This was both interesting and amazing. It’s inspiring how he braved working in a country so utterly different where he is from and rising to the top!

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so in-depth and amazing! Not just about the cocktails, but in it's finesse it includes origins and details that make each drink a masterpiece. I just wish I was granted a hard copy rather than an ecopy as this is definitely a keeper! Bravo authors - this was fabulous!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Masahiro Urushido & Michael Anstendig and Mariner Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written. The photography is absolutely beautiful. This is a enjoyable informative book. I really enjoyed reading this book. It makes you want to try these cocktails. This book is in stores for $30.00 (USD).

This book is one that I will always keep next to my bar. What a fantastic and well-written cocktail book.

I didn't know Japan has a cocktail culture like this. I really like reading the preface, about the author's journey. Very interesting. The pictures in this book are also pleasing to see. Many of the drinks I haven't heard before, but I am curious to try.

Cool concept, good execution. I definitely felt like I learned a lot and have more bartending goals for the future!

The Japanese Art of the Cocktail was a book that surprised me. I expected to learn a lot about Japanese culture through the lease of cocktails but the detail that was put in to the recipes and artistry of the photography were captivating. The recipes may not be for the faint of heart or those without a relatively full bar set up. But, even without the recipes are clear and you're drawn in to the love and thoughtfulness that went in to each cocktail. The snack suggestions were an added bonus. Certainly an excellent cocktail book for an enthusiast and a good book to pique the interest of the intermediate hoping to learn.

This is a great view into Japanese culture and food through the lens of cocktails! The recipes were all unique and captivating. The photos made me want to try every single one! This book will have me making no shortage of cocktails at future parties and get-togethers. This is a great book for anyone who is interested in other cultures, and would particularly make a great gift for the culturally refined cocktail/Japan lover in your life.

Masahiro Urushido’s The Japanese Art of the Cocktail is a beautiful and fascinating cocktail book. I love the stunning full-colour pictures and the lovely page design. I learned so much about Japanese culture as well as cocktail making! However, this book is definitely not for the amateur cocktail enthusiast as the specialized ingredient lists are lengthy and the drink-making process is complicated and requires specialty equipment.

The first portion of the book introduces readers to mixologist Urushido and his background. We learn about Japan’s drinking culture, the Japanese approach to cocktails, what constitutes a Japanese bar, and Japanese bartending styles and techniques. I think this section could have been better written and organized.

The cocktails have gorgeous full-page and full-colour pictures. I love the simple but sophisticated staging of the cocktails because it really allows the drinks and their lovely garnishes to shine. The page design and text are also elegant and easy-to-read.

The cocktails are enchantingly unique, innovative, and loving tributes to Japanese culture. The recipes are clear, well-detailed, and easy-to-follow. Urushido begins each recipe with a very informative paragraph detailing interesting facts about the cocktail. Some readers might find the descriptions to be lengthy but I learned so many amazing things about each cocktail like the history of its creation, fascinating Japanese cultural titbits, taste, why a certain ingredient is used, as well as what makes it different from similar cocktails.

I also love the cool and relevant drink names! The pretty Calpico Swizzle is an homage to the beloved Japanese soft drink, the Goma Colada jazzes up the typical pina colada with sesame paste, and Valley Stream is a vibrant green punch which blends cold-brewed sencha green tea and honeydew-daiginjo sherbet with a variety of alcohols.

Throughout every single recipe, you can clearly see the love, time, and effort that goes into the drink-making process. Every detail, from the garnishes to the glassware, is exquisitely thought-out. Many of the recipes also consist of components that are made completely from scratch! There are recipes for interesting things like kinako sugar, white miso crème fraiche, truffle butter-washed whiskey, and yuzu-lemon sherbet syrup.

I love the inclusion of a little section on bar snacks. Deviled eggs are livened up with Kewpie mayonnaise and Japanese Karashi mustard while fries are jazzed up with dried seaweed. I also appreciate the guide to Japanese markets in America as well as the section on the Japanese pantry which introduced me to many ingredients used in the book.

However, these drinks are not approachable to the beginner or intermediate home cocktail enthusiasts. While there are a few simpler cocktails, most of the recipes are complicated. The ingredient lists are lengthy and require many expensive specialty ingredients. Furthermore, many of the cocktails feature a multitude of steps.

I really would recommend this book to a very dedicated and advanced mixologist. However, this book is definitely worth buying for the stunning pictures and the fascinating cultural insight.




🍹 🍹 🍹 🍹 out of 5 cocktails!

A perfect book about food. Joyous, loving, beautiful, and delectable. Every page brings a new exciting discovery.

The recipes are very involved. The presentation is very inspiring. Each has its own halo. You will regale anyone you choose to call friends and invite them home to serve these drinks.

While there are indeed recipes as one might expect in a book such as this, the book is more about the artistry of these drinks. I read an eBook ARC and I can already tell you I did not get the full experience. This is a book to have a physical copy of, a large coffee table book no doubt that will allow one to immerse themselves in the feeling rather than just reading the words and taking a quick look at the pictures. This is a book that provides ideas, history, culture context, it is all around a book that works on multiple levels and the authors are to be commended.

The photographs are stunning, the recipes though range in terms of difficulty (some items may be a little harder to find without going to a specialty shop), and some of them the price tag would be EXTREMELY high for. Honestly, if you're wanting this book to recreate the drinks, it may be a bit impractical. It really shines as more of a photobook and cultural study.

