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Kirin Beer has released a new Bourbon-based high ball as part of its “world high ball” collection of canned cocktails. The cocktail uses officially recognized Bourbon whiskey from Kentucky, specifically the I.W. Harper brand. The can features the I.W. Harper's brand colors.
Additionally, a “Four Roses High Ball” is also on the market. The beverages are available only at convenience store locations, and are limited in numbers. One case of 24 250 ml cans is available in addition to individual units. Open pricing.
© Japan Today
10 Comments
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gameover
I for one am kind of getting sick of the whole "high ball" marketing blitz.
goddog
Me too gameover. It has gotten way out of hand, plus the quality of the bourbon is not very good at all. Japanese bourbon rots.
societymike
I for one love me some high ball, and making it available in a can is just awesome.
Gurukun
Some JD Highball would be great too.
marcels
I,d love to buy a JD and coke in a can but I can,t find them anywhere..
kansaifun
OYAGI alcoholism in a can!
When will the alcohol beverage makers realize there is more money to be made in alcohol/energy drinks or coffee/alcohol drinks?
OMG, did I just start the next boom?!?!
EbiChiri
One of so many products that you may try once, regret buying soon after tasting the first sip, reluctantly finish off, and never buy again. Bourbon people buy the bottle and mix accordingly anyway. Harper's is fairly low end but not bad on the rocks.
zenobia
High ball here high ball there - what is it, it sounds somewhat poisonous. Today I saw cheap beer with 'osake' written on the can. What's that? Considering the price I don't wish to find out.
zenobia
considering the low price, the lower the heavier
HumanTarget
High Balls allegedly were very popular in the 70's in Japan, and the current trend began with Suntory trying to revive lagging whiskey sales. That's why some people refer to the "kaku high ball" - a high ball that specifically uses Suntory square-bottle whiskey ("kaku" meaning square, in this case, in Japanese). It caught on again in a big way and, being a market economy, other manufacturers hopped on the bandwagon.
Beer brewing/import is subject to ridiculously heavy taxes in Japan, so drinks using other types of liquor are cheaper to manufacture, which also explains why high balls are universally cheaper than beer.
Also, Zenobia, everything containing liquor in Japan will say "osake" on it somewhere. What you want to watch out for are beer cans that say "happoshu" on them - non-alcoholic beer made from soy protein and mixed with low quality liquor. Familiarize yourself with the kanji and steer clear of those cans whenever possible.