Lemonade Not for the Pussy

These days, anyone who drinks artisanal lemonade with their food is no longer a sissy. Nor a pussy. Craft lemonades are The New Craft Beer.

Camille and Melissa were working at a Japanese eatery in Amsterdam’s Jordaan district when they came up with the idea of making a refreshing lemonade that would pair perfectly with cold noodle dishes. In Japan, lemonade with food is very common, but it didn’t exist here yet.

Cold Noodles

The lemonade became a success, also in combination with other (Japanese) dishes besides the typically summery cold noodles. That’s why the two swapped the utility room where they produced it for De Noord-Hollandse Bierbrouwerij. The brewery now makes their lemonade 1000 liters at a time.

The name of the lemonade, Neko Jusu, means roughly ‘pussy juice’.

Camille and Melissa (in unison): ‘All you taste is reduced fruit, herbs and sugar.’ When designing the bottle, the two drew inspiration from Japanese beer bottles. And from the Japanese love of cats, which knows no bounds. The name Neko Jusu (loosely translated: Pussy Juice) is also inspired by Japan.

Coffee-Citrus

The Neko Jusu lemonades come in Rose-Hibiscus, Coffee-Citrus & Ginger-Orange flavors and can be sampled at, among others: Fou Fow ramen, Butcher’s Tears, Cloud Gallery, Tijger & de Vis, De Drankerij, Hutspot, Lot Sixty One and Berry—all in Amsterdam.

Image: Neko Jusu