Blog
Stories from behind the bar: cocktails, ramen, Japanese culture, and life on the Lower East Side.
ShochuMay 18, 2026Dassai Shochu: When Sake Becomes a SpiritA kasu-tori shochu distilled from the sake lees of Dassai's Junmai Daiginjo, a bridge between sake and whiskey drinkers.SakeMay 13, 2026Dassai Blue Nigori and Nigori Sparkling: The First American Sparkling NigoriYamada Nishiki polished to 50%, coarsely strained, and refermented in the bottle like champagne, with no added sugar.WhiskyMay 12, 2026Yu Courage: The Bushido Virtue, in a Mizunara CaskYu is the bushido virtue usually translated as courage, but it means something more specific than bravery. The whisky is aged in mizunara, and drinks soft.SakeMay 11, 2026Dassai & Dassai Blue: From Japan to New York, and Why Freshness MattersThe story of Dassai's focus on Junmai Daiginjo, and why Juraku pours Dassai Blue, brewed in Hyde Park, New York, for freshness.SakeMay 8, 2026Mio Sparkling and Shirakabegura Tokubetsu Junmai: Two From NadaShirakabegura is Takara's brewery in Nada, Kobe. One of these is the world's best-selling sparkling sake at 5% ABV. The other is a straight-down-the-middle tokubetsu junmai.SakeMay 6, 2026SummerFall: A Sparkling Sake Made in the US From California RiceTakuma Inagawa's American sake uses locally grown California rice and borrows from wine fermentation. It comes in a can.BeerMay 4, 2026Baladin Xyauyù Fumé: A Beer for Peated Whisky DrinkersAn Italian beer with no carbonation, aged in peated whisky barrels. If you like Laphroaig, this is the closest thing to it that arrives in a beer glass.CocktailsMay 1, 2026Matsui The Hakuto: A Tottori Gin Named After a Skinned RabbitHakuto means white rabbit, after one of Japan's oldest myths. The gin leads on nashi pear, a Tottori specialty, and is proofed with water off Mount Daisen.SakeApr 29, 2026Sho Chiku Bai Ocean View, Skyline and Rei Nigori: Sake Brewed in BerkeleyTakara Sake USA has brewed in Berkeley since 1983, and Ocean View is made with white koji, the mold normally reserved for shochu.WhiskyApr 28, 2026Gyokusendo Peak: 7,500 Liters a Year, Aged in the Brewery's Own Sherry CasksA Gifu house that has made sake, shochu, mirin and liqueurs for over 200 years, using casks it already had. Annual production is smaller than some bars pour.BeerApr 27, 2026Japas Matsurika: A Jasmine Pilsner From Brazil's First Women-Owned BreweryMatsurika means jasmine. It's brewed in Brazil by three Japanese-Brazilian women, and it's the one beer on our list that isn't from Japan or Italy.
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