Ben Fiddich. Shinjuku. Tokyo. Japan. 11.15.2018.

Hiroyasu Kayama may be the greatest and most graceful bartender I have ever experienced. In fact, I told him he was a super bartender when he walked us to the elevator and I bowed very deeply as a sign of respect. Although I am extremely allergic to alcohol, you do find me taking up to 3 sips of each at restaurants and bars to see if they are any good at making drinks and to test the wine pairings. Ben Fiddich is out of this world good. Naturally. It is listed as one of the world's top 50 bars. Hiroyasu Kayama does farm to bar. He grows all the ingredients and herbs at his parent's farm north of Tokyo and makes all his cocktails from scratch with fresh and dried ingredients. I even saw him make Campari from scratch. Anyone with a deep love for proper cocktails needs to go to this bar in Tokyo. There is no sign, so you need to know where you are going. There is also no menu. I told them that I cannot have high alcohol content and that my palette tends toward sweet and fruity when it comes to cocktails. He made me a yuzu gin cocktail. And yes, it was perfection. As is its cozy atmosphere.

Ben Fiddich
Japan
〒160-0023 Tokyo
Shinjuku
Nishishinjuku
1 Chome−13−７ 大和家ビル9F