Where to find the best cocktails in Tokyo and Sapporo.
Japan’s influence on bartenders can be found practically everywhere around the world these days, but nothing beats going to the source. Getting up close as a cocktail gets a maracas-like “Japanese hard shake” or seeing a barkeep hand-carving clear ice — well, that is a drinker’s paradise. Here’s where to find it.
↗ TOKYO TIPPLING
Spots like Bar BenFiddich and Bar High Five are the original tiny, perfect templates for serious Tokyo bars. But they’re wicked-hard to get into. The handful of stools facing waistcoated barmen at Bar Trench are equally coveted, but the new Bar Trench Annex across the alley is more spacious, takes reservations and serves wild concoctions like the Rusty Fig, a centrifuged Rusty Nail riff with tequila and mezcal.
The SG Club also offers multiple spaces. Guzzle is a street-level, fast-service bar with fun drinks like savoury Consommé Fizz. Reserve in advance for a rarefied experience at Sip, a vintage-themed drinking den downstairs where bar genius Shingo Gokan reinvents classics, like his mango dirty martini. Cigar smokers, enquire about the lounge upstairs.
Expats are right at home at Tokyo Confidential, a new international-style bar with stunning views (including from a terrace) of Tokyo Tower. The horseshoe-shaped bar is counter-height, allowing for a solid connection between ’tender and guest. Try the Destroy All Monsters, a freaky mix of miso-and-brown-butter-washed gin with sherry, vermouth and ponzu.
If you’re willing to order with a little sign language and menu-pointing, head to the decidedly not-touristy Old Imperial Bar, which retains the terracotta walls of the now-demolished Imperial Hotel, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1923. It’s eye-poppingly pricey here, but for pristine drinks, top-shelf spirits and (elegant) people-watching, it’s worth it.
If you’re taking off from Narita, treat yourself to a stiff drink or a take-home bottle of Cloud9, Narita Airport’s own ethical gin, made by Tokyo Riverside Distillery.
↗ SAPPORO STATE OF MIND
Tucked in a nondescript urban tower, Bar Yamazaki is named not for the cultish Japanese whisky, but for its famous founder, Tatsuro Yamazaki. He is the first bartender to receive the nation’s Imperial Prize, an honour bestowed upon him in 1993. The menu has more than 200 cocktails (including the Sapporo cocktail that was invented here), but the martinis, manhattans and sidecars are legendary.
Sapporo’s Bar Owl and Rooster is a snug spot focused on amari and absinthe, including vintage bottles. Try the tiramisù-tasting Elixir & Fromage cocktail (espresso, amaro, absinthe and mascarpone), which drinks like both a digestif and a dessert.
By Charlene Rooke
