This is a collaborative post.
Regardless of the occasion, be it for work matters or for leisure, many gatherings in Japan must be accompanied with alcohol. The setting does not matter. Drinking is essential if you eat at an izakaya, which is a bar that serves decent alcohol and food that goes well with alcohol. Eating at a restaurant that has tabehoudai, which is similar to a buffet-style meal, and nomihoudai, which serves free-flow alcohol. Hence, we have compiled a list of 10 all-time favorite kinds of Japanese alcohol for all kinds of settings. You can find most of these wines at https://www.ishopchangi.com/en/category/wine-and-spirits/wine-and-spirits-spirits/japanese-whiskey.
- Beer
Beer is the number one favorite for most Japanese individuals. If you need a quick fix of alcohol, beer is the suggested go-to. You can purchase nama biru – that’s a draft beer, or a bin biru a bigger bottle of beer meant for sharing. The components in a beer include cereal grains, hops, yeast, and water. Beer was first brought into Japan by Dutch businessmen at Dejima, which was a trading island. There is also non-alcoholic beer and happoshu for sale in Japan. Happoshu is very similar to beer with low concentrations of malt and it acts as an economical version of the beer.
- Mugi shochu
Shochu was first made in Kyushu in the 1500s. It is a distilled type of Japanese alcohol made by mixing a fermented mix of yeast, water, and koji mold. Crush mugi, which stands for barley, sweet potato, rice, buckwheat, sugarcane, or shiso, a kind of mint leaf, evenly. The crushed components are then combined with the mash, left for fermentation to occur, and distilled at the end. Mugi shochu is considered gentle, so it works well with amateurs. Sweet potato shochu is more aggressive and can be savored at warm temperatures. Buckwheat shochu is for the one who wants a gentle but marginally bitter flavor. If you prefer a sweeter version, try sugar cane shochu. Shochu is mostly enjoyed purely by itself, or with ice, combined with other drinks, heated up or diluted with water. Mizuwari is a type of alcohol diluted with water and oyuwari is the warmer form of mizuwari.
- Lemon Sour
If you are looking to drink in Japan, but do not want strong flavors, you can give lemon sour a try. It is also called lemon chuhai. It contains club soda, lemon, and shochu. This drink can be modified to be concocted with other flavors, such as yuzu, grapefruit, shikuwasa, and sudachi, . Some izakaya or eateries may present pre-mixed chuhai or canned chuhai. Get ready for the ultimate fizziness!
- Oolong hai
Oolong hai, also known as chahai, is comparable to lemon sour, but replaces lemon with oolong tea and removes the soda. If you prefer oolong hai to oolong tea, you can just mix a gentle shochu variety such as mugi shochu. Oolong hai can have an overpowering tea taste which might cover over the mild shochu taste.
- Whiskey highball
Whiskey highball’s popularity peaked in the 1950s. It consists of whiskey and fizzy water, and it is currently climbing its way up the hall of popular alcohols. If you are consuming whiskey highball from a glass, do add in ice cubes. The whiskey highball experience can be improved with fizzy soda or fruit variations.
- Umeshu
Umeshu is a special kind of Japanese alcohol. It is a type of plum wine with a particular type of ume tart plum, alcohol like sake or shochu, and sugar. Umeshu is liked for its sweet and softer taste, be it consumed with ice, combined with another drink, or with water. However, despite its sweet and softer taste, beginners do have to be careful because it has quite a high level of alcohol. If you are one to mix your drinks, you can consider combining umeshu with fruit or vegetable blends you can find in the convenience store. If you are eating at a restaurant, check out the various forms of umeshu they offer.
- Atsukan
Atsukan is highly popular in the colder periods as it is a kind of hot Japanese rice wine. Rice wine, which is also known as sake, consists of rice, yeast, koji mold, and water. Atsukan boasts a pleasant and acidic taste. Although atsukan means “hot sake”, you can consume it at any temperature you desire. In Japan, the common terms for hot sake are okan or kanzake.
- Awamori
Awamori is a distilled Japanese alcohol native to Okinawa and is usually enjoyed with water, ice, or combined. Only the black koji mold is the only ingredient manufactured in Okinawa, while the other ingredients are sourced from Thailand. Awamori that has an age above three years is called kuusu. Kuusu generally has a concentrated and smooth taste as compared to awamori, which serves a more aggressive but softer taste. However, both kuusu and awamori can be indulged with ice, water, combined, or just purely.
- Yuzushu
Yuzushu, which is comparable to limoncello, has many of the same ingredients as umeshu, apart from sour plum, which is replaced by yuzu, a citrus fruit. The taste is analogous to tangy lemonade with alcohol. Yuzushu can be enjoyed with ice, combined with other drinks, diluted with water, cold or warm, or just purely by itself.
- Red-eye cocktail
The majority of red-eye cocktails in Japan are made with beer and tomato juice. Lemon juice can be added if you liked the sour taste, and raw egg or vodka can be mixed too. The popular canned form found in Japan is basically happoshu with tomato juice. You can consume the canned version purely in its form in glassware.
Conclusion
Japanese alcohols are still best accompanied with food. The alcohol available goes from soda cocktails to fermented wines and beer. Regardless of whether you are hanging out with your friends or at a business gathering, any of these alcohols will definitely be able to lit up the atmosphere. If you are a tourist visiting Japan, these variations of alcohol are a must-try, and they will surely be one of the highlights of your trip.
