Asahi winter cocktails

Asahi has a pair of new alcoholic beverages on the market just in time for the approaching winter chill. First up is the "Shokokora Cocktail" (possibly a mashing up of the names of the two main ingredients), a so-called "liquor" combining chocolate and rum. It's 4% alcohol, so it's on the weak side, comparable with most other canned cocktails in Japan. It's also 168 yen for 280 ml, (about 8 ounces), making it about the same value as a 12 ounce can of beer. While the printing on the can says that it's good warmed up, I drank it cold. The overall affect is like watered-down Nestle Quick with a hint of alcohol. No idea if there's rum in there or not, it's so weak.



Next is the Caramel Machhiato Cocktail. I also had this one chilled. The flavor is a bit stronger, with the rum almost making its way through the artificial caramel flavoring. There's a little bit of a burnt-coffee aftertaste at the back of the throat, but otherwise there seems little point to calling this a machhitao drink. Again, it tastes watered down. You're better off getting Kahlua and adding some milk and rum to that to make up your own cocktail.

What with the weird Kitkat and Pepsi flavors on the market, it's not surprising that Asahi would want to do something similar for the more adult market. But, this is a pretty disappointing attempt. It'd be a bit better if the drink would froth when you shake up the can before opening it, but I can't even get it to hold a few bubbles for more than a few seconds. Not recommended.

Summary: A waste of money. Better off avoided.