Shochu Highballs Are Gaining Popularity in the US

As nonalcoholic beers and cocktails gain in popularity, it’s not shocking to see that lower-ABV cocktails are also finding a receptive audience. Data cited in a recent Observer overview of the industry indicated that the global market for low-ABV drinks could expand by almost a billion dollars between 2023 and 2033. And just as mocktails have allowed some bartenders to show off what they can do without booze, so too have low-ABV cocktails opened the door for spirits professionals to come up with recipes that won’t get drinkers too inebriated.

Now, some stateside drinkers looking for something milder are turning to a style of cocktail that has a receptive audience on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. Writing at Punch, Emma Janzen looked at the growing popularity of the chu-hai, otherwise known as the shochu highball.

As Janzen explained, this style has a long history in Japan, dating back to the aftermath of World War II. The drink involves shochu, soda and some sort of flavoring — which could be a sweetener or something like tea. The flexibility of the form, Janzen pointed out, is part of the appeal; there are a lot of different variations on the style available, depending on what you combine to make it.

“It just has to be shochu and soda, but it doesn’t have to be a wedge of lemon and sugar; it could also have matcha or hojicha syrup in it,” Umami Mart co-owner Kayoko Akabori told Punch.

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For some bartenders, the chu-hai is not a new phenomenon. A 2019 article by Luke Tsai in San Francisco Magazine featured a mention of Soba Ichi co-owner Shinichi “Washi” Washino, who — Tsai wrote — “believes he makes the best chu-hai in the entire U.S., in part because there are still relatively few other places that offer the drink.” Five years later, the nation’s cocktail menus are looking a little different.

Why You Should Try Shochu, Japan’s Native Spirit

To start, it makes for a perfect highball

Its relatively low alcohol by volume isn’t the only way that the chu-hai is lining up with contemporary drinking trends. In a world where canned cocktails have also been gathering steam, it’s worth pointing out that canned chu-hai is absolutely something you can purchase — including one variety available in Japan with an actual slice of lemon already in the can. It’s an old favorite for some and a new revelation for others, but it’s hard to argue with the blend of simplicity and easy drinking that the chu-hai promises.