Summer is over, and autumn is kicking off, so let's crack open some new chuhai flavors to celebrate. Three new ones announced over the past week:
- Asahi is releasing Mogitate Apple again this year, as a limited edition flavor, from October 11 until the end of December. They've slightly altered the flavor profile to make it even more fruity apple-y, down to the aftertaste. This one is 9% abv, 350ml/500ml. Some other news from the company is that they are releasing six packs of Mogitate. You'll get one can each flavor in the series: lemon, grapefruit, grape, orange lime, shequasar, and limited edition apple. Unfortunately it won't save you any money though!
- Kirin is doing Hyoketsu Apple Nouveau again this year, like they have almost every year since the flavor's introduction in 2002. It's 4% abv, limited edition, and coming out on October 31.
- From Suntory we have Horoyoi Winter Mikan coming out on November 14. Mikans are a pretty traditional year-end snack in Japan, so this one should go over well as you sit around at with the family over New Years Holidays. 3% abv, so maybe a good morning-after drink.
By the way, if you're interested in the science behind the development of Hyoketsu and Japan's RTD market, I found this super technical PDF of a presentation Kirin gave at the Institute of Brewing and Distilling's 2016 Asia Pacific Conference.
Eric Yee
Whiskey Richard