Tag: highball

  • Bars in Japan: Miscellany

     On my five-day visit to Japan with Suntory whiskies I hit 21 bars by my count. I am talking about them in groups. Next up: The Rest of Them.

    The difference between the various styles of bars is subtle and I'm defining them as I see them. I'll be describing whisky bars, cocktail bars, highball and standing bars, and pubs/clubs/dives. This is that last section.

    Rippongi Nouen is actually a restaurant but it's notable because they serve highballs with flavors like ginger and rosemary.

    The restaurant has big glass cubes in the back that have (or used to have, can't tell) herbs and vegetables growing in them. 

    Roppongi nouen rosemary highball_tn

    The tasting menu had some great food. I think they picked this place not just for the drinks but for its vegetarian tasting menu.

    Roppongi nouen personal grill_tn
    (Everyone gets their personal smoking grill in one dish.)

    One Shot Bar The Door (I'm not sure if it's called The Door or One Shot Bar) is located in Kyoto. I didn't see much of the bar downstairs as we were in a private room upstairs with our shoes off on with tatami mats having a great conversation. It has a short cocktail menu, mostly of classics. I ordered a Martini. 

    One shot bar kyoto japan_tn

    One shot bar kyoto japan martini_tn

    Three Martini Bar in Yokohama is full of good. The walls are lined with vintage whisky decanters and ice buckets and they were playing a soundtrack of yacht rock. Good vibes all around.

    Three martini bar yokohama_tn

    Three martini bar yokohama2_tn

    Three martini bar yokohama menu_tn
    (Mmm, tequira.)

    Our hosts gave us a few reasons why it's called Three Martini, but I only remember one of them. "Three" in German is spelled "dreit" as in "dry." In exchange, I told them that in America it might refer to the three-martini lunch or Dorothy Parker's "two at the most" rhyme.

    Anyway, we ordered Moscow Mules and the three Martinis.

    Three martini bar yokohama moscow mule mugs_tn

    Three martinis at three martini bar yokohama_tn

    For bar snacks they had several options including fried sugar(!*!*!*!).

    Three martini bar yokohama fried sugar_tn

    Eagle Bar in Shinjuku area of Tokyo looks like a speakeasy gentleman's club with patterned wallpaper, wooden walls, and carpeting. To enter you walk down a flight of stairs to find a room with the main bar. Walk down another flight of stairs (two storeys below the street) and there is another small bar room where we sat. 

    Eagle bar upstairs shinjuko tokyo2_tn

    We sat at the bar. It has low barstools so your feet are touching the floor. While a couple to our right were working their way through the cocktail list, we stuck to highballs. 

    Eagle bar shinjuko tokyo2_tn

    Bigri Bar is located in Golden Gai, the neighborhood of tiny bars I mentioned previously. 

    Street Golden Gai Tokyo Japan_tn

    You enter in a set of incredibly steep stairs into a room that looks like a kitchen in a studio apartment.

    Steep stairs Bigri Bar Golden Gai Tokyo Japan_tn

    I think this is what is called a "mama-san bar" as the owner is an older lady who serves drinks and also cooks you (not exactly good-looking) food from behind the same bar counter. 

    Coaster Bigri Bar Golden Gai Tokyo Japan_tn
    (Hand-knit cocktail coasters. Adorable.)

    Cooking Bigri Bar Golden Gai Tokyo Japan_tn

    Track Bar is an uber-hipster bar that wasn't filled with hipsters at the time we visited. They have a wall of 33" records and a DJ spinning them. There were mason jars full of help-yourself snacks. But it still operated like a cocktail bar – you ask when you walk in the door if there is enough seating before entering. 

    Bar track  ebisu tokyo3_tn

    Bar snacks bar track  ebisu tokyo_tn

    It seems like a whisky bar but I saw cocktails being made as well. I ordered a highball, and their house style at this bar is to serve it in a frosted glass without ice. 

    Highball without ice bar track  ebisu tokyo_tn

  • Bars in Japan: Standing and Highball Bars

    On my five-day visit to Japan with Suntory whiskies I hit 21 bars by my count. I am talking about them in groups. Next up: Standing and Highball Bars.

    The difference between the various styles of bars is subtle and I'm defining them as I see them. I'll be describing whisky bars, cocktail bars, highball and standing bars, and pubs/clubs/dives. As far as I can tell, highball bars are all standing bars but I'd imagine there are standing bars that don't specialize in highballs. 

    As you can guess, standing/highball bars are bars in which everyone is standing up drinking at tall tables rather than seated. They are popular after-work bars. Perhaps they're Japanese happy hour bars. 

    Anyway, in Kyoto we went to a bar called Getto, which is a pretty great name. The bar is as big as a hallway, with lots of traditional Japanese beverages. You stand up the whole time but are essentially leaning against the wall behind you. 

    Getto bar Kyoto Japan_tn

    There I tried aged awarami, a beverage from Okinawa that is aged in ceramic containers. It tastes like shochu for the most part. A little gamey but nothing special. 

    Getto bar Kyoto Japan2_tn

    I also tried kokutojochu, which is sugar cane schochu fermented with rice mold. Basically, it's Batavia arrack and I wanted to see if it tasted the same. More or less! It was, as expected, completely disgusting, like fermented sweatsocks

    However, the cucumber was awesome.

    Getto bar Kyoto Japan cucumber_tn

    Gindaka is a highball bar in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo. It's  basically a take-out restaurant with one window facing the street and another into a tiny room for standing customers. They have a tap that serves highballs of Yamazaki 10 and Suntory Whisky (a blended whisky sometimes called "koku" which means "box" as the bottle is short and squareish.)

    Shinjuko tokyo2_tn
    (This is the neighborhood where Gindaka is located. Busy, to say the least.)

    Gindaka highball bar shinjuko tokyo on tap_tn
    (Highballs on tap, with Suntory Premium Malts beer also on tap in the middle.)

    Sign at gindaka highball bar shinjuko tokyo_tn
    (Koku bottle in ad.)

     When they served us the Koku, it came with a lemon slice, served in a plastic mug. For the Yamazaki 10, they put it in a highball glass. And when we ordered a highball with Hakushu 10 they put it in the same glass with a tiny piece of mint on top. A nice little indicator that you've moved up in your drinking choice.

    Highball of suntory at gindaka highball bar shinjuko tokyo_tn
    (First drink with Suntory Whisky.)

    Highball of yamazaki 10 gindaka highball bar shinjuko tokyo_tn
    (Second highball, Yamazaki 10 in highball glass.)

    Hakushu 10 mint garnish gindaka highball bar shinjuko tokyo_tn
    (Hakushu 10 highball, with tiny mint garnish.)

    Marugine, my hosts tell me, is the most famous highball bar in Japan. It's what I would call 'regular bar' sized, but with all tall communal tables for standing and eating or drinking. 

    Marugine highball bar tokyo_tn

     As this was my sixth bar of the evening, I am a little hazy about any other details. 

    Marugine highball bar tokyo2_tn