Bar Profile - Mashahiro Urushido, Katana Kitten

BRINGING OUT THE BEST

OF BOTH WORLDS

BAR OWNER MASAHIRO URUSHIDO CELEBRATES AMERICAN AND JAPANESE CULTURES

In 2008, Masahiro Urushido moved from Tokyo to New York City and reentered the service industry to help financially sustain the completion of his education. Shortly after, an opportunity to join the legendary team at Saxton + Parole changed the course of his life and ultimately led to seven years behind the bar where he made an industry name for himself under the guidance of bartender icons Naren Young and Linden Pride. Less than a decade later, Urushido and his business partners James Tune and Greg Boehm opened Katana Kitten, a Japanese American bar located on Hudson Street in NYC’s West Village. Just one year after opening, Katana Kitten earned several awards, including Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New American Cocktail Bar and a coveted spot on The World’s 50 Best Bars list.

“Katana Kitten is everyone’s everyday bar. It’s charming and casual,” says Urushido. “It’s a fun neighborhood bar, with good food and good drinks. It combines authentic Japanese culinary and drinking culture with an American dive bar. Both Japanese and American elements inspire the cocktail menu in tradition and culture, and I think that draws people in.”

In keeping with his theme of fusing cultures, Urushido, born in Minowa, a small town in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, recently partnered with Dewar’s Japanese Smooth. “I was one of the first to try Japanese Smooth,” he says. “My reaction to the taste was it reminded me very delicately but distinctly of Japan and Japanese whisky.”

Dewar’s Scotch Whisky debuted its Cask Series as an exploration of the effects finishing its new 8-year-oldblend in different casks from around the world would have. Working its way through some of the most innovative and interesting casks for aging whisky, Dewar’s Blended Scotch Whisky finished in barrels including a Portuguese port, mezcal, rum casks from the Caribbean and now Japanese Mizunara oak.

Unmistakably, the line is a celebration of joining two cultures and bringing the best out of both—it’s about honoring the vibrancy and colorful flavors that embody both countries. Not unlike what Urushido does nightly at Katana Kitten.

Dewar’s Japanese Smooth is a nod to both Scotland and Japan and is its first-ever whisky aged in Japanese casks. The casks are made of Mizunara oak native to Japan, which takes 200 years to mature and is scarce and more expensive than other oak casks. To be sure, the Highball Program at Katana Kitten was an obvious fit for Dewar’s Japanese Smooth. “At Katana Kitten, we have a conceptual menu with an amazing Highball component,” remarks Urushido. “I decided to make a signature Japanese Smooth Highball with hand cut clear ice, very highly carbonated soda water and a thin slice of Nashi pear for garnish. That’s it. I thought the Asian pear aroma would complement

the Japanese component nicely. The beauty and the simplicity of this Highball is it is done consistently well and just the way people like it—absolutely icy with effervescence to the very last sip.”