Publisher Description

Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages - from  traditional Sak and Shochu to Japanese whisky, beer, wine and cocktails that are winning global acclaim and awards. In this comprehensive survey of Japanese alcoholic drinks, Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting cover all the main types of beverages found in Japanese bars and restaurants, as well as supermarkets and liquor stores around the world. The book has chapters on Sak, Shochu, Japanese whisky, wine, beer, Awamori (a moonshine-like liquor from Okinawa), Umeshu plum liqueur and other fruit liqueurs. There is also a fascinating chapter on modern Japanese-style cocktails - complete  with recipes so you can get the full authentic experience. 

Author Biography

Stephen Lyman was minding his own business, enjoying life in New York City as an Associate Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College when he was unexpectedly introduced to Japanese shochu at an izakaya in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Over the next decade he visited Japan more than twenty times, visiting more than a hundred shochu distilleries, sake breweries and other alcohol producers in more than twenty Japanese Prefectures. In 2013 he began interning at a small shochu distillery in Kagoshima Prefecture. He subsequently became the first graduate of the Sake School of America's Shochu Adviser Course and a kikisakeshi (sake sommelier) through Sake Service International. In 2016 he was named the first Honkaku Shochu Ambassador by the Japanese government through the Cool Japan program. He now spends about half his time in Kyushu in Southern Japan where he can be found cycling around and exploring local food, drink, and culture.

Chris Bunting has worked in London and Japan for publications including the Asahi Shimbun, Times and Independent. He developed his love of Japanese alcohol while living in Tokyo and is the author of Drinking Japan. He currently lives in Yorkshire in the UK.

Review

"Perfect for the traveler or epicurean, [The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks] reveals the secrets of Japan's varied alcoholic beverages. Written in a conversational yet informative voice, every chapter delivers valuable insight into how these drinks evolved, found favor at home, and are often misunderstood overseas." --Christopher Pellegrini, Author, The Shochu Handbook
"Following Brian Ashcraft's excellent Japanese Whisky, Tuttle has brought out this compendious guide to the full range of Japanese beverages…Written in an easy, flowing style, it covers a lot of ground in a short space of time…a beautiful, carefully put together coffee-table book full of insights, anecdotes and thirst-inducing pictures that leaves the reader yearning not just for a warm cup of sake or a stiff Yamazaki, but for individual titles devoted to each type of drink."-- The Japan Times
"There's nowhere I'd rather drink than Japan, and no one I'd rather have telling me what, where, and how to drink than Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting, whose bibulosity is matched only by their curiosity." --Matt Gross, formerly the New York Times Frugal Traveler

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Tuttle Publishing

Long Description

Japan is home to some of the world's most interesting alcoholic beverages -- from traditional Sak

Review Quote

"...very educational and entertaining...The authors, Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting, shared all of their information clearly so that anyone from a student of wine and spirits to wine and spirit lovers -- that might just want to travel to Japan -- would find more than helpful. Chock full of professional photographs, this was one of the best 'textbooks' I had the pleasure to read in a long time." -- Eve's Wine 101 blog

Description for Sales People

Everything you need to know about the varieties of Japanese alcoholic beverages which are currently winning awards and converts around the world Covers not just Sake, Shochu, Japanese whisky and Japanese beer (the best-known Japanese drinks) but also Awamori, Umeshu and other fruit wines, and trendy Japanese-style cocktails Contains in-depth accounts of the history and production methods for each type of drink Includes practical guides to bars and retailers in Japan and around the world to assist the reader in conducting their own personal explorations of these beverages (including in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco and Chicago) Hundreds of color photos document the history, varieties and current trends for each drink Co-author Stephen Lyman lives in NYC and is planning extensive local publicity for the book Includes multiple cocktail recipes

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