There is no way you will dare to host a Japanese ceremony and not serve your guests drink. In the unwritten constitution, it is almost criminal as no Japanese festivity is complete without some lovely shots of Japanese drinks. Japanese alcohol is greatly savored all across Japan.
The throngs at the various bars and drinking pubs littered across the Asian country is a testimony to the national love for Japanese alcohol. However, there are some engrossing Japanese alcoholic drinks that are massively adored in Japan. These Japanese alcohol drinks are almost household names that have held Japanese drinkers to ransom. Let us look at some of them.
Table of Contents
NO.1 The Japanese Highball
This is one marvelous Japanese alcohol drink that continues to mesmerize drinkers with amazement. The Japanese Highball is far from your conventional whiskey soda. This Japanese alcohol is definitely much more than that.
Essentially the Japanese Highball is a cocktail which brings some of the best alcoholic ingredients in terms of quality. Most times the Japanese highball is served with ice cubes to bring out that lovely frost. The amazement is even boosted further when you now add your soda water. Not just an ordinary cocktail, a shot of the Japanese Highball and you already know you are onto something lovably different.
NO.2 Lemon Sour
Lemon sour is a wonderful Japanese alcohol drink to try especially when you are looking for an alcoholic drink that is relatively mild. Lemon sour which is alternatively referred to as Lemon chuchai is commonly produced from a masterful combination of lemon, soda, as well as shochu. Lemon sour has this captivating taste and gripping flavor even if it is not very strong like your normal Japanese alcohol. Of course for the huge love Japanese have for Lemon sour, there is an extensive variety for your satiation.
There is the sudachi variant of Lemon sour, yuzu as well as shikuwasa. In some cases, you can be served your lemon sour with chuhai.
NO.3 Oolong Hai
Oolong Hai shares some similarities with your lemon sour although there is quite some notable distinction between them. In fact, if you manipulate the mixing of your lemon sour, you can get something closer to oolong hai. This is when you replace the lemon component with oolong tea and then this time you don’t use club soda rather adding some mild shochu. The oolong hai when it lands on your tongue sends amazing vibes straight to your brains increasing the savor. There are a number of oolong hai varieties like the sweet potato oolong hai. Of course, the oolong tea component notably contributes to the flavor.
NO.4 Mugi Shochu
For those just starting their journey into the world of Japanese alcohol, you can rightly get initiated with Mugi Shochu. Mugi shochu doesn’t have a very strong flavor which makes it even more suitable for beginners. Mugi Shochu is made from shochu fundamentally just as the name suggests.
Shochu has been around since the 1500s in Japan. Isn’t this wonderful? Aside from the Mugi shochu, the sweet potato shochu has a relatively stronger flavor for a Japanese alcohol drink. Mugi shochu can be served warm or cold depending on your preference. It would baffle you that Mugi shochu can be taken with sugar cane which sounds a ridiculous combination until you try it and get enjoyably dazzled.
NO.5 Sour
Sour is one of the most popular Japanese alcohol out there. Japanese sour is simply made from a combo of soda, shochu, and syrup. Most times when you are served sour in Japanese restaurants, you would be served with fresh fruits to increase its deliciousness. Certainly, in that circumstance you will be served with a squeezer as well so you can extract sufficient quantity of fresh juice from the fruits. Alternatively, you can always top up your sour with shochu soda.
NO.6 Peach sour
Peach sour despite being Japanese alcohol is really very refreshing. You will get the best refreshment from peach sour when served chilled. From most common combinations, the peach sour uses a vodka base enhanced with fruit juice. Some of this could be peach, grapefruit, green apple or even Sicilian lemon. The peach sour has a sizable amount of alcohol but the taste is not too strong.
Conventionally the peach sour doesn’t come with artificial sweeteners or the likes of purine and sugar. It has a very natural glamor to it.
NO.7 Plum Sour
Plum sour is basically free of additives and is one Japanese liquor made predominantly from sour. In Japan, plum sour is a rave alcoholic beverage especially in the Wakayama region. One distinct feature of this Japanese alcohol is the uncommon way it reaches a balance of sourness and sweetness. It is wonderful even made lovelier with the soda which contributes some exciting levels of carbon acidity making the whole combination more relishing. To better enjoy your plum sour, you can opt to squeeze in some lemons.
NO.8 Red Eye Cocktail
The Red Eye Cocktail is one awesome Japanese alcohol we can’t afford to exclude from this list. The Red Eye Cocktail is made from an expert mixture of tomato juice, lemon juice, and beer. In some variants of the Red Eye Cocktail, the marvel is further magnified by the addition of vodka and raw eggs. Most times the Red Eye Cocktail is canned and is best savored cold.
