Rogerio Igarashi Vaz presents 2018’s conceptual cocktail trends

Bar manager of Tokyo’s Trench and born cosmopolitan Rogerio Igarashi Vaz admits that sometimes, he spends months coming up with a single cocktail. But the result is worth it: everything about his mixtures is great, from the backstory to the presentation.

The tired combination of champagne and strawberries will have to step aside. Now everything Scandinavian is in fashion, so the new romantic trend is strawberry and akvavit.

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In Ancient Greece, the word "symposium" meant "feast", and this cocktail is clearly referencing that meaning. A complex combination of peaty and herbal notes, for true connoisseurs only. Plato and Aristotle would have found it exquisite.

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The name of the cocktail was inspired by a line from the California group Little Wings, which says to look at the world through the leaves. And by a drink where Becherovka, sake, and falernum are married together.

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This mezcal-based herbal ginger cocktail is a real magical potion. Pink Floyds will especially like it.

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In a real speakeasy bar during Prohibition, this cocktail would be a best-seller: a true dessert on the outside, and a stiff rum drink on the inside. But really, the author was inspired by the timeless hit Blueberry Hill, which has been covered by everyone under the sun.

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Photo: Shinichi Yokoyama