This is the Kirin Tokusei Acerola Sour, a chūhai featuring acerola flavour and containing 6% ABV.

The beverage presented clear and colourless. Aroma opened with tangy, subtly sweet notes of acerola, reminiscent of the mellow sweet-tart profile of Sato Nishiki cherries.

Initial contact delivered a mellow sweet-tart acerola profile alongside soft, finely integrated carbonation. The fruit character was bright and refreshing, balancing restrained sweetness with gentle acidity while maintaining a clean, natural impression.

Through the mid-palate, the acerola developed in brightness, with the acidity becoming more pronounced and enhancing the beverage’s refreshing character. The carbonation remained smooth and unobtrusive, allowing the fruit profile to remain the focus without excessive prickliness or alcoholic heat.

Towards the finish, the ethanol became increasingly apparent, emerging as a developing bitterness that combined with the sweet-tart fruit profile to produce an impression reminiscent of artificial sweetener. This detracted from the otherwise fresh fruit character and left the finish feeling less refined than the opening. While the beverage avoided noticeable drying or astringency, bittersweet notes lingered briefly into the aftertaste before clearing.

Overall, a flavoured chūhai with a layered flavour trajectory and cohesive texture integration, resulting in a refreshing acerola-driven profile that is ultimately compromised by a lingering alcoholic bitterness.

This Kirin Tokusei Acerola Sour contained 340 mL. It was produced in Japan and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2026.