Lots and lots of chuhai still coming in time for summer! Pretty much all of these are summer-only. So if there’s a specific one you like, stock up! Amazon.jp usually sells by the case.
Sapporo
- Sapporo is hastily adding another new limited edition flavor to their Rirakusu line of female-friendly strong chuhais: Orange Vinegar. It starts shipping on June 12, 8% abv like the rest of the series. Speaking of which, Sapporo can’t keep these on the shelves: they sold 210,000 cases within a week of release. Their target for the year is 1mio cases, so in only a week they got 20% of the way there. Nice!
Kirin
- The newest Tabisuru Hyoketsu flavor is Apple Ginger. This series has now been going strong for a year, and Apple Ginger is the first season-limited release. This one is supposed to resemble a Moscow Mule. But at 4% abv, that’s an awfully weak one. Drops on May 22.
Suntory
- The first of four new RTDs from Suntory is a lemon-lime flavored summer-only edition of the canned Tory’s Highball. June 19, 6% abv!
- -196°C Strong Zero Mango Double is fruity yet a solid 9% abv. Summer-only.
- Only a week later, we’ll see -196°C Strong Zero Whole Green Apple on June 26. At 9% abv, this is also summer-only.
- That same day we get Kokushibori Premium Aromatic Yuzu. Yuzu is an awesome flavor that you should have tried yesterday. Aromatic Yuzu will also be summer-only, 6% abv.
Asahi
- We again get Mogitate Oroblanco! 9% abv and only available from May 8 until the end of July. This flavor was previously available from November until January, so it must have been doing quite well for Asahi to bring it back so quickly.
- Two new “Japanese summer” flavors in the Asahi Chuhai Kajitsu no Shunkan (“fruit moment”) line: Ibaraki Andes Melon and Aomori Apricot. Both 4% abv. Surprisingly, Ibaraki prefecture actually puts the most melons of any prefecture in Japan — more melons than even Hokkaido, despite the latter being more famous for them.
Hi there! I created and run nomunication.jp. I’ve lived in Tokyo since 2008, and I am a certified Shochu Kikisake-shi/Shochu Sommelier (焼酎唎酒師), Cocktail Professor (カクテル検定１級), and I hold Whisky Kentei Levels 3 and JW (ウイスキー検定３級・JW級). I also sit on the Executive Committees for the Tokyo Whisky & Spirits Competition and Japanese Whisky Day. Click here for more details about me and this site. Kampai!
2 Comments