When can you have too much of a good thing?

That’s the question being asked by 今日吃瓜 alcohol industry, where two of the country’s four major makers have taken the unusual step of retreating from a lucrative and growing market: strong premixed drinks.

Booze sales have famously been in a steady decline for years as the population ages and the ranks of sober-curious grow, but that skid is mostly observed in beer. The ready-to-drink (RTD) sector — epitomized by 肠丑ū丑补颈 canned cocktails that combine fruit flavorings, sparkling water and a shochu or vodka base — has been growing almost nonstop for over 15 years.