Kyoho grape flavored chuhai for autumn

Aki Budo Chuhai

Brand: Suntory

Price: 268 yen

Place of purchase: Belx Supermarket

Rating:

Of the three autumn limited-edition Suntory chuhais, would say the Aki Budo is a tie for the Aki Nashi version. The chuhai is flavored with the Kyoho variety of grapes grown in Yamanashi Prefecture. You might have seen these at a premium price in supermarkets. They're hard to miss as they're huge and deep purple. The grape is prized for its wine-like flavor and sweetness. The chuhai pours a lovely light purple color and the flavor shines through, perhaps because of the low alcohol volume of 4%. It's a nice autumn treat.

For a low-alcohol, fruity ready-to-drink shochu highball, this is a nice alternative. On my next shopping trip, it's a toss-up between this Kyoho grape or the nashi pear versions. I admit, I've only tried Kyoho, the giant mountain grape, once. They're hideously expensive. You'll see people skin them and remove the seeds as they detract from the sweetness and flavor with their bitterness. I looked up Kyoho grape production. They're one of the most widely-cultivated grapes in Asia and a lot of the production is in China besides Yamanashi and Nagano.