Do Japan's Sake Kit Kats Contain Any Alcohol?
There are plenty of well-known entries among America's most popular food and snack brands, according to YouGovAmerica. Leading the pack are the likes of Hershey's, M&M's, and Reese's, but further down the pecking order (trailing in 14th place) is Kit Kat — behind Oreo, Lay's, and even Heinz Ketchup. (Perhaps more people than we care to imagine enjoy tucking into a packet of tomato sauce.)
Despite this, Kit Kat remains a titan of the confectionery world. The chocolate bar is credited by its producer Nestlé as helping the firm boast impressive growth and increasing sales figures, reports Confectionery News. The Japanese market could have noticeably contributed to this boost, as sales of Kit Kats in the country have surged by 50% since 2010, notes The New York Times Magazine.
Japan has many unique Kit Kat flavors, but among its most special is one containing sake, notes Bokksu. Sake is an ancient, rice-based, relatively sweet Japanese beverage with about 15% alcohol by volume, according to Brittanica. But does a Kit Kat flavored with sake mean that it also contains booze?
There are several sake Kit Kats to choose from
Sake may seem like an unusual choice in chocolate bar flavor, but Kit Kats are so popular in Japan that more than 400 different varieties have been released in the country, which means developers are going through the "safe" options at quite a high rate. There are also different levels of Kit Kat in Japan, with some flavors being considered a luxurious purchase.
The good news for crafty teens looking to sneak alcohol into their next party is that sake-flavored Kit Kats do contain alcohol — but not very much. According to The Japanese Way, the original release of the sake Kit Kat contained 0.8% of alcohol (whereas a standard beer contains 5%, notes the CDC).
In addition to the basic version, there are upmarket options of sake Kit Kats available, reports Bokksu. All shrouded with white chocolate, the luxury alternatives are Premium Japan Sake, Ume Sake, and Yuzu Sake. These are also boozy, but to an even lesser extent, with the alcohol content ranging from 0.4% to 0.2%. A final, limited-release option is the Sakura sake Kit Kat, but, according to SoraNews24, this is filled with only 0.07% alcohol.