Tokyo Confidential, a well-known cocktail bar in Azabujuban, Tokyo, has launched its latest cocktail menu, "Second Base," a tribute to baseball culture blended with community spirit. This new menu includes unique cocktails based on baseball terminology, as well as collectible cards, special edition jersey-style uniforms, and fun baseball-themed jokes.
The idea for the "Second Base" menu came from Founder Holly Graham's creative vision, which was inspired by a potential music video of a baseball bat crushing cocktails. This notion grew into a full-fledged menu honouring the sport's cultural significance in Asia, notably Japan. Kouki Taguchi, one of Tokyo Confidential's bartenders, embodies this relationship, having previously played semi-professional baseball before pursuing a career in mixology.
Graham's interest in baseball grew after moving to Korea in 2012 and then travelling to Japan. A wonderful visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum demonstrated the sport's importance in developing communal resilience. The sight of Hiroshima Carps baseball shirts represented this collaborative attitude, prompting Graham to include such components in the bar's menu.
Each cocktail on the "Second Base" menu brilliantly captures baseball's soul. The Katsuo Isono, a highball-style drink, honours the leadoff hitter with a delightful combination of gin, myoga, bonito, ume, lychee, agricole rum, and ponzu. The Sayonara Mr. Spalding cocktail, served in a 3D printed baseball, blends bourbon, sweet vermouth, strawberry mistelle, Campari, and habanero to recreate the excitement of a home run.
The Glizztini, created to recreate game-day nostalgia, contains gin, mugi shochu, tomato, mezcal, onion brine, and MSG, as well as red and yellow cacao butter to simulate ketchup and mustard. The tropical Mangoes To The Game cocktail combines aged rum, gunpowder rum, Doburoku, mango demerara, seaweed, and lime in a bespoke baseball helmet. The Heart of the Plate cocktail is a sophisticated blend of pisco, kome shochu, coconut, blue plum, and absinthe, topped with an awamori and peach cream float.
The menu arrangement is reminiscent of baseball card collections, with each drink card containing the cocktail's components and tasting notes and featuring a Tokyo Confidential player. Guests can also buy limited-edition baseball jersey-style jerseys, and new baseball-themed munchies will be available shortly.
Since its debut in October 2023, Tokyo Confidential has kept some of its most popular beverages on the menu, which will periodically resurface in the "Hall of Fame" section. These include the Tea Sea, a gimlet-style cocktail with gin, Sauvignon Blanc, tropical green tea, lime, Grappa, and smoky salt; Destroy All Monsters, a Godzilla-inspired mix of miso brown butter-washed gin, manzanilla sherry, bianco vermouth, and ponzu; and the Cheung Fun Old Fashioned, inspired by the Cantonese dish and featuring peanut and sesame bourbon, soy caramel, and bitters.
Tokyo Confidential is located at 9F, THE V CITY PLACE. The bar operates from 6 PM to 1 AM Monday through Saturday, and from 6 PM to 12 AM on Sundays. For more information, visit www.tokyoconfidential.com or follow @tokyoconfidentialbar on Instagram.
a. Japan, 〒106-0045 Tokyo, Minato City, Azabujuban, 1 Chome−6−1 The V-City 麻布十番 Place 9階
You May Also Like
6 Top-rated Japanese Restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City
