My apologies for the lack of updates over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, my camera is broken and I must buy a new one. I hopefully will locate a new and even better camera in the near future!!
Apologies
Reply
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Lifeguard Chu-Hi / ライフガードチューハイ
Alcohol: 5% (17.5 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 31.15 g
Calories: 259 kcal
Price: 129 yen at Family Mart
Official Site: http://cheerio.co.jp
Cheerio is an Osaka-based beverage company that used to owed by 7UP but has long since gone independent and merged with others. However, their fame and market share is very low. In the previous decade they received their license to make alcoholic drinks, but you wouldn’t know it based off their website, which doesn’t list any. Are they ashamed, I wonder? The most well-known drink from the Cheerio company is Lifeguard, the “Original Bionic Drink”, which is basically a local take on Mellow Yellow. This Chuuhai version is Lifeguard + “distilled spirits.” (It’s not a good sign when the base isn’t even considered vodka or shouchuu.) This drink is disgustingly sugary and sweet. I took around three sips for this review and poured the rest down the drain. Gross!
Asahi Limited Edition Summer Chuuhai Fruit Time Kyuushuu Natsu Mikan / アサヒ夏限定チューハイ果実の瞬間 九州産夏みかん
Alcohol: 4% (14 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 26.95 g
Calories: 192.5 kcal
Price: MSRP 141 yen
Official Site: http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/products/sour/kajitsunoshunkan/
“Sweet and bitter” is not a phrase I can use to describe many things, but the contradictory phrase seems apt here. Natsu mikan is a kind of bitter tangerine native to Asia. (“Natsu” also means “summer”, referring to when the fruit ripens, thus making it an appropriate summer limited edition.) The tastes clash bitterly here, and to me I feel like drinking this chuuhai is like swallowing medicine. T_T
Asahi Limited Edition Summer Chuuhai Fruit Time Aomori Green Apple / アサヒ夏限定チューハイ果実の瞬間 青森産青りんご
Alcohol: 4% (14 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 31.15 g
Calories: 210 kcal
Price: MSRP 141 yen
Official Site: http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/products/sour/kajitsunoshunkan/
Wow, this chuuhai really has the taste of green apples! I personally don’t associate granny smiths with the summer, but oh well. The high level of sugar gives the drink a very smooth and sweet taste, but it’s sweeter than I’d prefer.
Suntory Calori Tropical Pineapple (Summer Limited Edition) / サントリー カロリ。 太陽のパイナップル (夏限定)
Alcohol: 3% (10.5 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 3.5 g
Calories: 77 kcal
Price: MSRP 141 yen
Official Site: http://www.suntory.co.jp/rtd/calori/
Pineapple is one of my favorite fruits, and is a flavor I’d like to see more in chuuhai. As expected of the Calori series, this is crisp, light, and fruity and is perfect for the dog days of summer.
TOPVALU Select Kouchi Prefecture Yuzu Chuuhai / 高知県産ゆずチューハイ
Alcohol: 4% (14 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 27.7 g
Calories: 194 kcal
Price: MSRP 128 yen (98 yen at AEON)
Official Site: http://www.topvalu.net/items/detail.php?id=3870&sid=1
For an off-brand drink, this is surprisingly good – though perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised because TOPVALU’s Lager Beer is better than most of the happoushu (fake beer/second class beers) out there. There’s a medium body here and the sweet/bitter flavor of the yuzu meshes well with the moderate/high amount of sugar. Nobody really experiments with yuzu as a regular flavor – TOPVALU’s is the first regular flavor I’ve seen aside from Kirin’s Yuzu Hyouketsu, but I’d love to see what Suntory would do with a Zero Yuzu.
Kirin Chuuhai Frozen Unriped Plums /キリン チューハイ氷結青ウメ
Alcohol: 5% (17.5 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 24.85 g
Calories: 199.5 kcal
Price: MSRP 148 yen (129 yen at Kakuyasu)
Official Site: http://www.kirin.co.jp/brands/hyoketsu/index.html
Kirin’s retooled their plum chuuhai by fruit juice from unripened plums. The net effect is that their ume chuuhai now tastes a bit more sour than before, though I don’t think much has really changed. The Kirin Hyouketsu Ume is still rather light on body and taste but still high in sugar and calories while only offering five percent alcohol. I don’t hate this, but I don’t like it much either.
Suntory Non-alcoholic Cocktail Non’aru Kibun Chuuhai Taste /ノンアルコールチューハイ のんある気分地中海グレープフルーツ
Alcohol: 0%
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 0 g
Calories: 0 kcal
Price: 108 yen at 7-11
Official Site: http://www.suntory.co.jp/rtd/non-al/
Suntory first launched a successful line of 0 calorie/0 alcohol beverages designed to mimic the taste of cocktails; now they have released “chuuhai taste”, to replicate the taste of canned chuuhai. This might have been a step down, but at least it seems that grapefruit chuuhai can be made with artificial sweeteners and without alcohol fairly well. In fact, doesn’t that make this just grapefruit soda water? But when I want a chuuhai but don’t want to get tipsy, I’ll pick up a can of this.
TaKaRa Fresh Squeezed Wakayama Nankoubai / タカラ直搾り和歌山産南高梅
Alcohol: 4% (14 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml
Sugar: 18.9 g
Calories: 157.5 kcal
Price: MSRP 148 yen
Official Site: http://www.takarashuzo.co.jp/products/soft_alcohol/straight/index.htm
If you have read my reviews of other TaKaRa chuuhai. you know what I’m gonna say. This has the taste of plum and vomit. T_T
Though I will praise TaKaRa for their diagonal striped in-printed cans. The grooves are neat!
Asahi Cocktail Partner Fuwarich Peach & Orange/ アサヒカクテルパートナーフワリッチピーチ&オレンジ
Alcohol: 4% (14 ml)
Quantity: 350 ml can
Calories: 227.5 kcal
Sugar: 35.7g
Price: MSRP 141 yen (104 at AEON)
Official Site: http://www.asahibeer.co.jp/products/sour/cocktailpartner/
Rich, smooth, and sporting the largest amount of sugar I’ve ever seen, this chuuhai tastes like mild juice. It tastes great, but I’m afraid a couple of these will pack on the pounds.
chuuhaifive 