Chef Takumi
Awamori Mizuwari (泡盛水割り, awamori with water)
Awamori mizuwari is not a trick of the bar. It is three parts awamori, seven parts cold water, and enough patience to let the black-kōji aroma open.
Culinary Explorer
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Hoppy (ホッピー, Tokyo shochu-and-Hoppy)
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Hoppy is not a trick cocktail. It is a frozen mug, cold shochu, and one chilled bottle poured cleanly so the drink stays bright and dry.
Beverages
Japanese
Weeknight
Comfort Food
5 min
Active Time
0 min cook•5 min total
Yield1 drink
The first thing to understand is that Hoppy is not beer pretending to be grander than it is. It is a beer-flavored malt drink, lightly alcoholic on its own, made to be poured over shochu in the old Tokyo way. Simple things suffer most when people decorate them. Here, don't decorate.
The one detail that decides it is cold. The mug should be frozen, the shochu well chilled, and the Hoppy bottle cold enough to bead with condensation. We do it this way because ice waters the drink and dulls the dry malt edge. If everything is properly cold, you need no ice and no stirring spoon. Pour once, let the bubbles mix the drink, and leave it alone.
At an izakaya, you may hear naka, the inside, for the shochu in the mug, and soto, the outside, for the Hoppy bottle. That little vocabulary tells you the shape of the drink: a modest measure of shochu stretched into something long, dry, and social. Three parts caution, seven parts evening. Honmono, in this case, is almost embarrassingly reachable.
Hoppy was released in Tokyo in 1948 by the company now known as Hoppy Beverage Co., when beer was expensive and out of reach for many drinkers after the war. Its low-malt, beer-like character made it a practical partner for shochu, especially in the working-class drinking shops of Shitamachi, eastern Tokyo. The custom of ordering naka for more shochu and soto for another bottle of Hoppy remains part of its Tokyo bar grammar.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
barley shochu or kōrui shochu
Quantity
50ml
well chilled
Hoppy
Quantity
1 bottle (330ml)
well chilled
ice (optional)
Quantity
none
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| barley shochu or kōrui shochuwell chilled | 50ml |
| Hoppywell chilled | 1 bottle (330ml) |
| ice (optional) | none |
Equipment Needed
- •Thick glass beer mug, frozen
- •Jigger or small measuring cup
- •Bottle opener
Instructions
- 1
Freeze the mug
Put a thick glass mug in the freezer until it is frosty, at least one hour. Chill the shochu and the Hoppy bottle as well. Cold is the method here: if the drink starts cold enough, you don't need ice, and the flavor stays dry instead of thin.
- 2
Pour the naka
Pour 50ml chilled shochu into the frozen mug. This is the naka, the inside. Keep the measure modest. Hoppy is a long drink, not a race disguised as refreshment.
Kōrui shochu gives the cleanest Tokyo-bar taste. Barley shochu is a sensible stand-in if it is dry and quiet, but a strong, fragrant shochu will push the Hoppy aside. - 3
Add the soto
Open the cold Hoppy and pour it firmly down the side of the tilted mug, then straighten the mug as the foam rises. Do not stir. The pour itself mixes the drink, and stirring knocks down the bubbles you just made.
- 4
Serve at once
Serve immediately, while the mug is still frosted and the head is small and lively. Keep the remaining Hoppy bottle beside the mug if it doesn't all fit at once. Add more as you drink, the way the bars do it here.
Chef Tips
- •Use real Hoppy if you can find it. A beer or a sweet malt soda changes the drink into something else, and there's no need to pretend.
- •Skip the ice. This sounds fussy until you taste the difference. Ice gives you a colder first sip and a duller second one.
- •A 50ml pour of shochu keeps the drink light, roughly in the neighborhood of a beer once topped with the full bottle. For a weaker weeknight glass, use 30ml. For the barroom version, 60ml is common enough, but it announces itself.
Advance Preparation
- •Keep a mug in the freezer and the Hoppy in the refrigerator. That is nearly the whole preparation.
- •Shochu can be chilled in the refrigerator or freezer. Its alcohol level keeps it pourable, and the colder bottle gives a cleaner drink.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 380g)
Calories
95 calories
Total Fat
0 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
0 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
5 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
0 g
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