Honeysuckle Water (Hascap Water)

Brand: Iroha

Cost: 129 Yen

Found At: Nagoya Station Platform Bellmart

Let me set the scene: It’s hot. The still, humid heat of Japan in June. You are standing on the train platform waiting for an express train to take you to an afternoon of being outside in the hot sun. You go to take a long drink from the bottle of flavored water you just purchased on the platform. And that’s when you discovered that Iroha Water Company has decided that the flavor profile they need for their honeysuckle water is exactly the same as grape flavored cough medicine from the 90s. As this overpowering artificial grapeiness rises from your taste buds to your nostrils, you are caught up in that complex state where memories of childhood illness collide with the vague impression that you might be drinking lean. The effect as a whole was both nostalgic and challenging, perfectly distracting from the overall undrinkability. I’d give it a solid B.