DOJO PROGRAM

ENTER THE DOJO

THERE IS AN ART TO JAPANESE BARTENDING. WATCHING FROM THIS SIDE OF THE BAR, YOU CAN SEE THE EMPHASIS ON TRADITION, THE ATTENTION TO DETAIL, ICONIC ICE CARVING TECHNIQUES AND COMMITMENT TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR EVERY CUSTOMER - TO MAKE EVERY CUSTOMER’S EXPERIENCE PERSONAL AND UNIQUE.

IT’S DONE WITH SUCH FINESSE THAT IT’S EASY TO FORGET BARTENDING IN JAPAN IS AN ART ACHIEVED WITH A LOT OF HARD WORK AND DEDICATION.

Hisashi Kishi of STAR BAR and Hidetsugu Ueno of BAR HIGH FIVE Tokyo, both located in Tokyo’s Ginza neighbourhood, are two masters of the art and will share their tricks and tips with Australian bartenders in a first-of-its-kind advocacy program next August.

The program by the House of Suntory, DOJO - which translates to ‘a place to master the way’ - will teach bartenders not only the skills and meticulous techniques, but also the philosophy and customs of Japanese bartending.

Kishi-san was the first bartender to be awarded by the Japanese Government while Ueno-san was Tales of the Cocktail’s 2016 Best International Bartender. The pair will teach bartenders how to master traditional Japanese hospitality, shaking and mixing, and will delve into the mastery of advanced skills including iconic ice carving techniques, using Japanese knives, fruit cutting, garnishing and cocktail making using House of Suntory’s modern craft spirits: Suntory Whisky Toki™, Haku® Vodka and ROKU Gin.

“We are extremely proud to be launching the House of Suntory DOJO with Hisashi Kishi and Hidetsugu Ueno. Characterised by unrivalled technical mastery and unfailing attention to detail, Japanese bartending is an object of fascination and is imitated around the world. As such, these techniques and concepts need to be taught by best-in-class ambassadors of the Japanese bartending culture, and we are confident that bartenders all over the globe will welcome this program with excitement,” says BARFLY managing editor Hayley Morison.

Meet the MASTERS

Hisashi Kishi Hidetsuga Ueno

KISHI-SAN IS AN AWARD-WINNING JAPANESE BARTENDER WHO HAS PUBLISHED SEVERAL COCKTAIL BOOKS AND APPEARED ON JAPANESE TELEVISION MANY TIMES. HE IS ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPING THE MODERN JAPANESE BARTENDING TECHNIQUES AND WAS NAMED CONTEMPORARY MASTER CRAFTSMAN BY THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT IN 2008 AND TOKYO MEISTER BY THE TOKYO CITY GOVERNOR IN 2004. TODAY, HE IS THE MASTER BARTENDER AT STAR BAR, PRINCIPAL OF THE JAPAN BAR SCHOOL AND CHAIRMAN OF THE COCKTAIL CULTURAL FOUNDATION.

UENO-SAN IS ACCLAIMED BY BARTENDERS ALL OVER THE WORLD AFTER CLAIMING TALES OF THE COCKTAIL’S COVETED TITLE AND MANY OTHER NOMINATIONS AND PRIZES. HE HAS WORKED IN BARS ACROSS THE WORLD INCLUDING THAILAND, CHINA, TAIWAN AND JAPAN. HE OPENED #FINDTHELOCKERROOM IN BANGKOK, THAILAND AND BAR HIGH FIVE. THE BARS HE’S WORKED AT HAVE BEEN LISTED IN THE WORLD’S TOP BEST 50 BARS AND ASIA’S 50 BEST BARS BY DRINKS INTERNATIONAL MORE TIMES THAN YOU CAN COUNT ON TWO HANDS. HE HAS BEEN THE SENIOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE NIPPON BARTENDERS’ ASSOCIATION AND JUDGED LOCAL AND GLOBAL COCKTAIL COMPETITIONS SINCE 2018.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BARTENDING?

KISHI-SAN: About 35 years.

UENO-SAN: 30 years plus.

YOUR BAR IS RENOWNED GLOBALLY FOR MANY REASONS. DESCRIBE THE GUEST EXPERIENCE TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT YET BEEN FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO VISIT.

KISHI-SAN (STAR BAR):

Japanese craft cocktails - my focus is on serving very unique but Japanese-inspired cocktails. We also emphasise our wide range of Japanese whiskies, which were collected over 35 years of bartending. They can be ordered by the bottle or neat.

UENO-SAN (BAR HIGH FIVE): It’s a traditional Japanese bar with a relaxed atmosphere that serves locally flavoured cocktails, a lot of Japanese whisky and gin.

JAPANESE BARTENDING IS A CRAFT, A DELICATE ART FORM. WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE JAPANESE STYLE OF BARTENDING?

KISHI-SAN: We aim to make cocktails that are customised to the customer but that follow a traditional recipe. Therefore, it’s a result of adapting to the customer’s preference and the bartender’s intuition. It is different from twist-cocktails.

UENO-SAN: A deep attention to customer service and the small details in cocktails.

WHY DO YOU THINK JAPANESE BARTENDING IS SO FAMOUS?

BOTH: We do not think it is famous but there are some unique and distinctive ideas behind it and those may have been perceived that way.

YOU ARE IDOLISED BY MANY BARTENDERS, NOT ONLY IN JAPAN BUT ALSO AROUND THE WORLD. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU TEACH YOUNG, NEW BARTENDERS WHO WORK WITH YOU?

KISHI-SAN: The Japanese bar community is rooted in this country. I teach the young bartenders how to clean the bottles, how to polish the glasses and the other basic skills of Japanese bartending. It is also very important that they know how to keep the bar clean.

UENO-SAN: Patience, smiles and how to show vitality.

HOW DO YOU THINK JAPANESE BARTENDING DIFFERS FROM AUSTRALIAN AND WESTERN STYLES OF BARTENDING?

KISHI-SAN: I don’t think our techniques are superior or inferior, they are just different, particularly because of the size of our bars. The bars in Japan are comparatively small - 15 seats on average - which require different behaviours and movements at the bar when you create and serve cocktails.

ICE CARVING PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN DRINK SERVICE. HOW AND WHEN DO YOU LEARN HOW TO CARVE THE ICE DIAMOND, AND WHY DO YOU THINK IT’S SUCH AN IMPORTANT PART OF JAPANESE BARTENDING?

KISHI-SAN: Diamond ice was developed with my inspiration and embodied by Ueno-san. Ice is a very important element in cocktails, it’s an ingredient that defines the quality of a cocktail. The shape and temperature of ice are very important.

UENO-SAN: When I started working at STAR BAR, everyone else was making ice balls and we thought it was boring. So, we were looking for something different. One day, Mr Kishi was looking at an old fashioned glass with many edges and shifted from an ice ball with one edge to an ice ball with many edges that reflects the liquor and makes it appear shiny. That was about 20 years ago.

SUNTORY HAS LAUNCHED A PROGRAM THAT SHARES THE ART OF JAPANESE BARTENDING. WHAT IS THE DOJO PROGRAM IN YOUR WORDS?

KISHI-SAN: I think it will be a great opportunity to introduce our commitments to serving cocktails.

UENO-SAN: We are very excited to introduce what we have learned in Japan.

WHAT WILL BARTENDERS LEARN FROM THE DOJO PROGRAM?

KISHI-SAN: I would like you to know how we feel about Japanese bartending and the kind of cocktail philosophy we have - that we really enjoy creating and serving cocktails our customers want, rather than focusing on the right or wrong way to make cocktails.

UENO-SAN: They will learn the real meaning, purpose and goals of Japanese bartending.