Blog
Stories from behind the bar: cocktails, ramen, Japanese culture, and life on the Lower East Side.
SakeFeb 20, 2026Daishichi Minowamon: Kimoto, Super-Flat Polishing, and the Hard Way of Making SakeA Junmai Daiginjo from Daishichi in Fukushima, founded 1752 — brewed entirely by the labor-intensive kimoto method, and the first sake made with their super-flat rice polishing.CocktailsFeb 17, 2026Masahiro Okinawa Gin: A Gin Distilled on an Awamori BaseBitter melon, guava leaf, hibiscus and shikuwasa, distilled onto awamori rather than neutral spirit. Okinawa's climate in a bottle, at 47%.SakeFeb 13, 2026Rydeen Beer: Craft Beer From the Hakkaisan Sake Brewery in NiigataHakkaisan has made sake at the foot of Mount Hakkai since 1922. Rydeen is their beer brand, built on the same famously soft snowmelt water.WhiskyFeb 10, 2026Ichiro's Malt & Grain: A World Blend Finished in ChichibuIchiro Akuto blends Japanese malt with Scotch, Irish, Canadian and American whisky — then ages the imported components again in Chichibu before bottling.FoodFeb 6, 2026Katsu Curry: Why Real Japanese Curry Is Mom's CurryJapanese curry came from the British navy and got thickened like a French sauce. But the version that matters is the one your mom made, and no two are the same.SakeFeb 3, 2026Snow Angel Nigori: A Sake Whose Brewery Won't Say Who It IsYuki no Tenshi is a private-label nigori from a major Hyogo brewery that keeps its name off the bottle. Soft, creamy, 12.5% — and the easiest sake we pour.ShochuJan 30, 2026Zuisen Awamori: Hakuryu, Hiryu and Kouryu From Below Shuri CastleA distillery founded in 1887 in Naha, in one of the three historic awamori districts — and the people who brought a pre-war black koji strain back from a university freezer.WhiskyJan 27, 2026Hibiki Japanese Harmony: Three Distilleries, Five Casks, Twenty-Four FacetsSuntory's flagship blend draws malt from Yamazaki and Hakushu and grain from Chita, across five cask types including mizunara. The bottle has 24 sides for a reason.FoodJan 23, 2026Brown Butter Miso Ramen: The Bowl I Made to Get Through a COVID WinterOur most popular ramen started as something I made for myself while standing outside in the cold, when we weren't allowed to seat anyone indoors.BeerJan 16, 2026Iwate Kura Oyster Stout: A Japanese Stout Brewed With Real Oyster ShellsA stout from Sekinoichi Shuzo in Iwate, brewed with oyster shells from Sanriku's Hirota Bay — reviving an old British style in northern Japan.ShochuJan 13, 2026Ikikko Koji Whisky: Barley Shochu Technique, Eight Years in OlorosoFrom Iki Island, the birthplace of barley shochu. Two-thirds unmalted barley, one-third white koji rice, single distilled, then eight years in ex-Oloroso casks.
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