Ingredients
Drink
- 60 mlshochu
- 150 mlsoda water, well chilled
- juice of ½ lemon, or a wedge of lime or grapefruit
- hard ice, in large cubes
Directions
- Chill the glass, the shochu and the soda water separately and thoroughly. A chuhai lives or dies on being genuinely cold, and warm soda has gone flat before it reaches the table.
- Fill the glass with hard ice, in as large a cube as you have, then stir it once and pour off any meltwater that collects.
- Pour in the shochu and stir it briefly with the ice to chill it right through.
- Add the soda water by pouring it down the inside of the glass onto the ice rather than into the middle. Poured straight down it knocks the gas out immediately.
- Stir exactly once, lifting from the bottom, and then stop. Every further stir costs carbonation and there is no getting it back.
- Squeeze in the citrus and drop the wedge into the glass.
- Serve at once, dry and unsweetened, which is what separates an izakaya chuhai from the sweetened canned versions.
Technique
- The name is short for shochu highball. It was popularised in postwar Tokyo drinking stalls and canned nationally from the 1980s.
- Big hard ice, poured gently, stirred once. The whole craft is in keeping the bubbles.
- Mugi shochu is made from barley and kome from rice. Either works; imo, from sweet potato, is much more assertive.
Substitutions
- Vodka, which makes it closer to a plain highball but works.
- Any neutral white spirit at a pinch.
Variations
- Oolong-hai, made with cold oolong tea instead of soda.
- With ume syrup or a preserved plum.
- Lemon sour, made with a whole frozen lemon squeezed into the glass.
History
Short for shochu highball, popularised in postwar Tokyo drinking stalls and canned nationally from the 1980s.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chuhai?
Chuhai is a cocktail from Japan: shochu with soda and citrus, served long and dry; izakaya default. Short for shochu highball, popularised in postwar Tokyo drinking stalls and canned nationally from the 1980s.
How long does Chuhai take to make?
Chuhai takes 3 min of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes 1 drink. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Chuhai?
Yes, within limits. Vodka, which makes it closer to a plain highball but works. Any neutral white spirit at a pinch.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chuhai?
Add the soda water by pouring it down the inside of the glass onto the ice rather than into the middle. Poured straight down it knocks the gas out immediately.
