FROM THE BARLIST JOURNAL
Appellations
Okinawa has always looked outward. Its islands sit between Japan, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, in waters that carried merchants, ceramics, court gifts, foodways, and technical knowledge long before modern borders gave everything fixed names. Awamori belongs to that older world. The spirit now protected under the name Ryukyu did not emerge from a quiet […]
July 12, 2026
Partnership
There is a certain stillness inside Handshake Speakeasy that feels almost out of place in Mexico City. Not silence, but control. While much of the city’s bar scene thrives on energy and movement, Handshake operates with a different tempo, one built around precision, repetition, and a refusal to leave anything to chance. That approach has […]
July 11, 2026
Partnership
In 1980s London, as the city’s cocktail culture began to re-emerge after decades of decline, a new style of drink appeared that would quietly redefine how fruit could function in a modern cocktail. The Bramble, created in 1984 by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho, was not conceived as a reinterpretation of a classic, […]
July 9, 2026
Partnership
In Hong Kong, bartending is defined by rhythm. Service is fast, expectations are exacting, and consistency is assumed. For Frederick Ma, this environment was not something to adapt to; it was the foundation of his craft. Working within a system shaped by efficiency and discipline, his early years were built on repetition, where every drink […]
July 7, 2026
Partnership
Balance is one of the central ideas in bartending, yet it is rarely experienced as a single flavour or technique. It is recognised through the way a drink holds together: strength does not suppress aroma, sweetness does not obscure acidity, bitterness remains purposeful, and water gives the ingredients room to unfold. For the bartender, balance […]
July 7, 2026
Partnership
Blue agave shaped western Mexico before Tequila became a protected name. The plant was part of food, fibre, fermentation, field culture, and regional identity long before international markets began to recognise the spirit. Around the town of it, agave cultivation became tied to volcanic land, labour, haciendas, distillation, and trade. The modern category grew from […]
July 5, 2026
Cocktail of The Week
During the 1920s, under the restrictions of Prohibition, American drinkers and bartenders became used to cocktails that corrected, softened, or disguised rough spirits. Among them, the Bee’s Knees stands out for one reason: it did not disappear when better spirits returned. Instead, it moved beyond its Prohibition association, becoming one of the clearest demonstrations of […]
July 2, 2026
Partnership
Rum is often presented as one broad family, although its identity changes considerably with raw material, geography and method. In Martinique, the most distinctive tradition begins with sugarcane crushed for its fresh juice rather than processed first into crystallised sugar and molasses. That raw-material choice places Martinique within the wider world of pure cane juice […]
June 26, 2026
