Why the highball boom in Japan?

January 7, 2012 at 11:46 pm (Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese whisky)

This was something I really noticed coming back to Japan after two years in Korea – suddenly whisky highballs were everywhere, including in a bizarre mix with takoyaki in a chain of casual snack bars.

You can find lots of comment on this by Googling highball in Japan, but something no one seems to have mentioned is that the rise of highball was almost exactly the same time as the Japanese government plugging the tax loophole that allowed first happoshu (low malt beer-like drinks) and then a further category of even less beer-like drinks (sanrui, I think they are called) to be both cheap and a huge source of profits for the drinks companies.

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Why is sake in decline in Japan?

February 21, 2011 at 9:20 pm (Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese food and drink)

“‘Consumers in Japan perceive it as old-fashioned. Also, there is a lovely convention with sake that you never pour for yourself, the person you are dining with should pour, but I think part of the problem is that in the corporate world this has been abused so that the new guy always has to drink until he pukes because the bosses keep pouring. It has that association for some.’ Apparently, a few years ago rumours also spread… that sake gave you bad breath and was acidic on the stomach, which can’t have helped.”

Sushi and Beyond page 165

The other thing about sake is that is has religious meaning, being tied into all kinds of Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies such as weddings and remembrance of the dead. During those times, too, it is something that can seem forced onto you more than something you choose to drink. The other thing about the pouring for each other is that is adds a level of formality to proceedings, so much so that you can show a lack of all formality by drinking out of the sake bottle. For all these reasons, a relaxed evening out will always start with beer (preferably your own glass rather than a shared bottle).

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Why is “amazake” called “sake”?

January 2, 2011 at 8:56 pm (Japanese alcoholic drinks)

“Sake” means not just rice wine but also alcohol generally. Amazake doesn’t have any (or much?) alcohol in it, and you’ll often see children drinking it at festivals and shrines, but its name means “sweet rice wine” or “sweet alcohol”.  

According to the Wikipedia amazake page, it is made from the same yeast (koji) and a similar process as sake, and according to Pink Samurai, the heating of it then boils off the rest of the alchohol.

Been bothering me for a while, that one…

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Why have the Japanese never got good at making wine?

October 30, 2010 at 11:33 pm (Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese food and drink, Japanese wine)

There are some pretty damn good beers, and apparently the whiskeys are world class. There is also no lack of demand for wine in Japan, so I’d been wondering about this one for a while when I finally found an answer in Friday’s International Herald Tribune:

Japanese wineries betting on a reviled grape

To summarize, the weather conditions means that the vinifera grapes that are common in most great wine growing nations end up rotting in Japan. Most vineyards therefore use a local variant called koshu which is more resistant to the summer and autumn rains. Unfortunately, this grape is quite bitter, leading to most wine growers to add lots of sugar.

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Why are the Japanese still obsessed with Beaujolais Nouveau?

May 11, 2008 at 12:54 pm (Japan and Europe, Japan and France, Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese food and drink, Japanese wine)

There is a tradition of seasonal drinks and marketing. The light taste also suits the palate of Japanese who are not used to red wine and the Japanese habit of/ recent trend for cooling red wine. Because of these elements and a continuing belief that good quality wine must be French, the producers turn their full marketing power on the Japanese market and reinforce the trend.

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Why has Japanese wine never taken off like Japanese beer and whisky?

May 9, 2008 at 12:25 am (Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese alcoholic drinks, Japanese beer, Japanese food and drink, Japanese whisky, Japanese wine)

The kinds of people attracted to wine are the kinds of people who are most attracted to the prestige and image of import goods, so there was no market for it. The soil and dampness of the weather are also less than ideal.

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Why do electronics shops like Bic Camera stock alcohol?

April 15, 2008 at 1:32 pm (Japan FAQs and SAQs, Japanese beer, Japanese business and economics, Japanese drug stores, Japanese electronics shops, Japanese food and drink, Japanese shops)

And pharmacies! This is a sure sign that the profit margins are as huge as in drugs and consumer electronics, so Kirin and Sapporo have obviously decided not to compete on the price of beer, something that the availability of cheaper happoshu conveniently hides. An uncompetitive practice that is very close to my heart…

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