All around a love letter to the art of Japanese cocktail. Recommended to anyone interested in the subject from a historical/cultural standpoint, but maybe not so much for those just wanting to make their own beverages 3/5 stars

My thanks to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank the authors and publisher for kindly providing an electronic review copy of this book.

"The Japanese Art of the Cocktail" by Masahiro Urushido and Michael Anstendig showcases drink and food recipes featured at the Katana Kitten, a famous Japanese-American bar in New York City. The recipes are detailed and include informative history, tips, and beautifully vivid photographs. Additional instructions are provided regarding techniques and how to obtain or make unusual ingredients. Perhaps the most important thing that can be said about the recipes is that they all look totally delicious.

Before going into more detail, it must be said that while as this is a beautiful coffee table style cookbook that wonderfully covers Japanese-American beverages and bar foods, this book is also an artistic and useful advertisement for both the Katana Kitten and the award winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido.

The first 50 pages or so introduces the author, his motivation and influences, along with Japanese drinking traditions and materials. The recipes themselves are split into categories of highballs, cocktails, boilermakers, author's favorites, recipes from friends, and finally bar snacks. Almost all of the recipes are a creative blend of Japanese and American ideas, ingredients, and culture. The book ends with ten pages or so of glossary and recommendations of markets throughout the U.S. that would be useful when making these recipes.

Although nearly every drink in this book is a work of art, two of them really appealed to me. Regrettably, I can not purchase the 5,000 USD Toki Highball making machine praised by the authors, but I will be following Urashido's tips to make a better highball. I was also amazed to read about the superhuman efforts required for Urashido's Hinoki Martini. The fragrance of hinoki cypress is certainly magical, and the nihonshu that I have quaffed in the traditional hinoki masu certainly smelled and tasted wonderful, so I am pretty certain that the signature Hinoki Martini must be most worthy.

I would like to offer appreciation to co-author Michael Anstendig on his quest to bring Japanese cultural cuisine to the world through his book series. I look forward to reading his future books.

Finally, I look forward to my next trip to NYC, when I plan to pay a visit to the Katana Kitten to experience Urashido's beverages in person!

I received The Japanese Art of the Cocktail as part of a NetGalley giveaway.

My husband's grandmother was Japanese and has spent time in the country with his relatives; he says that Japan is known for perfecting things initially created by others. This seems to hold true for cocktails, at least, which crossed the Pacific from America in the late 19th century. In contrast to the showy approach taken by many American bartenders, precision and craft is the name of the game in Japan. The Japanese Art of the Cocktail explores Japan's unique twist on the cocktails and the flavors and philosophy that dictate it.

There are quite a few drinks here, but there's a lot of cultural context as well, which is really useful and illuminating. The presentation is gorgeous, with a clean layout and beautiful photography. Can't wait to break this out for our next get-together.

The Japanese Art of the Cocktail is a visually stunning and elaborately presented ode to the artistry of Japanese barcraft. Due out 1st June 2021 from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it's 288 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is a really beautiful book. It does include recipes, but honestly it's the gorgeously rendered photographs which elevate this bar book to the ultimate top shelf. Author Masahiro Urushido is the award winning mixologist behind the bar and an owner at Katana Kitten in NYC. The recipes are exotic and refined and exquisitely presented.

These are -beautifully- made cocktails and the blending ingredients are exotic, colorful, and will be moderately difficult and expensive to source (fino jarana sherry, Hinoki tincture (for which the author includes a recipe), specific plum brandies, and others with which I was even less familiar).
Some of the ingredients should be available at any well stocked grocery/liquor store although most will need to be sourced at specialists or recreated by the reader.

Cocktails are such a civilized interlude and this book includes a solid cross section of (new and variations on old) drinks to build mixology skills and impress one's friends at the next gathering.
Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

While I can appreciate this book as a history and a bit of a love letter to the art of Japanese cocktail making, as a recipe book for the home bartender, this book is impractical. The photos are gorgeous and I liked the history of both Japanese cocktail making in general as well as the author's bar, so I could see a physical edition making for a great coffee table book. But as someone who enjoys mixing up cocktails and trying new things, unfortunately I don't see myself turning to this book for recipes.

This stunning book is a deep dive into the ingredients, techniques and styles of cocktails in Japan in addition to just cocktail recipes. The book features beautiful photographs and lots of detailed information for professional bartenders and very enthusiastic home bartenders.

I’m somewhere in between DNF,ing or using this eBook as a resource.

I wish I had it as a coffee table book as I feel that it how it will shine.
As a cookbook, I thought it was more artistic and nostalgic than useful as many of the ingredients and recipes for the cocktails were expensive and out of reach in my location.

It was akin to Orpah’s cookbook in terms of relatability. I felt a little in over my head.
The vision was there, the artistry was there, execution is missing.

I do not recommend this title.
2 Stars

A little bit heartbroken that I picked up this book during my Dry January that has extended to present and in the midst of a time where I cannot travel to a good Japanese market (this book lists some!) to gather ingredients. Just an absolutely stunning book that truly follows through on the promise of "art." One of my favorite aspects of this book is the inclusion of bar eats that I can't wait to prepare for friends after entertaining is back on the menu. A necessary addition to any bartending book collection that you'll love perusing any time.