Day One of my shochu tour (pilgrimage?) began in NYC with a long flight to Tokyo’s Narita Airport with a brief layover before flying to Fukuoka and taking the subway to my hotel in the central Tenjin neighborhood. Bleary eyed and slaphappy after 21 hours of travel I realized I should eat something before going to sleep. The hotel staff did what they could to find me a yakitori restaurant, but each place I tried was closed (this was about 11pm on a Monday night). I finally settled on a yakiniku restaurant that was still open. The waiter had visited New York before so was plenty chatty. I started off the trip with an unsurprising Kuro Kirishima imo shochu. This was the last time I’d drink the most popular imo shochu in Japan on this trip. The waiter then recommended “Okinawan shochu” – Awamori from a clay pot. I gladly accepted a glass to go with my grilled steak dinner. The tender, rare meat was from nearby Kumamoto Prefecture, known for their high quality beef. Sadly I didn’t get the name of the Awamori I had, but it was tasty.
While a smarter man might have called it a night after dinner, I decided to press on and find a bar a friend had told me about. According to google it was within a few blocks of where I was staying. The waiter and chef had never heard of it despite it being a 3 minute walk from their restaurant, but they looked it up for me and marked it on my hotel map. If they hadn’t done so I never would have found it on my own.
On the map, Bar Rev looks like it’s a couple side streets off a main thoroughfare. The first side street is actually a narrow sidewalk barely fit for a motorcycle, or perhaps a Japanese microcar, but certainly not a proper street. Had I not know explicitly where to turn I would have wandered aimlessly until getting hopelessly lost or giving up and going back to my hotel.
Rev is on the 2nd floor of a small building tucked away in a residential neighborhood. Walking into the small bar, you’d never guess you were in Japan. This has a New York speakeasy vibe to it complete with mellow jazz and bottles of American and European spirits. But it’s not your usual bar area. The bar back is dominated by two large speakers. There are no spirits on the counter except those that the current customers are drinking. There are 8 bar seats and one 4 seat lounge area. Just 12 seats in the entire place. Despite the small space, the restroom has one of those super modern toilets. This one even lowers the seat for you at the wave of a hand.
The owner, Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, was expecting me thanks to a call from my friend. He was a warm and gracious host. He explains the concept behind his bar. Even the name, Rev, refers to “revolution” … how he would like to redefine drinking in Japan. The lack of visible bottles, the warm intimate space, the rice paper print covering most of one wall, the white tiled backsplash. These were all part of his vision for a proper bar scene. A comfortable place where close friends can gather to drink spirits from around the world without all of the trappings of western style bars or the hustle and bustle of an izakaya.
He knew I was interested in shochu so he had two of his favorites ready for me to try. The first was Isame, which I’d later discover is considered one of the finest imo (sweet potato) shochus available. Time and again throughout my journey people would suggest I try it. Yamaguchi-san had gotten me off to a great start.
His second offering was Shima Musume, an imo shochu with an alluring nose and a delicious taste. He actually prefers this to Isame and I can see why. Both were amazing for someone who had largely had only export imo shochus in the past. He also had me try Shima Bishi from the same distillery (Nagashima Shuzo). It was nice, but not quite as decadent as Shima Musume.
Finally, he let me try Maki Bano Yume, a milk (yes, milk) shochu. Apparently a small amount of fermented milk is added to a rice moromi (mash) to make this spirit. It was a novelty, but not something I could imagine drinking regularly. Best just to taste and be able to say I tried a milk shochu.
I enjoyed my stay at Rev so much that I returned the next night. That first night I was the only customer, but the next night there were a handful of other guests. While Yamaguchi-san was not able to give me the kind of attention he did the first night, he was gracious once again and this time brought out Mitakei – an imo shochu from Kagoshima prefecture. I can’t say for sure, but I believe he’d bought this bottle in anticipation of my visit. You see, I was the only customer drinking shochu and the night before he had only had the others I’d tried. This was just my first of many examples of the way Japanese business owners treat their customers with a personal touch.
I’m sorry I didn’t make it to Rev the last night I was in Fukuoka, but I suspect I will be back in that city and will no doubt find myself wandering down those narrow alleyways to seek out this exceptional concept bar. If you manage a visit, please say hello for me.
Kampai!