Latest news with #Mizunara
Forbes
07-08-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Yamazaki's Latest Single Malt Spent 25 Years In Mizunara Oak
In the past decade, Mizunara-aged whisky has become something of a worldwide phenomenon, with distilleries far and wide clamouring for casks made from the rare wood sourced from Japan. Revered for its ability to impart complex flavors often compared to incense and sandalwood, cask prices can soar into the middle four figures—if one can even find barrels available for sale. Frequently and owing in part to its scarcity, Mizunara is used as a finishing wood to impart more depth to a spirit near the end of its aging cycle. Given that context, Yamazaki's new ultra-premium single malt whisky is all the more remarkable: it spent a quarter century in Mizunari casks. And we got an early taste. Announced on August 7th, Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara is The House of Suntory's oldest 100% Mizunara-cask-aged Yamazaki. Japan's House of Suntory is no stranger to the wood variety. Founded in 1923, the Suntory-owned distillery is Japan's oldest commercial malt whisky operation. It has used Mizunari in various aging capacities since the 1940s. Indeed, famed and extraordinarily scarce expressions like Yamazaki 55 Years Old have featured 'partial Mizunara maturation,' according to the brand. But such an old, fully Mizunara-aged spirit is exceedingly uncommon. Yamazaki 25 Years Old Mizunara is bottled at 48% ABV (96 proof) and carries a suggested retail price of $7,500 or a 700 milliliter bottle. It's receiving limited distribution in select markets across the globe, including some high-end online retailers. According to the brand, it is fully distilled, matured, and bottled in Japan. So how does it taste? A heavily spiced nose opens at an intersection of seasoned wood and roasted/nutty malt, with additional scents including pine extract, nutmeg oil, cut fennel, and cooked orchard fruit. Aromas of cooked and reduced apples, pears, and peaches in syrup add some welcome sweetness that keep the nose from becoming completely dominated by spice. The first sip is approachable, with first tastes of deep chocolate malt and very ripe papaya and guava. There's an interplay between—once again—the nutty malt character and sweet fruit, the latter noticeably more tropical than on the nose. Black walnut and a barely-there thread of dark cherry lend depth without bringing too much in the way of tannins. But the whisky never strays too far from its wood-spiced core, with restrained elements of aspen, pine, birch, and cedar wood. It's a palate that seems to tiptoe right up to the edge of heavily spiced without flavors becoming discordant; there's just enough room for the fruit and grain character to flourish in tandem. The finish is length and lingers semi-heavily in the mouth, like the last sip of a rustic cream soda. Pops of sassafras and treacle punctuate for up to 30 seconds after each sip, joined by faint melted orange sherbet.
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Drink in Focus: Smoky Manhattan at Mizunara
With World Whisky Day drawing near – it's May 17, for the uninitiated – many this weekend may be looking to sip the spirit neat and unperturbed, either at home or at one of Hong Kong's many well-heeled whisky-focused establishments. One such place is the Ginza-inspired Mizunara: The Library , which has been one of the best spots to enjoy Japanese-style bartending, service and atmosphere – complete with its own Zen garden – anywhere in Hong Kong, and is helmed by group beverage director Masahiko Endo and bar manager Massimo Petovello. If you choose to celebrate World Whisky Day at Mizunara, you can enjoy a wee dram from the bar's stellar collection or, alternatively, via a precisely mixed cocktail such as the signature Smoky Manhattan. Mizunara Group beverage director Masahiko Endo. Photo: Handout 'Our Smoky Manhattan is not meant to cover 'flaws' of the Manhattan cocktail,' Endo tell us, 'but to enhance specific flavours not found in it. The Rob Roy cocktail has a hint of smokiness, but it is very subtle and does not have nutty notes. So I tried to combine these together to get it closer to a perfect flavour.' Unlike many of Hong Kong's modern cocktail creations, Endo's version of the classic was refined not through the use of extra equipment, juices or heavy ingredients processing, but by meticulously fine-tuning each step of the cocktail's construction. 'At first I separated the Manhattan into several flavour profiles, like woody, herbal, spicy, sweet, bitter and fruity,' Endo explains. 'Then I thought about what was missing from the flavour, and the answer is smokiness.' The Smoky Manhattan at Mizunara: The Library. To combat this, the Smoky Manhattan subtly introduces Islay whisky to the party – but not to the point of risking Rob Roy comparisons. The key, according to Endo, is to reverse the assembly of the cocktail.
