I spend a fair amount of time at convenience stores here in Japan.  Those of you who have been to Japan will understand, and for those who haven’t, please allow me to explain.  Convenience stores (or konbini/コンビニ) are everywhere in the city, and just about everywhere not in a city as well.  There are at least 3 within 150 meters of my apartment, and I’m not even in a downtown area.  Anyway, there are many of them and they are great for:

  • They have very tasty pre-made meals (more on this another time)
  • They have all the little knick knacks you could want (tweezers to noddles to pet food, etc)
  • They are open fairly late
  • They have a fun range of alcoholic beverages

There are many other good points, but that last one is the reason for this post.  I’ve decided to to a semi-regular (i.e. when I feel like it) series on the myriad of various drinks available from these convenience stores, from the straightforward to the silly.  All in the name of science!  And also in the name of recovering from a whole day of Japanese study.  But mostly it is about the science.

Anyway, first a disclaimer:

I make no pretence of having any real skill or knowledge of alcoholic beverages, above having drunk them and also being in possession of taste buds and a keyboard.

So please allow me to introduce the inagrual drink… The Strong Zero Bitter Orange 9% from Suntory.

Suntory Strong Zero Bitter Orange 9%

Suntory Strong Zero Bitter Orange 9%

By the way, I’m not going to structure the reviews along any specific lines, mainly I just want to have a bit of fun, drink new drinks and maybe learn something new and interesting.

Anyway, moving swiftly on, the Suntory corporation helpfully provides some suggestions right on the can:

Suntory Label

Those being:

  1. A warning that it is a strong drink at 9% alcohol
  2. It is not sweet and contains fruit peel
  3. Have with a meal

Good advice/information to know.

So how does it taste?  Well, as the can rightly says, while it has a strong citrus flavour, it isn’t a sweet drink.  It has a strong, unmasked alcoholic flavour that would not appeal to those who enjoy a drink that is mild and understated.  It is very fizzy and is kept very cold, which only sharpens the experience for me. Oh and I should point out, it is quite bitter.  Like, “my face might collapse inwards” bitter.  Which is great if you are into that, but if not… Well, you shouldn’t have bought a drink with “bitter” written on it and you really only have yourself to blame.

I’d say this drink is for those occasions when you want something a bit refreshing and surprising. It isn’t a session drink, where you could finish one after another, but on a warm evening after a long day at work/practising kanji, it is quite enjoyable and thoroughly intoxicating.  I’m about three quarters done and I am already thankful for spell-check, if that’s any indication of strength.

So there you go, my first review done – I feel a warm glow of satisfaction/intoxication now.