Yoshinogawa Ginjo Gokujo, Saketini & A peach cannot defeat Tai Lung!

What actually Sake is, how it is manufactured, what kind of resources are needed to make it and also what quality differences exist: I have written a few lines about all these aspects in my article about the Gekkeikan Nouvelle Tokubetsu Honjozo Sake. So if you want to to read more about the basic principles of the brewed Japanese traditional drink in a short and concise manner, please take a look at this article. Especially since today’s article again is about sake and it also shows how multifaceted the Japanese “rice wine” can be. Read More

Pure Spirits: The Choya Single Year – Married under Cherry Trees

Even though I have first used the Japanese Umeshu liqueur from the ume apricot in the eponymous cocktail here on the blog, Umeshu has been the main center of attention during the last weeks. My article about three Choya-Umeshus and various cocktails document this focus and also show what you can do with this liqueur. Today’s bottle shows that there are also further quality levels within this particular genus of liqueurs. Read More

Pure Spirits: Dry Fly Washington Bourbon 101 & The Avenue

If you should have asked yourself whether there is also a bourbon made at the Dry Fly distillery while reading my recent articles about the Dry Fly Cask Strength Straight Wheat Whiskey or the Dry Fly Port Finish Wheat Whiskey, today it is exactly about that. However, being a “Washington Bourbon” it is not really a classic one. But of course, a bourbon that is not a “Kentucky Straight Bourbon” can also be a really good bourbon. Read More

Oriental Fashioned

If you are concerned with spirits and cocktails, you will automatically have to think about possible combinations of ingredients on a regular basis. And very often such thoughts are not only guided by taste and flavor, but more or less intentionally by a certain “flair” of some ingredients. There is undoubtedly the tendency to combine regionally close ingredients with each other or to honor a specific cultural sphere. Whether you’ll have a classic South-American cocktail, Italian vermouth drinks or a Caribbean-Polynesian Tiki concoction – the principle is basically a ubiquitous one. Read More

Pure Spirits: Tokiwa Kome Shōchū & Tokiwa Mugi Shōchū

Shōchū (焼 酎) is considered the traditional Japanese spirit. While the brewed sake as a “rice wine” is endemic to the lower alcohol ranges and the Umeshu is a Shōchū-based liqueur, the Shōchū itself is the pure, genuine-Japanese spirit drink. Sometimes it is also called “Japanese vodka”, which is not really a viable term. But what exactly is the Japanese spirit Shōchū? And how does Shochu taste? Read More

Eau d’Épices

It has been a while now since I presented and reviewed the Isle of Harris Gin here in the blog. Anyone who keeps track of my posts will probably remember that I’ve really loved this gin and gave it a very high personal rating. In fact I have presented relatively few gin cocktails here in the meantime and among those recipes most drinks even called for very specific and rather unusual gins. Today, however, I finally want to show you a cocktail that relies on the wonderful and unique taste of the Isle of Harris Gin. Read More

Enchanté, Mandarin

Often the drinks on the full-aromatic side with a straightforward character are the ones which spread quickly and sell good. They are usually not particularly complicated, have one or two distinguished flavors and thereby make you happy. But, of course, there are also the gentler and more filigree representatives that are nonetheless a wonderful addition to the world of cocktails. But they usually demand a little more concentration and are characterized by their subtleties. I would like to introduce such a drink today. Read More