NO.9 Umeshu (Plum Wine)
Plum wine is one of the most famous Japanese alcohol among Japanese drinkers. You could hear it locally referred to as umeshu. The plum wine is a very distinct offspring of shochu. Plum wine feels smooth pertaining to its taste that you are helplessly gulping down mesmerized. The sweetness and the smoothness of the plum wine explain why it is almost a household traditional drink in Japan.
The umeshu comes with a lot of vegetable juice blends as well. Should you choose to, you can further add artificial sweeteners like sugar.
NO.10 Awamori
Awamori is one of the most famed distilled Japanese alcohol to ever emerge from the island of Okinawa. Awamori in similarity to shochu is made from rice. However, awamori is produced from a slightly differing fermentation mold. Awamori has a significant amount of alcohol. Commonly the least alcohol composition you can see for awamori is somewhere around 25%.
But then customarily, the alcohol composition of awamori will not exceed 43%. One thing that makes this Japanese drink stand out is its longevity. Can you believe that this Japanese alcohol can age up to 23 years?
NO.11 Chuhai
Ask any Japanese drinker about Chuhai and be prepared for a very lengthy sermon on its marvel. In some regions of Japanese, the Chuhai is also referred to as shochu highball. Chuhai can be made from soda and tea as well as lemon if you deem fit. The alcoholic content of Chuhai varies understandably. In some circumstances, you can see this Japanese alcohol with an alcoholic composition of 3%.
In other cases, Chuhai can have an alcohol content of 9% which is still some distance below when compared to a stronger Japanese alcohol like awamori.
NO.12 Matcha Hai
Talking about Japanese highball drinks, it is forbidden to omit Matcha Hai from the list. The Matcha Hai is made from matcha majorly but you can also mash things up with soda water and shochu. The matcha intensifies the allure of this Japanese alcohol drink adding a captivating flavor to it as well.
Matcha hai is a very renowned alcoholic beverage served all through Japan. Simply walk into a Japanese pub and ask for the Roku Hai for a thrilling shot of matcha Hai. You are definitely going to fall in love with this drink.
NO.13 Peach Fizz
Ask about Japanese cocktails and one of the first they would mention for you is the Peach Fizz. This is one sensational peach liqueur with remarkable sweetness further amplified by the brandy flavor undertone of the Peach Fizz. Basically, we see that the Peach Fizz is made from crème de pêche combined with vodka and soda water. In some cases, there is an extended addition of Japanese gum sugar as well as lemon juice to the mixture.
If you compare this Japanese alcoholic drink with other common fruity cocktails in Japanese, you see that the peach fizz has a larger alcoholic content. But even in the face of this elevated alcoholic percentage, the peach fizz is still very easy to drink courtesy of the tantalizing syrup. Admittedly, the peach fizz owes its pink coloration to this syrup.
NO.14 Fuzzy Navel
When you hear the name Fuzzy Navel supposedly the first thing that brushes through your mind is your belly button right? Despite the sarcastic name of this Japanese alcoholic drink, it is one of the loveliest Japan can boast of. The fuzzy navel drink basically borrows its name from the nature of the surface of its peach which is notably fuzzy.
The navel here in the name can be attributed to its fruity composition as the fuzzy navel Japanese alcohol is significantly made from navel fruits like oranges. The fuzzy navel is one cocktail you will get stuck with especially when mixed with peach schnapps. The orange juice makes the fuzzy navel easier to wash down your throat delightfully.
NO.15 Cassis Orange
The Cassie Orange is a welcome Japanese alcohol for those who are not accustomed with stronger Japanese alcohol drinks. It is light and relatively easier to gulp down. This drink bears much of an orange flavor which differentiates it from the Cassis Grape whose flavor emanates largely from its composition of grapefruit juice.
NO.16 Sake
Sake is one of the most illustrious Japanese alcoholic drinks you can mention. Although commonly called Japanese rice wine, sake is not totally your typically your Japanese wine. This is because unlike wine where the sugar is fermented sake is brewed more in the likeness of beer.
In Japanese sake, there is the fermentation of starch into sugar which further undergoes fermentation into alcohol. In sake, it is a popular practice to polish the fermented rice. This is done for the purpose of eliminating the bran. The Japanese sake actually presents a considerable amount of alcohol which ranges around 35%.
NO.17 Yamazaki
This is the last Japanese alcohol we will be talking about to conclude this session. Yamazaki is one of the most reputable malt Japanese whiskey you can ever mention. Produced from Japan’s historic Yamazaki distillery, Yamazaki is clearly one of the best Japanese whiskey you can ever gulp.
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