Sometimes cocktails are born from inspiration.
Sometimes from careful experimentation.

But mostly from my endless curiosity and the desire to discover something entirely new.

I first ran across this bottle while shopping for sake at Viscount Wines & Liquor in Wappingers Falls, NY. I had never seen anything quite like it: Awamori, the traditional distilled spirit of Okinawa.

Unlike sake, Awamori is distilled, giving it a higher ABV, typically 25–45%. Unlike most shochu, it is made entirely from long-grain indica Thai rice and fermented with black koji mold in a single fermentation process.

This particular bottle comes from Kumesen Shuzo, founded in 1949 on the island of Kumejima in Okinawa. One of Japan’s premier Awamori producers, they combine traditional methods with innovative aging techniques and the pristine spring water of the island.

Then came another surprise.

While putting together an order from Suburban Wines, I discovered Scarlett Bitter Aperitivo Liqueur, from Japan of all places.

This is the flagship aperitivo from Iseya Distillery in Kanagawa Prefecture, created by veteran bartender Tatsuya “Moto” Motonaga. Inspired by both European aperitivo traditions and Japanese botanical precision, it balances vivid citrus with earthy bitterness and layered notes of blood orange, gentian, cinnamon, and jasmine.

Motonaga’s story is remarkable. After years behind the bar at some of Asia’s most creative cocktail destinations, including Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo, he traveled across Europe visiting more than 70 distilleries to study historical amaro production techniques firsthand. He returned to Japan and founded Iseya Distillery in a 100-year-old house near Lake Sagami, growing many of the botanicals himself.

As I formulated this cocktail I wanted to keep one foot firmly planted in Italy, Of course I turned to my go-to sweet vermouth: Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino.

The result was astonishingly good.

The Awamori brought savory, earthy depth that almost felt maritime. Scarlet delivered bitterness, citrus, herbs, and beautifully layered Japanese precision. Cocchi acted as the diplomat, smoothing and connecting everything while still letting each ingredient speak.

It did not become a Negroni exactly. But it absolutely lives in the same spiritual neighborhood.

A little darker.
A little more mysterious.
A little more contemplative.

The kind of cocktail where halfway through you stop and think: “Why does this work so well?”

• 1 oz Awamori
• 1 oz Scarlet Bitter Liqueur Aperitivo 2024
• 1 oz Cocchi Storico Vermouth di Torino

Stir with ice until properly cold.
Serve over a large rock.
Express an orange peel if you like. Or a touch of orange bitters
Or leave it bare and let the spirits tell the story themselves.

One of the things I love most about cocktails today is how wonderfully blurred the map has become. Okinawa, Sagami, and Torino somehow finding common ground in a single glass.

Totally improbable.
Slightly eccentric.
And very good to drink.