Drink
Umeshu Is Not Defined by Plums Alone
Fuu uses hon-mirin, while Yii uses craft gin. Explore the base ingredients, sources of sweetness and network of producers behind CU9’s two umeshu.
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Blog
Stories of makers, ingredients, places and the decisions behind Japan's most compelling drinks.
Drink
A Four-Day Craft: The Okinawan Spirit Behind Edinburgh’s Winning Cocktail
An Edinburgh cocktail competition leads back to Okinawan koji making. Explore the four-day process behind Yokka Koji and the role of production knowledge in bartending.
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Drink
When 50% Rice Polishing Is Not Junmai Daiginjo
A 50% rice polishing ratio does not automatically mean Junmai Daiginjo. Explore the eight sake designations, special production methods, nama and Sake Meter Value.
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Drink
Is Grain Whisky Really Just a “Lightweight Supporting Player”?
Grain whisky is not inherently light. Distillation at Nikka, Chita and Fuji Gotemba shows how equipment, cask maturation and blending shape different characters.
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Blog
What Japanese Gin Is Made Of
Japanese gin is often described through botanicals such as yuzu, sansho pepper and green tea. Yet an earlier decision shapes every bottle: which distilled spirit will carry those aromas?
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Drink
Japanese Gin Is Not One Single Aroma: Understanding What “Japanese” Really Means
KI NO BI, ROKU and NISEKO ohoro GIN show how Japanese gin connects place to flavor through different ingredients and production choices.
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Drink
The Language of Sake: Distinguishing Ingredient Truths from Health Claims
Why the presence of amino acids or fermentation-derived compounds in sake does not by itself establish a health benefit from drinking it.
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Drink
Thailand’s Alcohol Rules Have Eased, but These Two Changes Came from Separate Agencies
In 2026, Thailand implemented two distinct relaxations of its alcohol regulations: one governing importation requirements and another governing permitted sales hours.
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Drink
Echoes of Isan in Bangkok: Sato and the Evolution of Modern Fermentation Culture
How sato is being reinterpreted through microbial knowledge, temperature control and the cultural memory of Isan.
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Drink
L’Entêté and the Fight to Reclaim a Name: The Two Legal Changes That Transformed Absinthe in France
How separate changes to French production rules and naming law allowed historic absinthe recipes and the word absinthe to return.
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