**2020 James Beard Award Nominee** **2020 Gourmand Cookbook Award Winner for Japan in Spirits Books** Drink your way through Japan (even from home) with the help of this book! Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages--from traditional Sake and Shochu to Japanese whisky, beer, wine and cocktails that are winning global acclaim and awards. In this comprehensive survey of Japanese drinks, experts Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting cover all the main types of beverages found in Japanese bars and restaurants, as well as supermarkets and liquor stores around the world. The book has chapters on Sake, Shochu, whisky, wine, beer, Awamori (a moonshine-like liquor from Okinawa), Umeshu plum wine and other fruit wines. There is also a fascinating chapter on modern Japanese-style cocktails--complete with recipes so you can get the authentic experience, including: Sour Plum Cordial Sakura Martini Improved Shochu Cocktail Far East Side Cocktail Thorough descriptions of the varieties of each beverage are given along with the history, production methods, current trends and how to drink them. Detailed bar and buyer's guides at the back of the book list specialist establishments where readers can go to enjoy and purchase the drinks, both in Japan and cities around the world, including London, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC, Shanghai and more! This is an indispensable book for anyone interested in brewing, distilling, new cocktails or Japanese culture, travel and cuisine. Kampai! Cheers!

Drinking Japan the first practical Japan travel guide in English, to depict Japan's bars and alcoholic beverages. Author Chris Bunting goes to tremendous lengths to present Japan's best bars and alcoholic drinks. You will be prepared for your trip with detailed profiles of Japans finest sake, shochu, awamori, beers, wines and Japanese whiskies. This book tells you where to find each one, which brands are best and which to avoid. A trip to Japan is not complete without experiencing its famous nightlife. From bright lights of Ginza to the quiet street corners of Kyoto. Drinking Japan provides reviews of 122 bars in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, and Hiroshima extending further afield. More than 120 of the country's best bars are featured in richly illustrated reviews, with menu tips, directions and language help. If you are drinking in Japan, most likely it is going to be a thrilling night. Japan is home to some of the world's most extraordinary alcoholic beverages as well as the most appealing bar scenes. This book will prepare you and your friends with the tips and tricks you need when navigating through cool Japan bar scenes and nightlife.

"For hundreds of years, shochu and awamori have dwelled near the center of Japan's vaunted culinary traditions. Despite outselling most other alcoholic beverages in Japan, however, these premium distilled treats have largely remained hidden from the rest of the world. But that is beginning to change. The Shochu Handbook is the first major reference published on the subject in a language other than Japanese and covers everything from how distilled beverages arrived in Japan to a step-by-step overview of the distilling process. There are also detailed chapters devoted to deciphering bottle labels, food pairing, serving styles, and speaking the language of these drinks. Packed with information, The Shochu Handbook also includes an extensive list of recommended bottles, a chapter devoted to cocktail and homemade liqueur recipes, and Japanese-English language assistance for everything from ordering shochu in a bar to telling the difference between single-distilled and multiple-distilled drinks."--Amazon.com.

An elegant collection of over 100 recipes inspired by the Eastern Capital. With over 13.5 million residents squeezed in to 845 square miles, Tokyo stands as one of the world’s most beguiling cities. On the surface it appears to be nothing but towering buildings and glaring lights. But once you get to know the city, its 23 wards reveal hidden alleyways, along many of which you can find singular drinking establishments. Tokyo Cocktails takes you inside the city’s best bars and introduces you to bartenders and mixologists conjuring up drinks that reflect the city’s essence, namely how thousands of years of tradition fuse with myriad contemporary influences. Featuring over 100 recipes that honor and reinvent classics and make the best of local ingredients, this book is the ideal cocktail enthusiast’s guide to drinking like a local, whether you’re making a trip to Tokyo or staying at home and simply wishing you were there. Nicholas Coldicott lives in Tokyo and has written about the city’s food and drink scenes for numerous publications, including Conde Nast Traveller, Time Out Tokyo, Japan Times, and Departures; he is also the author of the Wallpaper* City Guides for Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

The first cocktail book from the award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido of Katana Kitten in New York City, on the craft of Japanese cocktail making Katana Kitten, one of the world's most prominent and acclaimed Japanese cocktail bars, was opened in 2018 by highly-respected and award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido. Just one year later, the bar won 2019 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New American Cocktail Bar. Before Katana Kitten, Urushido honed his craft over several years behind the bar of award-winning eatery Saxon+Parole. In The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, Urushido shares his immense knowledge of Japanese cocktails with eighty recipes that best exemplify Japan's contribution to the cocktail scene, both from his own bar and from Japanese mixologists worldwide. Urushido delves into what exactly constitutes the Japanese approach to cocktails, and demystifies the techniques that have been handed down over generations, all captured in stunning photography.

An indispensable atlas of the best cocktail recipes—each fully photographed—for classic and modern drinks, whether shaken, stirred, up, or on the rocks. How do you create the perfect daiquiri? In what type of glass should you serve a whiskey sour? What exactly is an aperitif cocktail? A compendium for both home and professional bartenders, The Essential Cocktail Book answers all of these questions and more—through recipes, lore and techniques for 150 drinks, both modern and classic.

"In his new book, journalist Brian Ashcraft digs into the short but colorful history of the Japanese liquor and the process that differentiates Japan's labels from their Western cousins. Plus, whisky authority Yuji Kawasaki shares tasting notes for more than a hundred bottles."--Travel + Leisure Japanese whisky has been around for less than a century, but is now winning all the major international awards. How did this happen and what are the secrets of the master distillers? This whisky book divulges these secrets for the first time. Japanese Whisky features never-before-published archival images and interviews chronicling the forgotten stories of Japan's pioneering whisky makers. It reveals the unique materials and methods used by the Japanese distillers including mizunara wood, Japanese barley, and novel production methods unique to Japan. It also examines the close cultural connections between Japanese scotch and whisky drinkers and their favorite tipples. For the first time in English, this book presents over a hundred independently scored tastings from leading Japanese whisky blogger, Yuji Kawasaki, shedding new light on Japan's most famous single malts as well as grain whiskies and blends. Japan expert Brian Ashcraft and photographer Idzuhiko Ueda crisscrossed Japan visiting all the major makers to talk about past and present whisky distillers, blenders and coopers. Japanophiles, whisky lovers, travelers, and history buffs will all find something fascinating within these pages, including: Tasting notes and scores of every major Japanese whisky brand A complete account of the unique production methods and ingredients Information about visiting distilleries in Japan Hundreds of color photos documenting the history and modern practices of Japanese whisky Exclusive interviews and previously unpublished personal accounts from leading industry figures Japanese Whisky not only explains how the country's award-winning whiskies are made, but also the complete whisky history and culture, so readers can truly appreciate the subtle Japanese whiskies they're drinking and buying. Kanpai!