Kyoto – When an already storied name in Tokyo’s cocktail scene opens up shop in the ancient capital, membership in the upper echelon of Kyoto’s nightlife landscape becomes an expedited affair.
When I visit Bar Trench Kyoto during Golden Week, I’m first greeted by a warm, atmospheric amber glow from the globe lamps inside the expansive front window of a 120-year-old machiya (traditional merchant townhouse). Located in the city’s Kawaramachi neighborhood, the structure presents a quintessential Kyoto-style view completed by the row of bicycles parked neatly out front.
Inside, near a wooden placard on the wall displaying the opening lyrics to Tom Waits’ “San Diego Serenade” (“I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long / I never heard the melody until I needed the song”), head bartender Arthur Roberts serves me the perfectly spicy, citrusy Tender Talk, whose mezcal and Amaro Montenegro base is infused with yuzu and lemon, and to which he adds a spritz of smoky Laphroaig scotch.
Next up is the rich and fruity Madeleine, featuring Lillet, bergamot, Poire Williams pear brandy and a tiny, plump wakamomo (stewed baby peach compote). It being Golden Week, I splurge on a third cocktail: The Day the Earth Stood Still, which Roberts assures me is “like a Mediterranean salad.” Sure enough, the combination of pisco and vermouth with earthy beets, creamy yogurt and tangy balsamic vinegar, plus a thin ring of farofa (toasted cassava flour) rimming the glass — a nod to the Brazilian roots of Rogerio Igarashi Vaz, the main figure behind the growing Bar Trench kingdom — is exceptional.
The Tender Talk cocktail at Bar Trench Kyoto is a blend of yuzu and lemon with a spritz of Laphroaig over a base of mezcal and Amaro Montenegro.
| KIMBERLY HUGHES