"enwonder" by Bartender × Art Director: A Culinary Experience Beyond Premium Liqueur. - Part 2 -

The unit "enwonder" has launched an unprecedented premium liqueur based on Amami Oshima's black sugar shochu. What is the "unprecedented" dining experience the three members aim to create?

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi

Mr. Nishimura (left) and Mr. Uesugi (right) visiting producers on Amami Ōshima.

The creative unit "enwonder," consisting of art director Yusuke Mori, mixologist Tatsuya Uesugi, and bartender Kazuya Nishimura, has launched its first original products: the premium liqueurs "No.01 Coffee" and "No.02 Botanical."

A tasting event held in May at "BAR BLUE BRIDGE" in Shimbashi drew a diverse group of food and beverage professionals.

On the day, Uesugi, Nishimura, and "BAR BLUE BRIDGE" owner Nishihara each created cocktails based on "Botanical," serving them as a course-style tasting of three cocktails.

The different approaches and the low-alcohol composition seemed to be well-received.

What impressions did participants take away from the tasting event?

Cocktails served at the tasting event.

"We hear concerns from hotel bar operators about shochu, specifically that the cost of shochu itself doesn't align well with the price point when served as a cocktail.

By turning it into a liqueur, we believe it gains a sense of premium quality, improving the price balance and lowering the psychological barrier for people who don't usually drink shochu.

We've already secured distribution at hotels on Amami Oshima Island, but we plan to approach bars and hotels in urban areas like Tokyo and Kyoto going forward," says Uesugi.

Compared to spirits, shochu's lower alcohol content presents challenges as a cocktail base...

"We felt a sense of adventure in exploring the same alcohol strength range as shochu, and we decided to compete with liqueurs because they match the current demand for low-alcohol drinks.

"We want to appeal not only to bars and hotels, but also to casual settings like cafes that serve drinks," said Mr. Nishimura.

"It would be interesting to see it stocked not just in restaurants, but also in shops that haven't carried liqueurs before, like interior design stores or art and culture shops.

"If not only food and beverage professionals, but also people who don't know the difference between shochu and liqueur pick it up out of interest, the image of shochu should change," (Mr. Mori)

Left: Mr. Nishimura smelling the scent of cassia. Right: Vanilla cultivation has begun on the island. It is scheduled to be used in "Botanical" going forward.

I asked these three what they'd like to challenge themselves with as "enwonder" going forward.

"We want to get our newly launched Amami Oshima series to as many people as possible. To do that, we eventually want to establish a main base.

A place that functions as both a production site and a lab, where we can host pop-up events, with fields behind it for cultivating botanicals... We want to expand our curiosity and venture into new territories.

For example, updating nursing care meals to be delicious and enjoyable, or partnering with travel agencies to plan food-experience-focused trips. Thinking from food as a starting point expands possibilities," says Mori.

"Partnering with a mini-theater to produce food and drink paired with films. Combining taste and smell with sight and sound could deepen the movie-watching experience," says Nishimura.

When it comes to Amami Oshima's specialty, it's definitely brown sugar. Mizuma Seito's brown sugar is made by carefully boiling down the juice squeezed from sugarcane, adjusting the heat to evaporate the moisture. After production, the pot-scraped brown sugar—made by reducing the moisture left in the pot to the absolute minimum and scraping it out with a spatula—is packed with concentrated flavor.

While interpretations of our shared development concept ("Playful Food Culture!") as enwonder may differ, it's precisely this diversity that enables us to operate across such varied fields.

"Playful means creating with genuine excitement, delivering the unity born from ingredients with a playful spirit, and developing products that guide new food experiences.

"It's because we share this common ground that we can move toward a unified direction," (Mori)

"At the same time, we want to uncover the diverse potential of food and drink hidden across Japan, while carrying a sense of responsibility to pass on something better to the next generation," (Uesugi)

The three of them share different tastes and interests. For example, regarding their respective sources of inspiration...

I'm influenced by the creations and philosophy of Julian Bedel, the perfumer behind the Buenos Aires-based perfume brand, FUEGUIA 1833, and we also draw inspiration from creators across various fields like fashion, architecture, and art." (Mori)

"We also learn from professionals engaged in quintessentially Japanese cultures like tea and flower arrangement." (Uesugi)

"Creators in cultural fields like music." (Nishimura)

These differences likely contribute to the depth and richness of their teamwork.

enwonder strives to transcend the boundaries of bars, restaurants, and shops, deepening the dining experience into something richer.

First, try the potential of these three creators' craftsmanship with the Amami Oshima series!