic against soft rice sweetness
• Lime frames tropical fruit so it does not go flat
• The bottle already smells of citrus, and this puts more of it in the glass.

Dolin blanc. Sweeter and more floral than dry; for the aromatic bottles. Lillet Blanc stands in the same place in a drink, but its maker says plainly that it is a wine aperitif and not a vermouth, because there is no wormwood in it.

• The bottle already smells of vanilla, and this puts more of it in the glass.
• Dolin blanc. Sweeter and more floral than dry; for the aromatic bottles. Lillet Blanc stands in the same place in a drink, but its maker says plainly that it is a wine aperitif and not a vermouth, because there is no wormwood in it.

Giffard's white, or Tempus Fugit's, which is a pale brown rather than colourless. Tempus Fugit publishes 24 percent, so on a 25 percent shochu an ounce lengthens rather than fortifies, and on a 40 percent bottle it pulls the strength down.

• The bottle already smells of vanilla, and this puts more of it in the glass.
• Giffard's white, or Tempus Fugit's, which is a pale brown rather than colourless. Tempus Fugit publishes 24 percent, so on a 25 percent shochu an ounce lengthens rather than fortifies, and on a 40 percent bottle it pulls the strength down.

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.

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

Mikawa Mirin from Sumiya Bunjiro Shoten, made from glutinous rice, koji and shochu since 1911 with no added sugar. Not the sweetened seasoning sold as mirin-fu chomiryo, which is a different product.

• The bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.
• Mikawa Mirin from Sumiya Bunjiro Shoten, made from glutinous rice, koji and shochu since 1911 with no added sugar. Not the sweetened seasoning sold as mirin-fu chomiryo, which is a different product.

A plain or ginger kombucha. Acid, bubbles and a little funk, all three in one pour.

• The awamori highball is an easy summer drink and the simplest way into the category.
• No
• Acid and bubbles on rice sweetness
• Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

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 bottle already smells of rice, and this puts more of it in the glass.
• 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 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
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• The Kyushu condiment, in a tube in any Japanese grocer: fermented yuzu peel, green chili and salt. A quarter teaspoon stirred into an oyuwari, which is the serve Asahi publishes.
• 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.

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
• 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.

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

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

• Thai and Italian basil both love tropical fruit
• Basil and citrus is a smash

A bar spoon. Dark fruit over roasted tea, with the shochu keeping it from reading as squash.

• A kir built on rice shochu instead of white wine, so drier and a good deal stronger
• A bar spoon. Dark fruit over roasted tea, with the shochu keeping it from reading as squash.

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

• Vanilla and dairy is what a custard is, and here the bottle is bringing the vanilla
• Dairy softens awamori rather than fighting it, which is why the cut is an ordinary order in Okinawa.

St-Germain or similar: the flower with alcohol behind it, for stirred drinks. A half ounce is enough. For a long drink, the cordial above does the same flavour without the proof.

• Shochu, elderflower liqueur, lemon: a sour that tastes like spring
• St-Germain or similar: the flower with alcohol behind it, for stirred drinks. A half ounce is enough. For a long drink, the cordial above does the same flavour without the proof.

Barrow's Intense, made in Brooklyn, or Domaine de Canton, which is the easier one to find. Ginger and sugar arrive together either way, and both work hot as well as cold. Being spirits themselves they add alcohol along with the volume, which a juice or a syrup does not.

• Warm spice against caramel, without the sugar a ginger beer brings
• Barrow's Intense, made in Brooklyn, or Domaine de Canton, which is the easier one to find. Ginger and sugar arrive together either way, and both work hot as well as cold. Being spirits themselves they add alcohol along with the volume, which a juice or a syrup does not.

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

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

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

Luxardo. It is sweetened, whatever the name suggests: their own account of the process ends by adding a syrup of water and sugar to bring it to 32 percent. What makes it read as dry is the stone. The cherries sit in larch vats for up to three years, pits, leaves and all, before the lot is distilled and the heart rested in ash, and that almond bitterness arrives before the sugar does. So measure it as a sweetener that tastes bitter, not as a dry modifier, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

• Maraschino is what makes a stirred aged drink taste finished rather than flat
• Luxardo. It is sweetened, whatever the name suggests: their own account of the process ends by adding a syrup of water and sugar to bring it to 32 percent. What makes it read as dry is the stone. The cherries sit in larch vats for up to three years, pits, leaves and all, before the lot is distilled and the heart rested in ash, and that almond bitterness arrives before the sugar does. So measure it as a sweetener that tastes bitter, not as a dry modifier, and a bar spoon changes a stirred drink completely.

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

• Honeyed flower on honeyed age
• Awamori carries perfume of its own, so a flower works when it is quiet enough to sit beside that rather than argue with it.

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.

• Raisin and vanilla are both what long wood ageing leaves, so a bar spoon deepens rather than adds
• 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.

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

• A junmai lengthens the rice already in the bottle: the same grain, brewed and distilled, in one glass
• A dry junmai as the lengthener for rice shochu, one to two. Low proof, all rice.

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
• Awamori carries perfume of its own, so a flower works when it is quiet enough to sit beside that rather than argue with it.

Carpano Antica or Cocchi. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold, makes a manhattan-style drink: on a 25 percent shochu that is about 23 before the ice gets to it, where a 40 percent rye starts nearer 35.

• An aged bottle already has the caramel a manhattan wants; this brings the botanicals
• Carpano Antica or Cocchi. A quarter of the shochu's volume, stirred cold, makes a manhattan-style drink: on a 25 percent shochu that is about 23 before the ice gets to it, where a 40 percent rye starts nearer 35.

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

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

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.

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.

• Under its strength awamori is sweet and floral, and that is the half of it tropical fruit answers.

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

• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.
• A few grinds over the top. Aroma more than heat.

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.

• 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.

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

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

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

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

Cold-brewed, unsweetened. The floral top note sits above a dry spirit without adding weight to it.

• Oolong and jasmine both belong to the same Chinese-adjacent kitchen awamori grew up in.
• There is enough weight here to stand up to a bitter or a spice without disappearing under it.

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

• Under its strength awamori is sweet and floral, and that is the half of it tropical fruit answers.

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.

Torn leaves steeped briefly. Perfumed citrus without juice.

• Lime leaf and tropical fruit are one cuisine
• 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.

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

• Koji rice porridge on a rice drink; the same koji, before and after fermentation
• Dairy softens awamori rather than fighting it, which is why the cut is an ordinary order in Okinawa.
• 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.

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

• The classic spring garnish for rice dishes; it belongs on rice wine too
• 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.

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
• Hot water, rice shochu, a spoon of yuzu tea
• 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.

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 awamori highball is an easy summer drink and the simplest way into the category.
• An aged bottle is the one you would not lengthen with a beer substitute
• Carbonation carries aroma up out of the glass, so a highball shows an aromatic bottle off rather than diluting the point of it.

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.