Stories Behind the Bottle
Clos Regain: The Estate Within the Estate
A new wine estate does not always begin with new land. Sometimes, it begins with a decision to look again.
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Blog
Stories of makers, ingredients, places and the decisions behind Japan's most compelling drinks.
Blog
Not Defining Umeshu by a Single Formula — Umeyoshi’s Choice of Four Base Spirits
The character of umeshu is rarely defined solely by plum variety or level of sweetness. Shift the spirit in which the fruit is steeped, and the entire landscape of raw ingredients, heritage, and technique transforms along with it.
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Drink
How Pasteurization Shapes the Identity of Sake: The Heritage of Autumn’s Hiyaoroshi
Sake undergoes a delicate process called hiire (pasteurization). After pressing, the liquid is gently warmed to approximately 60°C (140°F) to deactivate naturally occurring enzymes and stabilize its quality.
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Drink
Did Jennie Jerome Really Host the First Manhattan? The Origin Story the Dates Do Not Support
The Manhattan's modern ratio is not its original one, and its famous 1874 banquet story conflicts with the historical timeline.
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Blog
What “Unfiltered” Truly Means: The Pale Golden Hue of BORN Gold
When a sake is described as “unfiltered,” it may sound as though it has bypassed filtration altogether. That reading does not fully reflect the brewing process. After fermentation, the mash, or moromi , is pressed to separate liquid sake from solid sake lees.
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Drink
Did “Count Negroni” Really Exist? The Unverified Origins of a Cocktail Known Around the World
The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, a standard reference work on cocktail history, offers no precise date for the creation of the Negroni. Instead, it places its origin sometime “between the end of World War I and October 1920,” leaving a window of more than a year.
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Blog
The Precision of Timing: Two Spirits Behind Sasshu Sekitoba Matcha
Upon encountering a spirit made with matcha, one might picture tea powder simply stirred into the finished liquid to impart color and aroma.
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Blog
Dryness Is Not a Single Number: Two Rice-Polishing Ratios in Heiwa Shuzo’s KID Junmai Ginjo Karakuchi Kid
“Dryness” in sake may sound straightforward, yet it cannot be determined by a single number.
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CRAFT BEER
How Much Should a Brewery Reveal? How Japan’s Craft Breweries Define the Boundaries of Transparency
“How much of a brewery should visitors be allowed to see?” Traditionally, places where alcohol is brewed have rarely been open to outsiders. Brewing requires precise temperature control and careful handling of microorganisms that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
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Drink
Polishing Is Not Only for Rice: The “Migaki-Imo” Behind SHIRAKANE-NO-TSUYU
Shochu makers have an old saying: “First comes koji, second comes the starter mash, and third comes the rest of the process.” Shirakane Shuzo, based in Aira, Kagoshima Prefecture, also presents these words on its official website.
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