New Book Coming Soon: Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato

Published Jan. 28, 2010 at 10:23 a.m.

The year's list of new cocktail books is starting out rather nicely with the upcoming release of Japanese Cocktails. In this one author Yuri Kato, publisher of CocktailTimes.com, enlightens the reader to the drinks of Japan with classic and modern cocktails that feature the country's best spirits.

Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato

The highlights of this book are by far the cocktails themselves, with chapters devoted solely to sake, shochu, and Japanese whisky and a fourth section of Kato's drinks made with other spirits mixed with yuzu, aloe and the like to retain that Asian flair. All of the drinks are creative, though they do range from simple to complex, and integrate Japanese flavors and ingredients even beyond the spirit. Those like the Zen Milk Bath and the Hanabi - a sort of simple Bloody Mary with an intriguing wasabi shochu - show the possibilities that these spirits are open to beyond preconceived ideas we may have for flavor pairings. I also like the exclusive use of gomme syrup as a sweetener, which I think is cohesive to the intensity of the drinks and always works well with sake and shochu.

As a little bonus, Kato tells the story of Japan's drinking culture, customs and highlights hotspots for those considering the country as a travel destination. Overall, it is a fascinating book, one that I found an enlightening and brief journey to a culture of drinks that is often shrouded in mystery and tales for many people in the West...The book will be released online in February, but can be pre-ordered now at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, and in other bookstores in March.

As an extra bonus for this book review, Lance Mayhew and I have each taken an independent look at Japanese Cocktails, with his focusing on the whisky.

Read my review of Japanese Cocktails and Mayhew's review...

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New Book Coming Soon: Japanese Cocktails by Yuri Kato originally appeared on About.com Cocktails on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 10:23:28.

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