The CHOYA Black: A Taste of Luxury
06.18.2025 | Blog
The CHOYA Black is the epitome of refined luxury. It’s smooth, sophisticated, and perfect for those who appreciate a spirit with character. While still relatively new to the U.S. market, The CHOYA Black has been gaining momentum — especially at tasting events — and has quickly become a fan favorite!
What sets The CHOYA Black Apart
While many people know CHOYA for our signature products like CHOYA Umeshu with Fruit or The CHOYA Golden Ume Fruit, both famous for their iconic whole Ume Fruit inside the bottle, but The CHOYA Black offers something completely different.
What makes it unique? It’s a blend of meticulously aged Umeshu and French brandy, creating a bold, harmonious fusion of sweet, tart, and richly aromatic flavors. The result is a deeper, more complex profile that feels closer to a fine spirit than a traditional fruit liqueur.
Interestingly, The CHOYA Black isn’t our only product that uses brandy. CHOYA Excellent also features brandy but has a different production process. For CHOYA Excellent, our Umeshu and brandy age together offering a milder, smoother flavor.
What sets The CHOYA Black Apart
To understand The CHOYA Black, we need to take a step back in time — to the 1960s and 70s, when spirits like whisky and brandy were seen as exclusive luxuries in Japan. Imported liquors were expensive and had very limited access. Consider this, in 1970, the average starting salary for a university graduate was about 40,000 yen — while a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label cost 10,000 yen. Spirits were seen as aspirational, and only a select few could afford to enjoy them.
CHOYA wanted to change that, so in 1973, CHOYA introduced a bold new concept: a luxurious Umeshu designed to feel as fined as premium spirits — but more affordable. This new Umeshu was bottled without whole Ume fruits inside and packaged in a sleek, glass bottle. It was smooth, sophisticated, and stood apart from the traditional styles of the time.
At the time, clear, colorless liquors like shochu were often referred to as "White," while darker, aged spirits like whisky were known as "Black." CHOYA embraced this naming convention — and the spirit of luxurious indulgence — and named the product simply: “The CHOYA Black.”
An Instant Hit
The CHOYA Black quickly gained popularity. At its peak, The CHOYA Black sold over 2.2 million bottles in a single year. Its elegant look and elevated taste gave drinkers the feeling of sipping something rare and refined — without the hefty price tag.
Today’s The CHOYA Black
Fast forward to today, and The CHOYA Black continues to stand out in the CHOYA lineup. Blended with French brandy aged over one year, this premium Umeshu delivers the rich aroma of brandy, balanced by the pleasantly sweet and tart flavor of hand-selected Japanese Ume fruit.
We’ve brought The CHOYA Black to tasting events and the responses are so positive! We often hear that it’s incredibly smooth, not too sweet, and that they love the brandy finish.
Try it for Yourself
Subscribe Our Newsletter
If you're interested in staying updated with the latest news and offers from CHOYA USA, consider becoming a subscriber to our newsletter.