Tatler Asia
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Tatler Asia
Tokyo's mixology maestro takes over Lobster Bar
Experience an extraordinary evening at Lobster Bar with esteemed mixologist Masahiko Endo from Mizunara: In Tokyo On Thursday, May 22, Lobster Bar welcomes renowned Tokyo-based mixologist Masahiko Endo for an exclusive one-night guest shift. Originally from Fukuoka, Endo brings over 25 years of expertise and a reputation for precision, creativity and deep respect for Japanese ingredients. As the driving force behind Mizunara: The Library in Hong Kong, ranked 71 and 86 on Asia's 50 Best Bars in 2022 and 2023, Endo is a name that commands attention. From 6.30pm until late, Endo will be behind the bar crafting cocktails using Kanosuke whisky, a modern spirit shaped by Japan's shochu heritage. Each drink (HK$168) draws on seasonal ingredients like yuzu, peach and pineapple to highlight the whisky's nuanced profile. The evening's menu features inventive twists on classics: Jungle in Kagoshima: Kanosuke Single Malt meets Campari, pineapple, coconut water and orgeat for a tropical riff on the Jungle Bird with a hint of nuttiness. Kanosuke Summer Julep: Peach, passion fruit and mint bring a bright, fruity vibrancy to this summer-ready serve. Umami Dashi Fashioned: A bold rework of the Old Fashioned, blending Hioki Pot Still with yuzu, mirin and savoury dashi for a balanced umami finish. Double Citrus Collins: Kanosuke Double Distillery, dekopon syrup and ginger ale combine for a citrus-forward cooler with a spicy lift. A rare chance to experience one of Japan's most respected bartenders in action—no reservations required.
Japan Times
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
The cold complexity of 'pure' Japanese cocktail ice
In the dim light of Ginza's Star Bar, a Negroni seems to radiate an amber glow. The cocktail all but conceals a large cube of ice carved to fit the rocks glass exactly. No effort has been spared in its creation: Moments before pouring the cocktail, the bartender diligently fans the crystalline cube to warm its surface to minimize the risk of it cracking when liquid is added. Seen from above, the ice, which the bar calls 'ninja ice,' frames the Star Bar logo printed on the coaster. Viewed directly from the side, however, the cuboid ice mysteriously vanishes, earning its moniker. Ninja ice is actually hard to find (no pun intended) in Japanese bars. Instead, the majority of ice is known as 'junpyō' (pure ice), which is made by removing impurities as water freezes. This is then shipped in blocks to be carved up as each bar or restaurant desires. The so-called "ninja ice" at Star Bar appears to vanish in the glass. | PHOEBE AMOROSO High-quality ice is readily available in Japan, says Kyuma Mogi, assistant manager at Mizunara: In Tokyo, a bar that serves a range of cocktails, whiskies and shōchū (a distilled Japanese spirit) in the heart of Tokyo's Kagurazaka neighborhood. 'We're part of the Shinjuku district so we use the locally supplied (ice manufacturer) Shinjuku Seihyo,' he says. 'The quality is undisputed, and we can secure quick restocking. If we order the night before, we have no problem receiving it the next day.' Bartenders widely agree that a well-made drink depends on the rate of dilution of the ice. 'Ultimately, it's all about controlling the amount of water that melts from the ice,' says Hidetsugu Ueno, bartender-owner of Ginza's High Five, who has earned global recognition for his ice-carving skills. 'So the size, shape and temperature (of the ice) will affect the taste and aroma of the cocktail.' None of this is possible, however, without exceptional ice — and for that, top-quality water is paramount. Mogi says that impurities not only risk cloudiness but also impact the way the ice cracks when being broken down to size for use in drinks. 'We take a knife and sort of tap the ice,' he explains. 'The impact of the blade should result in a clean split, but if there are impurities, the split will be less clean and (result in) angles you're not exactly looking for.' The "junpyō" (pure ice) made by Kuramoto Ice is slowly frozen to release impurities that can affect the final look. | KURAMOTO ICE Another key element is how the water is frozen, which impacts the hardness of the ice. This is crucial for cocktails that involve shaking, says Mogi. If the ice is too soft and crushes too much, it not only affects the rate of melting, diluting the cocktail, but it also limits how long or hard a drink can be shaken. This impacts the aeration — the amount of air worked into the ingredients —- and the resultant drink. 'Alcohol reacts differently based on the aeration,' he says. 