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Stories from behind the bar: cocktails, ramen, Japanese culture, and life on the Lower East Side.
SakeApr 22, 2026Shirayuki: Japan's Oldest Surviving Sake Brand Name, From 1550 in ItamiKonishi began as a medicine merchant in 1550 and moved into sake around 1612. The Shirayuki name dates to about 1635.WhiskyApr 20, 2026Mars Iwai Haru: Japanese Whisky Finished in Sakura CasksThe spring release from Mars Komagatake: Iwai Tradition finished six months in Japanese cherry blossom wood casks. Floral on the nose, brandy-like on the palate.CocktailsApr 17, 2026Oka Gin: Six Distillations, a 150-Year-Old Shochu House, and Two JunipersMade at Tsutsumi Distillery in Kumamoto, one of only 28 certified Kuma Shochu producers, on a 100% rice base, with Macedonian and Himalayan juniper.SakeApr 15, 2026Rihaku Wandering Poet: Named After a Poet Who Drank Before WritingA Shimane junmai ginjo made from Yamada Nishiki polished to 55%, named for Li Bai, the Tang dynasty poet the Japanese call Rihaku.BeerApr 13, 2026Baladin Xyauyù Kioke: Italian Beer Aged in Soy Sauce BarrelsBaladin aged this in kioke, the cedar vats Japan has fermented soy sauce in for centuries. It pours flat, tastes like tawny port, and there is a reason for both.ShochuApr 10, 2026Rihei Ginger Shochu: A Fifth of the Mash Is GingerA single-distilled genshu from a fourth-generation Miyazaki distillery, built on 20% local ginger. Bottled undiluted at 38%, and it tastes like it.SakeApr 8, 2026Nobunaga Junmai Ginjo Muroka Nama Genshu: Three Words That Mean Nothing Was Done to ItA Gifu sake at 17 to 18% ABV, unfiltered, unpasteurized and undiluted, made from Hida Homare rice polished to 60%.CommunityApr 6, 2026From 4AM Repairs to Spring Drinks and 8 Years of JurakuKiyo's April update: a new tap tower installed overnight, 8 years of Juraku, new spring drinks, and the launch of the Juraku Network WhatsApp community.SakeApr 3, 2026One Ten Black: A Junmai Daiginjo Named After a Kabuki ActorHyakujuro from Hayashi Honten in Gifu, exported as One Ten. The label is kabuki stage makeup, the name is an actor who planted 1,200 cherry trees, and it took gold in 2014.SakeApr 1, 2026Mantensei Star-Filled Sky: A Tottori Junmai Ginjo Matured Three Years in TankFrom Japan's least populated prefecture, a brewery that makes only junmai, where the company president is also the toji.BeerMar 31, 2026Kiuchi No Shizuku: Hitachino White Ale, Distilled TwiceThe name means first drip from the still. Kiuchi distils their own White Ale, rests it in oak with coriander, hops and orange peel, then distils it again.
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