Best Tokyo Craft Cocktail Bars - Tokyo Craft Cocktail Series #12

Hey guys, I've owed you this one for a while, but somehow I just never got around to it. This is a roundup post where I'm going to give a quick recap of my cocktail adventures in Tokyo. Mostly I just want a central landing page for this topic. These are all of the bars I visited, along with photographic evidence and some words on my experiences at each one.I started the series with some thoughts on Japanese Cocktail Philosophy, a kind of recap of my impressions and learnings.

Craft Cocktail Bars In Tokyo

• Gen Yamamoto - Gen serves original cocktails that reflect “shiki”, Japanese seasonality, using fresh ingredients whilebuilding on a progression of flavors and harmony.
• Bar High Five - Hidetsugu Ueno's world-famous bar focuses on classic drinks and perfecting customer service.
• Kazuo Uyeda's Bar Tender - The one and only, Kazuo Uyeda serves flawless classics along with his award-winning originals.
• Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bar - Luxurious ambience and some old tiki favorites.
• Conrad Hotel Bar - Stunning views, but their ambitious mixology needs a little refinement.
• Bar Benfiddich - The perfect bar in every way. Homey, comfortable, with a true artisan behind the bar. Ben makes his own versions of classic liqueurs such as Chartreuse and Campari.
• The Stella - A modernist mixology lounge in Ebisu with barrel-aged cocktails, foams, liquid nitrogen, and smoke guns.
• CodeName: Mixology Akasaka - Molecular mixology at its finest. Don't miss the rotovap-distilled spirits in drinks such as the blue cheese cognac martini.
• Bar Trench - A small, intimate venue more in the style of a US or European craft bar.
• Bar Aliviar - A neighborhood bar mostly catering to locals. A great place to experience the less flashy side of Japanese bartending.
• Soukichi Glassware Company - A supplier of high quality glassware to many of the bars listed above.

And for those of us who are ready, here is a summary of my thoughts on Japanese Mixology.

Bars that I really wanted to visit but we didn't quite make it

• Bar Rage
• Ishi no Hana - Alcademics visited them, so you can find a little information there.

If you happen to visit one of them, why not write me a guest post?Kanpai!