'While it very much depends on the ingredients, sometimes cocktails might become mellower or more rounded with more aeration — they might have less of a harsh edge. Then there's texture. To give you an easy example, if you have a dairy product like cream or milk and shake it well, you get a very foamy top.' Slow and chill A lot of Japan's water is soft water, making it ideal for quality ice production, says Kazuhiko Kuramoto, the fifth-generation owner of Kanazawa-based ice manufacturer Kuramoto Ice. Yet beyond the raw material, a careful and lengthy production process is necessary. Kuramoto Ice freezes water slowly for over 72 hours at around minus 10 degrees Celsius, a process that ensures only the pure components of water are frozen and impurities are left behind. The water is also agitated to remove micro air bubbles, resulting in a crystal clear ice that is structurally sound. Kuramoto Ice freezes its ice very slowly for over 72 hours at around minus 10 degrees Celsius. | KURAMOTO ICE Founded in 1923, Kuramoto Ice, initially bought ice from manufacturers and processed it before selling it to bars and restaurants. However, decline in the ice production industry over the past decade prompted it to pivot to making junpyō in 2015. 'Ice businesses nationwide were starting to go out of business, so we felt that we had to do it ourselves,' explains Kuramoto. 'The other thing was we wanted to create a brand for ice and then to freely make the ice we wanted.' It's a move that has paid off. In 2019, Kuramoto became the first Japanese ice company to export ice to bars and restaurants in the United States. The company was contacted by Naoto Yonezawa, who was working in product development for an importer and distributor in Los Angeles. Disappointed by what he found to be low-quality ice in the U.S., he had looked into making it locally but found much of the water too hard to be suitable. Labor costs meant that it was more economical to import high-quality junpyō from Japan instead. In 2024, Kuramoto Ice exported 323 metric tons of its purified ice to the U.S. | KURAMOTO ICE After researching various suppliers, he contacted Kuramoto Ice. Convinced by their shared vision of introducing quality ice to the U.S., he left his job in 2020 and established Kuramoto Ice's North American operations. Exports from Japan initially began small, with a trial shipment of just 7 metric tons to the U.S. in 2019, but soared to 323 metric tons in 2024. This overseas demand has helped push Kuramoto Ice's profit to a record high of ¥300 million in 2024. It's now shipping to Australia and Singapore and aims to expand into Mexico and Canada. Praising its 'exceptional purity, clarity and structural integrity,' Shintaro Eleazar Tozzo, head chef at Bar Moga, a Japanese-style bar in New York City, is delighted to be able to source Kuramoto Ice. 'Their meticulous 72-hour freezing process removes impurities and air bubbles, resulting in ultradense ice that melts slowly without overdiluting drinks,' Tozzo says in an email. 'Compared with locally available ice, Kuramoto Ice provides a level of consistency and craftsmanship that aligns with our dedication to quality.' The mountain's gift Elsewhere, the sourcing of ice is being taken to new heights — quite literally. Star Bar's 'ninja ice' is not made of junpyō at all but rather natural ice harvested from the snowy slopes of Nagano Prefecture's Mount Tateshina. Hisashi Kishi, Star Bar owner and Japan's Cocktail Culture Foundation chairman, harvests his own natural ice from a mountain in Nagano Prefecture. | STAR BAR Hisashi Kishi, owner of Star Bar and chairman of Japan's Cocktail Culture Foundation, claims to be the first person in more than 100 years to obtain a license to harvest natural ice in Japan. Searching for a suitable harvesting location, he analyzed data on water cleanliness in areas where the temperature stays around minus 10 C for 23 weeks of the year. He eventually settled on Tateshina as a candidate site and set about building the trust of the local government and people to gain permission for his venture 'At first, everyone was a bit suspicious, asking who that strange guy was,' Kishi says. 'But gradually people began to support me.' Kishi is now in his fifth year of harvesting ice and third year of offering natural ice on Star Bar's menu. Star Bar has been making cocktails with naturally harvested ice for three years. | PHOEBE AMOROSO 'Junpyō makes the alcohol taste a little stronger, but it's not that it's bad,' Kishi says. 'Natural ice, by comparison, makes cocktails taste more refreshing.' Science aside, one thing is crystal clear: A lot of the charm of Japanese ice lies in its aesthetics. Kachiwari ice — blocks of junpyō broken into smaller, irregular pieces — is commonly used throughout bars in Japan and has become Kuramoto Ice's most popular product, though the company notes this stands at odds with minimizing ice's surface area to reduce dilution. It's far from the only delicious contradiction in the world of high-quality Japanese ice — for Star Bar's ninja ice, so much care and effort behind a vanishing trick in the glass.
