Comparison of 5 Convenience Store Lemon Can Highballs, the Most Delicious Product is 'Hyoketsu Lemon'

Recently, in the global alcoholic beverage market, while the sales of spirits such as whisky or vodka are decreasing, the sales of RTD (Ready To Drink) products are on an increasing trend. Accordingly, the domestic convenience store industry is also releasing various lemon highball products, expanding the range of choices for consumers. According to a video from the YouTube channel 'Introduction to Alcoholic Beverages - Interesting Stories Behind Drinks', the participants directly purchased lemon highball products sold at the three major domestic convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven) and compared their taste, aroma, alcohol content, etc.

Comparison of Taste and Characteristics by Convenience Store Lemon Highball Product

In the video, they tasted various lemon highball products and examined the unique characteristics of each product. The products showed distinct differences depending on whether they used spirits (ethanol) and their base (whisky, vodka, fruit wine, etc.).

Among the first products tasted, one had a strong sweet taste at the beginning, but the feeling of alcohol came alive in the aftertaste. Another product had a transparent color and implemented a realistic lemon scent, and received positive evaluations to the point of wanting to do a 'nae-don-nae-san (a product I bought with my own money)' because it had little sweetness and gave a refreshing sparkling water feeling. On the other hand, opinions were also raised that certain products had heterogeneous scents like ginger or spices besides the lemon scent, or were too excessively sour, making them limited to enjoy.

Some products received evaluations of having scents like cosmetics or a feeling like detergent, or a metallic taste. Additionally, products such as 'Radler' (fruit mixed with beer rather than highball) or wine-based products were included, confirming that the texture of the taste is completely different from a typical highball. In the case of Radler products, they had a taste as if lemon was mixed into beer, possessing both a different stuffiness and sweetness compared to highballs.

Which is the Best Lemon Highball Chosen by the Cast?

As a result of tasting various products, the most satisfying product selected by the cast was 'Hyoketsu Lemon'. This product received high scores for having strong carbonation, appropriate sweetness, and implementing a realistic lemon scent. The product recommended second was an unexpected choice, as a product mentioned for its unique taste (such as a metallic taste) was picked as second place, showing the diversity of the tasting results.

The participants added fun to the tasting by checking the use of spirits and the base through the product ingredient lists. Since the alcohol content (ranging from about 5% to over 8%) and the base (vodka, spirits, fruit wine, etc.) differ for each product, it suggested that preferred products can vary greatly depending on individual taste.