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Makers & Origins

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Three Years Before “Organic”: The Time Behind a Wine Label

Wine labels often carry a small organic certification mark, varying by region of origin. Bottles imported into Bangkok are no exception. Most people read that mark as a statement about the present: “This wine is made using organic farming methods.” That is not wrong.

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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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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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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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Broadening the Brewing Season, Narrowing the Selection: HANEYA KIRABI, Four-Season Brewing, and Nakagumi

Sake is made in winter. Many people may still carry that image. In Japan, brewing concentrated in the colder months, known as kanzukuri , has indeed been practiced for centuries.

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Rice Polished to 27%, Sake Held at −5°C for One Year: The Design of Shichiken Hakushin

What do 27% rice polishing and one year at −5°C reveal about Shichiken Hakushin? Read the decisions linking Hakushu rice, water, temperature and time.

AWARD : SAKE

A Measure of Brewing Philosophy Beside Technical Mastery: The “Modern Natural” Category at SAKE COMPETITION 2026

For many years, sake competitions have placed great weight on precision in brewing and the quality of the finished sake: how carefully the rice is polished and how clearly and elegantly the sake is made. The Junmai Daiginjo category represents this emphasis on technical skill. At SAKE COMPETITION 2026, another category stood alongside it with a different measure. Modern Natural evaluates not only the finished sake, but also the philosophy behind its production.

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How Can We Read a Gin’s Connection to Place? Four Clues in the Official Information for ohoro GIN Standard

Read four official clues that connect ohoro GIN Standard to Niseko: production, local botanicals, Hakkaisan Group ownership and legal labeling.

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Layering Yuzu and Sea Salt over Sake

Explore how Shio Yuzu layers yuzu and sea salt over sake, and how infusion shapes its aroma, structure and legal category as a Japanese liqueur.

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Shochu at Its Base, Liqueur by Category: MATCHA CAT and the Freedom of Blending

See how MATCHA CAT uses authentic barley shochu as its base while Japanese law classifies the finished blend as a liqueur.

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Returned, Not Added

Explore how Umenoyado Aragoshi Umeshu returns plum flesh to the bottle, creating texture and fruit character from material once removed in production.

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Map of Washu ｜ The Five Steps at a Glance

For many in Bangkok, encountering Japanese spirits often begins with a shared hesitation. Intricate characters on labels, overlapping categories, and subtle distinctions can blur together. Too often, a diverse heritage is reduced to a single impression: an expensive, yet elusive, Japanese drink.

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