New York Times
21-03-2025
- New York Times
In Japan, Timeshares Are Back, and Cooler Than Ever
In the foothills of Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, jagged lava formations dot the landscape — remnants of a 1783 eruption that swallowed villages and permanently scarred the land. A nearby park pocked with dark volcanic rock is called Onioshidashien, or Expelling Demons. Nearby, a crop of angular polyhedrons appeared last year, joining the lava deposits in this forested region about 90 miles northwest of central Tokyo. But these new objects arrived with skylights and saunas. The Mount Asama area, which one local tourism site calls 'one of the best spots in Japan to witness the threat of nature,' may seem an unlikely place for a showcase of modern design. But these geometric vacation homes mark the return of a trend that went out of fashion in Japan's post-1980s economic decline: timeshares. Built on platforms, the 14 Moss prefabricated cabins, designed by the architect Kotaro Anzai for the timeshare startup Sanu, have floor-to-ceiling windows to bring in views of the surrounding forest of Japanese maple, elm, magnolia and Mizunara oak. At 516 square feet, each cabin can accommodate four guests. Amenities include pellet stoves, wine cellars and, in some cases, private saunas and electric-vehicle chargers. Apart from their unusual geometric design, the cabins' main attraction may be their furniture, which is made entirely from Japanese wood: cypress, cedar and larch for the structures, cedar for the deck and window frames, and chestnut for the beds. A short drive away, Sanu's cluster of slightly larger, A-frame-style cabins also feature cedar and other Japanese woods. Inspired by honeycombs, the Bee bungalows have sleeping nooks with two semidouble beds framed by semicircular, slatted interior walls. There's plenty of light from large windows under the 13-foot ceilings, and some decks have wooden barrel saunas for warming up during the long winters. With their quirky shapes, lavish appointments and alluring settings, this new generation of timeshares is attracting remote workers, co-owners and investors ranging from middle-class families to global celebrities. They offer a fractional ownership system that is new to Japan — part of the redrawing of a tourism and leisure industry that has been shaken up by the rise of hybrid work and a surge of inbound visitors over the past few years. 'Owning a cottage can be very expensive in Japan, but we can overcome that through sharing,' said Gen Fukushima, 38, the chief executive of Sanu, which began operations in 2021 with the Bee cabins. 'We want to give people the chance to live and work remotely in a natural environment.' Sanu offers two basic services: Subscribers can pay a monthly fee of 55,000 yen (about $370) for up to seven nights at more than 30 sites across Japan. They can also buy shares of the properties for 12 nights a year starting at around 4 million yen ($27,000), including the right to sell unused nights back to the company. 'There's a growing trend to enjoy the stay itself, like staying put in a specific area and experiencing local life, or incorporating remote work in an environment surrounded by nature,' said Arata Kawamoto, 41, an engineer working in Tokyo who became a Sanu co-owner. 'This year I plan to invite my family and friends to enjoy fishing and stargazing.' Timeshares were a more popular concept in Japan's high-growth heyday and, more recently, before the yen lost about a third of its peak value. The country's timeshare market developed in the 1990s and early 2000s, centered on high-rise beachfront properties in Hawaii run by major hotel chains, as well as some domestic 'resort clubs' that offered a similar experience (but usually without a kitchen). The yen's recent drop has hit hard for the roughly 100,000 Japanese who own timeshares in Hawaii, with many struggling to sell their units because of increasingly expensive fees in dollars. Despite all this, Yasushi Asami, an urban engineering professor at the University of Tokyo, said Japanese consumers are once again warming to properties that offer flexibility as the app-based sharing economy gains traction in Japan. 