[Sunday Culture] What’s the Difference Between Highball, Chuhai, and Sawa... Fun to Know When Drinking Japanese Alcohol

Mixing Japanese Soju Instead of Whiskey
Various Recipes
Due to Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Alcohol Regulations
'Strong-type Chuhai' May Disappear

When asked if there is something you must try when visiting Japan, I often mention 'Nomihodai.' In short, it is an all-you-can-drink alcohol offer. You can frequently see the Nomihodai menu at izakayas or restaurants. There is a time limit of either 180 minutes or 120 minutes, during which you can drink various kinds of alcohol as much as you want. It’s a great opportunity to taste a variety of Japanese drinks beyond just draft beer.

This is where confusion often begins. Highball, Chuhai, Sawa... you may have heard these terms, but many wonder what kind of drinks they actually are. Because of this, people often choose based on the flavor that comes before the name. Today, I will share some interesting stories about these drinks that make drinking more enjoyable when you know about them.

(Photo by Irastora)

In Korea, the whiskey boom has made highballs quite popular. A highball is made by mixing whiskey with ginger ale or other carbonated water. There are many theories about the origin of the name, but the most plausible story is that it originated at a golf course in Scotland. Back when mixing whiskey with carbonated water was not widely known, a golf ball flying high while mixing the drink led someone to exclaim, "Oh, it’s a high ball!" and that is said to be the origin.

However, in Japan, there are highballs that do not contain whiskey. The word 'Chuhai' is a compound of the Japanese distilled spirit shochu and highball. In short, it is an abbreviation for shochu highball, meaning a diluted alcoholic drink. Since shochu is a distilled spirit with a high alcohol content, it is usually mixed with non-alcoholic beverages.

Oolong High. (Photo by Oolong Highlife)

Typically, chuhai is made by flavoring shochu with fruit juice or syrup and then mixing it with carbonated water, similar to a highball. The 'Horoyoi,' once famous as a must-drink at Japanese convenience stores, is a type of chuhai. Other examples include 'Strong Zero' with higher alcohol content and Kirin’s 'Hyoketsu,' all of which are varieties of chuhai.

There are also unique Japanese chuhai varieties such as 'Oolong-hai' and 'Cola-hai.' Oolong-hai is shochu mixed with oolong tea, and Cola-hai or Coke-hai is shochu mixed with cola. This is similar to how in Korea, people mix Chamisul with cola, Coolpis, or yogurt. Additionally, in Shizuoka, famous for its green tea, people enjoy 'Ocha-hai,' which is shochu mixed with green tea.

There is much debate about whether Sawa can be strictly distinguished from chuhai. Using the same recipe of lemon juice, alcohol, and carbonated water, some places call it lemon chuhai, while others call it lemon sawa. In the Kansai region, lemon sawa is sometimes called 'Lemon High' or 'Lemon Chuhai.' The word 'sawa' originates from the English word 'sour,' meaning sour. Therefore, the fruit juices or syrups used are typically strongly sour types like lemon or orange.

Lemon sour with honey. (Photo by Suntory, Japan)

The birthplace of sawa is in Tokyo. At a bar called 'Motsuyakiban' in Nakameguro, Tokyo, when it opened in 1958, there was a drink called 'Tanchu,' which was shochu mixed with carbonated water and plum syrup or fruit juice, but there was no specific name for the flavor like today's lemon sawa.

The owner of the bar added lemon to the tanchu to give it a refreshing taste and named it 'Lemon Sawa,' which is said to be the origin of sawa. There are also various types of sawa such as grapefruit, orange, kiwi, pineapple, and tomato. Nowadays, it is common to add pieces of fruit directly into the drink. Personally, I think tomato sawa is really delicious. It may seem unusual, but it tastes surprisingly good, so if you have the chance, please try it.

However, excessive drinking is a no-go. Both chuhai and sawa are easy to drink and can quickly get you drunk, much like Korea’s 'Anjuneung-i Sul' (literally 'sitting drunkard’s drink'). Recently, Japan has tightened regulations on chuhai with an alcohol content of 8% or higher sold at convenience stores.

Strong-type Chuhai 'Hyoketsu' sold at Kirin. (Photo by Yahoo Shopping)

These are classified as 'Strong-type Chuhai.' They became explosively popular around 2010 because they are cheaper than beer and have a high alcohol content, allowing people to get drunk quickly at a good value. They were variously described as 'drinking welfare,' 'drugs,' or 'alcohol made by poverty.' There were even concerns that they encouraged alcohol addiction.

In response, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced alcohol guidelines last February. According to the ministry, the daily alcohol intake that increases the risk of disease is 40g for men and 20g for women, which corresponds to two 500ml cans of beer for men and one can for women. Strong-type chuhai is a dangerous drink that can easily exceed the daily alcohol limit. Consequently, major liquor companies have declared that they will no longer release new strong-type chuhai products.

Along with this government policy, a culture of not drinking alcohol seems to be taking root in Japan recently. The Japanese alcohol market is gradually shifting toward non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beverages. Most Japanese people around me drink well, so I asked a friend studying at a Japanese graduate school for confirmation. He said that nowadays, many people do not drink at company gatherings, and there are only two people who drink alcohol in his research lab?himself, a Korean, and another person who is a Japanese journalist. Anyway, for the upcoming Monday, I hope you have a Sunday with plenty of rest instead of overdrinking.