Right up there with Omakase, really. Recently, though, they had a guest bartender over: Shinji Iwamitsu from @rpm_by_db . RPM by D.Bespoke looks like an absolute gem, by the way. 4,000+ vinyls, shochu and cocktails. Shoot this shit right into my narrative-loving millennial veins.

Anyway, great drinks all around from Iwamitsu-san. Three creations that showed a good breadth of technique, and an off-menu custom one afterwards that was quite good too. In particular, I loved the "Potato shochu and rosemary". Bright, lively, and very balanced. Very delicious potato shochu as the base. This drink in particular really felt like a thematic cousin of Bar Shake's usual fare. IMO, at least, Bar Shake excels at using just a couple of ingredients to accentuate and really emphasize the core component - take, for instance, my beloved mangosteen saketini (more of an essence-of-mangosteen than you'll get from eating mangosteens directly) or the perfect, transparent, Bloody Mary. But you can read more on that on a previous review - look through our past posts.

Also good was the 'Mugi Alexander'. The mugi shochu tasted like whiskey (didn't manage to try it by itself though). The drink as whole tasted like a lovely chocolate milkshake. What a treat. Chocolate bitters, cacao, fresh cream, and brown sugar powder. And...lemon juice? Somewhere inside there apparently. Great mouthfeel, and it wasn't too sweet. Delicious all the way through. It's like dessert when you're too stuffed for real, solid desserts. Can people start queueing for drinks like this instead of stir-fried pearls? Can this be a thing now?

The 'rice adonis' was nice too, but have never been a fan of vermouth. Too bad we couldn't get mangosteen saketinis from Sam, since the guest shift was going on. Next time! We'll be back. Obviously.

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