sake
酎 centers on a specific type of strong, distilled sake. It refers to a potent alcoholic drink rather than sake in general.
酎 combines 酉 (a jar for alcohol) with 寸, which likely acts as a phonetic component here. The character originally referred to a strong distilled liquor.
The left side 酉 is a sake jar, and the right side 寸 looks like a measuring hand. Imagine a hand carefully measuring out a potent, distilled sake from the jar.
For チュウ, imagine chewing a piece of strong sake-flavored candy: chew -> チュウ, and the strong taste matches the potent drink.
shōchū; Japanese spirit distilled from sweet potatoes, rice, etc.
chūhai; shōchū highball; cocktail of shōchū with tonic water
shōchū
red perilla shōchū; shiso shōchū
buckwheat shōchū; soba shōchū
shōchū made by the simple distillation process
chestnut shōchū
shōchū high-ball
fruit, etc. preserved in shōchū
Kumamoto rice shōchū
rice shōchū
shōchū made from sake lees
sesame shōchū
sweet potato shōchū
barley shōchū
brown sugar shōchū