Chūhai (Shōchū Highball) Cocktail Recipe
Clean, low-strength shōchū stretched with soda and a squeeze of lemon — the crisp, easy-drinking staple of the Japanese izakaya.
- Category: Popular
- Glass: Highball glass
- ABV: 7%
- Difficulty: Easy
- Prep time: ~3 min
Ingredients
- Shochu60 ml (2 oz)
- Soda water120 ml (4.1 oz)
- Fresh lemon juice15 ml (0.5 oz)
How to Make It
- Fill a tall glass with ice.
- Pour in the shōchū and the lemon juice.
- Top with well-chilled soda water.
- Stir once from the bottom up and drop in the lemon wedge.
Garnish
A lemon wedge
What it tastes like
It smells of lemon and lime peel, it is carbonated and it drinks cool and easy.
The technique
Built in the glass. Ice goes into the serving glass, the ingredients go on top, and you stir once if at all. Anything carbonated goes in LAST and never gets stirred; every turn of the spoon costs you bubbles. Fill the glass to the rim with ice: less ice melts faster, not slower.
Glass and ice
A tall, narrow highball. The narrowness does real work — less surface area means the carbonation lasts longer and the ice melts more slowly.
Ingredient notes and substitutes
- Soda water
- Plain carbonated water. It goes in LAST and nothing is stirred after it. An open bottle goes flat fast, so small bottles make more sense than big ones.
- Fresh lemon juice
- Freshly squeezed lemon; one lemon gives 30-40 ml. It can swap with lime, but lemon is softer and less aromatic, so use a touch more.
The Story
The name is a contraction of 'shōchū highball'. It spread through Tokyo's izakayas around the middle of the twentieth century and became a national drink from the 1980s onward, when canned versions in every imaginable fruit flavour reached the shops.
Frequently asked questions
- How is a Chūhai (Shōchū Highball) mixed?
- It is built in the glass and served in a highball glass.
- How strong is a Chūhai (Shōchū Highball)?
- Roughly 7% ABV as served — lighter than a beer — a long-conversation drink that takes a second round.
- Can a Chūhai (Shōchū Highball) be made without alcohol?
- Simply leaving the spirit out does not work — the body and the bitterness go with it. The 86 alcohol-free recipes in the catalogue are built to hit that balance from the start.
- Is a Chūhai (Shōchū Highball) hard to make?
- Easy. No bar kit required — a measure, ice and a jar will do.
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Alcoholic drink recipes are intended for those aged 18 and over. Please drink responsibly.