Lemon sour in Japan is a lemon-flavored, carbonated liquor.
Alcohol concentration is about 5%, and it is based on vodka and shochu. It is popular with women and young people because it is clean and easy to drink, has lower calories and is cheaper than beer.
You can drink it at most izakaya, and you can buy canned lemon sour at food supermarkets, convenience stores, and drug stores.
What is Lemon sour and can I drink it?
Materials of Lemon sour
Lemon juice, vodka, sugar, carbonic acid, acidulants, flavors
| Gluten-free | Low-gluten | Wheat-free | Low FODMAPs | |
| for Vegetarian |
| Restaurant | Food supermarket | Convenience store | Drug store |
Lemon sour is low in calories, cheap and growing in popularity
In Japan, in addition to “Sake”, which is a brewed liquor made from rice, “Shochu”, which is a distilled liquor made from various starches and sugars such as barley, sweet potato, and rice, has also been made.
In particular, 100 years ago, “Kasutori Shochu” was made from sake lees, which is the squeezed residue of sake, and Shochu have become popular as liquor for the common people.
70 years ago, we created “Shochu Highball”, which is made by dividing Shochu with carbonated water, or “Chuhai” for short. As a type of Chuhai, “lemon Chuhai” with lemon juice added is the prototype of lemon sour.
Lemon Chuhai has been popular as a standard menu in downtown bars and izakaya, but it has been reviewed due to the recent health boom, and the name has changed to “lemon sour”.
Lemon sour has less calories than beer due to its low sugar content, and does not contain purine body.
In addition, there is no bitterness peculiar to beer. Moreover, lemon sour is cheaper than half the price of beer. It is the reason for its popularity that there is an assortment of products that suit the tastes of the drinker, from those with low alcohol content to those with high alcohol content.
Lemon sour in Japan is as follows.
- Alcohol concentration: 4-9 %
- Base liquor: vodka, or shochu
- Energy per 100 ml: 38-57 kcal
- Juice concentration: 0.1-20 %
Try to drink Lemon sour!
How much ?
- Izakaya: $ 2～4
- Canned lemon sour : $1～1.5 per 350 ml
Where can I drink Lemon sour ?
- Izakaya restaurant
- Convenience stores, food supermarket, and drug stores
Precautions when drinking Lemon sour
Although not labeled as gluten-free, lemon sour does not contain gluten-containing grains.
Japanese writer’s comment for Lemon sour
In Japan, new products of canned lemon sour are appearing one after another.
Coca-Cola, which used to sell only soft drinks in Japan, started selling canned lemon sour in 2019 and attracted attention. Even now in 2021, “lemon sour” is still popular in Japan, and many products are on sale. It may be interesting to buy them at a convenience store or a food supermarket and compare them.
