Blog
Stories from behind the bar: cocktails, ramen, Japanese culture, and life on the Lower East Side.
CocktailsAug 12, 2026The Japanese Bitters: Bonito, Cherry Blossom, and a Mizunara Old FashionedYuki Yamazaki's bitters are built from dried bonito, kelp, salt-pickled sakura leaves and Tokushima yuzu. We carry the full range, and we use the Mizunara liqueur in an old fashioned with Akashi Ume.CommunityAug 11, 2026August 2026 at Juraku: A Slow July, a Sake Festival, and Thank YouJuly was slow and the weather was strange, but we got out to the Dassai Blue Tanabata Festival, sponsored another Brotaku night, and kept the Wednesday artist meetup going. Here's what's on for August.SakeAug 10, 2026What Is a Matcha Sake Bomb? Juraku's Signature Drinking RitualA shot of matcha sake, a cold Asahi, and a chant the whole table has to learn. Half of it is the drink. The other half is what happens before you drink it.CocktailsAug 9, 2026The Three Wines at an Izakaya: Vinho Verde, Spumante, and a Mendoza PinotAn izakaya does not need a wine list. We keep three, chosen for acidity and bubbles rather than for prestige.FoodAug 8, 2026Tebasaki: Nagoya's Fried Chicken Wings, and the Two Ways to Make ThemJapanese fried wings come in two schools, and they disagree about flour. Ours follows the older one: no coating, fried twice, glazed sweet and salty.CocktailsAug 7, 2026Giffard: A Pharmacist in Angers, and Three Liqueurs on Our ShelfEmile Giffard turned his pharmacy into a distillery in 1885. We keep the Lichi-Li, the Triple Sec and the Wild Elderflower.CocktailsAug 6, 2026Cognac Park VS Carte Blanche: Two Crus, Two Kinds of OakUgni Blanc from Fins Bois and Petite Champagne in equal parts, six months in new French oak, then three to six years in used casks.FoodAug 5, 2026Why We Built a Handroll Bar Instead of a Sushi ProgramOmakase counters are opening everywhere. Most of the time I just want simple, fresh sushi, and our kitchen is small, so the menu had to be designed around that.CocktailsAug 4, 2026Fernet-Branca: 27 Botanicals From Four Continents, Since 1845A Milanese amaro built on grape spirit, rested a year in Slovenian oak, whose recipe reportedly lives in one safe and one head.CocktailsAug 3, 2026Kweichow Moutai: China's National Spirit, and What Sauce Aroma MeansSorghum and wheat qu from Maotai Town in Guizhou, made by a method refined over two centuries, with more than three hundred identified aromas.FoodAug 2, 2026The Miso Bacon Started With a Cut Coolant LineSomebody cut the line running coolant to our beer chiller and I did not notice for months. Every pour, we threw the warm part away. That waste beer is why there is bacon on the menu.
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