Coca-Cola to make alcoholic drink after more than 130 years

After more than 130 years, beverage giant Coca-Cola has been driven to drink.

The global soft drinks company will soon add a product that is a little bit harder for customers in Japan, and develop a type of beverage where the alcohol content normally ranges up to 8%.

Jorge Garduño, president of the company’s operations on the Asian archipelago, made the announcement in an interview on the company’s website, and said it would be modeled off of Chu-hi drinks.

The drink is a carbonated mix made with the spirit shochu, though it is not clear whether the new version will taste like Coke or a more local flavor.

Sometimes classed along with “alcopops” such as Mike’s Hard Lemonade or Smirnoff Ice, Chu-hi drinks normally have an alcohol content similar to beer, between 3% and 8%.

Coca-Cola traces its roots back to 1886, though before a prohibition inventor Dr. John Pemberton had previously created "Pemberton's French Wine Coca," with both alcohol and a cocaine compound, according to a history in The Atlantic.

Coke also invested in the California wine industry in the 1970s, according to wine writer Charles Sullivan.

Beyond its signature products, Coca-Cola owns a huge number of brands worldwide, and Garduño pointed out that it already has products for Japan’s ubiquitous vending machines such as canned coffee.

He added that he doesn’t “think people around the world should expect to see this kind of thing from Coca-Cola.”