The Japanese Jigger: Why It’s Different and How It’s Used
The Japanese Jigger is different than what I was used to seeing in bars. It’s taller and more slender. And the technique to pour is all about precision, and not speed, as I’m used to in the US. It’s like they are gracefully tipping the jigger, filling the glass instead of pouring it in. The difference is subtle – but I noticed it in every bar I was in.
At Bar Neno in Sapporo, staffed entirely by female bartenders who worked with the focused discipline of athletes in competition, one bartender spent her quiet moments between customers practicing jigger pours with water — executing perfect, identical shots over and over. No wasted time, motion, or conversation.
The Shake, the Stir, and Why a Manhattan Gets Stirred 100 Times
A Japanese bartender’s shake starts slowly, builds deliberately, and pulls back at the end with a deceleration that sounds like a machine winding down. It’s one of my favorite things to watch – along with the stir! The bartenders make it look so effortless, like the spoon is just hovering around the inside of the glass with no movement of the bartender’s hand – just a simple twist between the fingers.
A Manhattan stirred 100 times
The final work of art!
While on a cocktail tour in Tokyo, I went to Bar Sherlock to see how their well-known bartender, Takeshi Yoshimoto, makes a Manhattan with a very specific stirring technique. He uses a tiny mixing glass, one single ice cube, and then stirs more than 100 times briskly. Why does this matter, you ask? It allows the drink to marry the ingredients without melting the ice too fast and taking on too much water. I know it might be hard to imagine how a liquid can have texture – but this technique gives the Manhattan so much velvety, viscous feel…it’s sublime.
Why Bartenders Show You the Bottle After Your Drink Arrives
After your cocktail is delivered to you at the bar, the bartender will bring the bottles of liquor that he used and set them in front of you. Label facing you, of course. The bartender is highlighting the components that made the drink possible. It’s another way of emphasizing that cocktails are a craft rather than simply alcohol mixed together. I love this feature as it lets me learn more about a regional liquor, typically.