Featured Drink Recipe: Chu-Hai Lite

Want A Drink That Won’t Make You Feel Guilty About Your Diet? This Chu-Hai is Like A Light, Refreshing, Low Sugar, Fruit Flavored Sparkling Water

Chu-Hai is one of the most popular cocktails in Japan. You can buy it canned from vending machines, or order it from nearly any bar or restaurant. But making your own is an immensely better choice.

The canned Chu-Hai variants are typically made with vodka. But real Chu-Hai is made from Shochu. In fact, the name Chu-Hai comes from the combination of Shochu and Highball. Shochu is a Japanese spirit usually made from rice, grain, or sweet potatoes.

 

In Japan much of the Chu-Hai served in bars is made by combining Shochu, soda water, and a fruit flavored syrup. The taste of those is more akin to a fruit flavored soda, like a Fanta or Crush soda. I prefer a more traditional version of Chu-Hai made with natural fruit juice. This lowers the sugar content of the drink and makes it taste crisp, more natural, and makes it easier to casually sip. Keep reading and I’ll give you examples of a couple of my favorite Chu-Hai cocktails.

Lime Chu-Hai

First let’s take a look at Lime Chu-Hai. I use the sweetened Rose’s Lime Juice instead of fresh lime juice to add just a little bit of sweetness to the drink. The slightly earthy flavor of the Shochu helps to really bring an almost mineral water like taste to the final cocktail. When you combine that with the bubbles of the soda water and the acidic bitterness of the lime juice, you get a drink that tastes very much like something you might get at a health spa. It’s a very clean and refreshing taste, like a fancy lime infused sparkling water. Make one of these anytime you want to feel like you are vacationing in the Hamptons, instead of sitting on the couch watching Law & Order with your cat.

Pineapple Chu-Hai

If you find the Lime Chu-Hai to be a little too “Hey look at me”, you should try the more fun Pineapple Chu-Hai. The Pineapple Chu-Hai is made exactly like the lime one, just replace the lime juice with pineapple juice. Pineapple makes this drink not only sweeter but kind of tropical yet still it has a light and healthy taste. It’s the kind of thing you’d imagine Claudia Schiffer sipping on during a photo shoot.  In a pinch you can make either of these drinks with Vodka instead of Shochu. But honestly it’s worth the effort to get some Shochu and experience an authentic Chu-Hai cocktail.

Make Chu-Hai Lite and over 6000 other drinks using the Just Drink App. Now available in the Google Play Store.