'In terms of the real estate market, it used to be popular to purchase resort condominiums or villas, but recently, there are risks to owning them,' Mr. Asami said. 'So I think timeshare and accommodation types are becoming more popular.' Membership resort hotels, led by brands such as Tokyo's Prince Hotels, are expanding their offerings. The Orlando-based Hilton Grand Vacations, which operates nearly 200 timeshare resorts around the world, is opening a complex with 63 one-bedroom units in Kyoto, its third in Japan. At the other end of the spectrum are smaller-scale properties with heritage or high style. Some entrepreneurs are making use of Japan's millions of abandoned houses, or akiya, by turning them into shared accommodation. Kessaku, a startup founded in 2024, wants to protect heritage houses at risk of ruin or demolition by preserving them as timeshares. Starting from $15, investors can acquire fractional ownership and use of these homes; with enough shares, they can earn free nights or rent out the property to others. Kessaku currently has two properties: a 100-year-old merchant's residence in Yakage, Okayama Prefecture, with traditional tatami mats, shoji screens and fusuma sliding doors; and a 19th-century mae-nagare-style farmhouse in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture. 'I'm very interested in architecture and heritage preservation, and love the style and craftsmanship of traditional Japanese houses, so it's sad to see the loss of so many them across the country,' said the investor Nettah Yoeli-Rimmer, 40, a lecturer in Spanish literature and culture at the University of Antwerp who plans to use his Kessaku shares to recoup his investment through rentals. 'The Yakage property appealed because of its location — relatively easy to access by train, but off the beaten path.' Then there's the high end. Back in the Mount Asama region, a Tokyo-based startup called Not a Hotel has opened luxury accommodations such as Irori, a 2,684-square-foot structure that sleeps eight and evokes the clean lines of Frank Lloyd Wright. Its architect, Tessey Suma, centered the glass-walled house on its irori hearth, a dining space in traditional farmhouses. Wings lead off to bedrooms, a sauna overlooking a terrace and garden, and a bath fed by hot springs. Irori is in a gated subdivision with nine other Not a Hotel properties, including Base L, a black A-frame-style structure designed by Yosuke Aizawa of White Mountaineering that can sleep eight, has 1,700 square feet, a hot spring bath, a sauna and a private garden. These homes are designed to fill a void: There aren't enough stylish properties in Japan with a legacy of high design to meet the needs of international visitors, said David Marx, a company spokesman. Near a turntable in the Base lounge are vinyl records by artists like Bill Evans, Nina Simone and Takuya Kuroda, a jazz trumpeter. Two others who would fit right in are the singer Pharrell Williams and the record producer Nigo, both Louis Vuitton designers and now investors and advisers to Not a Hotel. The company's designers include the Norwegian firm Snøhetta, which conceived a mountaintop lodge in the ski resort of Rusutsu, accessible only via ski lift or helicopter. And Nigo, who doubles as a designer, is building a cliff-side house overlooking Tokyo Bay that will feature hotel-style guest pods and, on the roof, a 14-foot stainless steel astronaut sculpture by the American artist Brian Donnelly, a.k.a. KAWS. Buoyed by the cheap yen and surging inbound tourism, Not a Hotel says it has amassed contracts valued at 37.6 billion yen ($253 million) from nearly 750 co-owners since its establishment in 2020. The company's founder and C.E.O., Shinji Hamauzu, said the fractional ownership model allows clients to buy only as much as they need — one twelfth of a property allows 30 nights. 'Many affluent people today are able to work from wherever, and they like to travel around rather than commit to a single place every year,' Mr. Hamauzu said. 'Every time we expand our properties, we give owners new places to go.'
