Skip to content
The Fabled Pour

Country

Japan

One drink is tied to Japan. The label on each says how: where it began, what the country is known for, what people drink there, or where the origin is disputed.

Back to the world atlas

Japan on the world map. Boundaries are generalised Natural Earth data.

How each drink is tied to Japan

Associations are editorial judgements. The evidence link shows the source used.

  • Japanese HighballIconicClosely identified with the country

    Whisky and soda is not a Japanese invention, but the Japanese highball is a Japanese style: Suntory launched Kakubin in 1937 as a lighter blend suited to Japanese food, after its smoky 1929 Shirofuda sold poorly. The 2008 Suntory campaign that revived the Kaku highball, reported in the Oxford Companion and summarized on Wikipedia, is not on this Difford's page, so the relation is iconic rather than origin. Technique, ice and ratio are the Japanese contribution.

    Confidence: mediumEvidence: diffordsguide.com (opens in a new tab)

The recipes

Map data: Natural Earth, public domain.