What is Chu-Hi, what is the Coca Cola alcoholic drink and is it available in the UK?
The fizzy drink brand has broken a 130 year tradition by launching their first alcoholic drink
COCA-Cola is one of the most iconic brands in the world - known and loved for it's refreshing cola beverage and its infamous light-up lorry come Christmas time - yet it's never strayed far from its original drinks, until now.
The brand has brought out its first ever alcoholic drink, based on a Japanese alcopop called Chu-Hi...
What's the Coca-Cola alcoholic drink?
Coca-Cola has created their own version of popular Japanese drink Chu-Hi, a fizzy drink with a small amount of shochu alcohol.
The US drinks giant's three fizzy AND boozy lemon drinks went on sale on May 28 and the exact recipes are a closely guarded secret.
The drink has been launched in Japan where the market is thriving, and the move was confirmed by Coca-Cola's Japanese president, Jorge Garduño.
He said: “This is a canned drink that includes alcohol; traditionally, it is made with a distilled beverage called shochu and sparkling water, plus some flavouring.
"We haven’t experimented in the low alcohol category before, but it’s an example of how we continue to explore opportunities outside our core areas.”
Mr Garduño went on: “Coca-Cola has always focused entirely on non-alcoholic beverages, and this is a modest experiment for a specific slice of our market."
Is Coca-Cola's alcoholic drink available in the UK?
Sadly, Coke lovers looking to try the boozy beverage might be waiting a while, as currently there's only plans to launch in Japan.
Mr Garduño said: “The Chu-Hi category is found almost exclusively in Japan. Globally, it’s not uncommon for non-alcoholic beverages to be sold in the same system as alcoholic beverages. It makes sense to give this a try in our market.”
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What is Chu-Hi?
Chu-Hi - an abbreviation for shochu highball - is a canned, alcoholic drink marketed as an alternative to beer in Japan and is a massive success with female drinkers.
Traditional Chu-Hi is made with shōchū and carbonated water, flavored with lemon, though some new brands are using vodka instead of shōchū.
Japanese drinks giants like Suntory, Asahi and Kirin currently dominate the sector for canned Chu-Hi drinks. The most popular flavours are citrus based.
Canned Chu-Hi, can have alcohol levels as high as 9% and is often sold in vending machines and off licenses.
However, alcohol percentages are often lower when the drink is sold in bars.