I Love Chu-Hi

I'm not a big drinker. Maybe in college, I did some indulge here and there, but compared to others, and I'm not naming names here, I was an embarrassment. Had I had access to Chu-Hi back then, it may have been a different story.

Chu-hi are alcoholic alternatives to beer. They're carbonated cocktails in a can and made with Souchou, a liquor popular in Asia, most notably Korea. It's basically like sake's tacky cousin. It has virtually no taste so it mixes well with anything. I am a big fan of ordering Oolong-his at bars and restaurants, iced oolong tea and souchou. The alcohol content of most souchou drinks is pretty low, so it's good for low-tolerance party people such as myself.

Chu-his are sold in cans in the beer section of grocery stores and combinis. I became a little obsessed with them while walking by the creepy combini near my home everyday and seeing all the cool dudes smoking cigarettes and downing an afternoon Chu-hi. SO COOL. Currently, all the breweries are introducing their special holiday flavors. Kirin has a really yummy apple Chu-hi which tastes exactly like an alcoholic sparkling apple cider. (Kind of defeats the main purpose of sparking apple cider I guess...) Suntory takes the prize for my favorite Holiday flavor - Mikan. These taste exactly like Sunkist soda...but alcoholic. Genius.

*Note: Japanese people take Sake really seriously. So much so, that in Japan it is called O-Sake...O being an honorific prefix. They do this with O-Sushi and O-Cha (green tea) too. If you say "sake" in Japan, people will just think you're talking about any kind of alcohol. O-sake refers to the honorable Japanese liquor. It's complicated. Anyhow, if you're not in Japan, call it whatever you want...but promise me that you will pronounce it SA-KAY not SA-KEE. Nothing makes me cringe more than hearing the latter.

Fancy Booze Bars

I'm not a big drinker. I can't have beer because it makes my muscles cramp and I feel like I want to die. Wine makes me want to sleep IMMEDIATELY. This leaves me with liquor which can be expensive depending on where you are and additionally, I get very drunk very quickly which is great sometimes, but not always. I can tell you a lot about restaurants and food in New York, but bars not so much -- I've either never been there or got so drunk I don't remember where it was.

But since it's the beginning of the summer, I've been going out a little bit more and have done some exploring with friends. This past weekend, I ended up at Mayahuel at the suggestion of a friend. This place blew me away! It is a tequila bar, which sounds pretty scary, but it's low key and the decor is definitely something to be admired. I had a smoky/sweet/spicy drink called the Watermelon Sugar (it wasn't bad, but I wouldn't go back for another) and a rose sangria/strawberry infused tequila/elderberry drink called La Vida Rosa. I could sip on this all day long - delicious! Last weekend, after seeing The America Ballet Theater's La Sylphide, my gal pals and I went to the Russian Samovar. They serve tasty Russian fare and house infused vodka by the carafe. We had the raspberry, cranberry and pomegranate. They were all good, but the last was the best by far. The shots went down smoothly to the live piano and impromptu tango dancing. Though it could get expensive, this would be a great place for groups.

I really can't talk about tasty drinks in New York without talking about The Rusty Knot. A small bar on the West Side Highway, this place is peculiar. It's decorated to look like your father's tiki den but the drinks are affordable and tasty. Their signature drink is called The Rusty Knot and it's a blended drink with house made sour mix, mint and rum. To call it a blended mojito would not do it justice. I highly doubt I'll ever find a drink that will knock The Rusty Knot off of it's pedestal, but I guess I'll keep looking just in case.