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Award-winning bartender Shinichi "Ichi" Itoh holding some of the highballs he concocted for Ippudo Ramen Bar; the highballs pair well with the restaurant's specialties, including Ramen, Sushi, Yakitori, Baos and even desserts
Philstar.com / Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo
MANILA, Philippines — The newly reopened Ippudo Ramen Bar in Bonifacio Global City doesn't just have a revamped interior; its drinks menu is also expanded thanks to award-winning bartender Shinichi "Ichi" Itoh.
The restaurant, a collaboration between Standard Hospitality Group and Ippudo under Chikaranomoto Holdings, tapped Ichi for his expertise in highballs to craft new beverages for the menu.
Among the many awards Ichi has received over the years for his bartending were Glenfiddich World's Most Experimental Bartender competition in 2018, a Whisky Live Mentorship the following year, and most recently, the Monkey Shoulder Ultimate Bartender Championship last year.
In an exclusive interview with Philstar.com, Ichi shared what he took into consideration in creating new highballs for the Ippudo Ramen Bar.
Upon learning it was going to be a ramen bar, Ichi went with flavors that most of the people may not be familiar with yet can be incorporated to highballs.
"Highballs are super simple, it's just whiskey and soda water. But here, we make it more innovative by incorporating some gari, katsuboshi, genmaicha," Ichi explained. "So they're not usual flavors that you can see on a cocktail or a highball. Something savory, something gingery, pickled flavors..."
Related: Ippudo reopens Uptown branch as 1st Ramen Bar
As a bartender, Ichi said there wasn't much of a difference in his new highballs being consumed on their own or to be paired with the restaurant's dishes.
"You can enjoy it [on its own] because it's super refreshing, super nice, easy to drink. And you can enjoy it also by pairing it with a rich ramen, something light like the sushi and also the grilled dishes, like yakitoris," Ichi added.
Of the curated beverages, Ichi admitted his favorite was the Katsuboshi Highball, the highball that has dried flakes from the bonito fish, because of how its smoky, a bit umami, a bit greasy, and refreshing all at the same time.
Ichi told Philstar.com he doesn't plan on borrowing any of the new highballs for his own bar Raion located in San Juan, instead teaching the resident bartenders how to properly mix his concoctions.
The bartender did tease the highball menu could expand in the future, not just for the Uptown Mall branch but for potential other ones if the new concept does well.
"They told me that we're going to work on a lot of projects soon," Ichi ended with a smile.
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