Walk into any Japanese convenience store and you can find a horde of vitamin and energy drinks that claim to support the health of overworked salary men and women.

In tightly packed major cities avoiding a cold is nearly impossible, which explains the preponderance of vitamin C drinks. These tiny glass bottles pack a punch of over 1000 milligrams of vitamin C, even though an adult human actually only needs about 40 mg a day. Despite the possible adverse effects to overdosing on vitamin C such as stomach pains and diarrhea, these drinks remain very popular as a means to fend off the sniffles

Beverage company Pokka Sapporo produces a drink called Chelate Lemon with 1350 mg of vitamin C packed in. A marketing genius then spotted a potential market in those who love drinking alcohol, but hate being sick. It’s a wide net.

Source: PR Times

The result is the Chelate Lemon Sour, a canned alcoholic drink with added flu-proofing. A 'Sour' is Japanese spirit shochu mixed with fruit juice. Sapporo recently announced they’re upping the vitamin C contained in each can from 200 mg to 300. The drink also boasts 2000 mg of citric acid and 13% fruit juice. I especially like the use of the cross in the design to make it look genuinely medicinal.

At 5% alcohol the drink can be leisurely enjoyed while reaping the benefits of some extra vitamin C. As the old saying goes, a lemon sour a day keeps the doctor away.


By - Jess.