“It’s strange, isn’t it?” says Masayuki Kodatsu. “I trained with the inventor of the Hard Shake and named my shop Bar Shake, but most people think of me as a drink that doesn’t even require technique.”
What about that drink? Campari soda. Of the two liquids, only one has flavor. Pour one over the other over ice. end.
However, the general consensus in Tokyo drinking circles is that the perfect Campari soda can only be found at Ginza’s bar shakes.
“That wasn’t my plan,” Kodatsu says. “I like this alcohol, so when I recommend it to my guests, I somehow manage to get even first-timers to order it.”
It turns out that a fair amount of skill is required. First, both the Campari and soda water must be chilled. Kodachi master Kazuo Ueda writes in his groundbreaking book: cocktail techniques“Unlike ice in shaken or stirred cocktails, its role in finished cocktails is only to keep the drink chilled. Therefore, the ingredients must be chilled in the refrigerator beforehand, otherwise the ice will melt and spoil the drink. It will become watery.”
“Well, that’s one of the reasons,” Kodatsu says. “But the important thing is that you want more in the glass, not in one gulp.”
He uses one small piece of crushed ice. “In fact, I keep the ingredients so cold that I don’t need ice at all,” he says. “But it’s a little lonely without something to drink.”
Kodato pours in 2 ounces of Campari. After 38 years in the business, he says he has learned to pour more accurately without using a measuring cup. “I use them just to show off when I’m serving spirits straight up,” he says, then performs a showy performance with a jigger to illustrate the point.
When he worked with Ueda at Bar L’Osier, a high society bar, he stayed true to the classic Campari Selz formula of Milanese origin (1 part bitter to 3 parts carbonated water), but Kodato This was the recipe that Mr. Ueda, who was head bartender at L’Oosier, changed when it became a success.
“I ate it once. [Tokyo bar] gas lamp and [head bartender Takao] Mori-san made it for me with lemon juice,” he says. “That was very nice.”
Half a teaspoon of juice will brighten the flavors and somehow bind them together. The same recipe, ratios, and techniques minus the lemon look lackluster by comparison. One is 2D and the other pops into 3D.
Mr. Kodatsu says that if Asahi stopped making Wilkinson Tansan soda water, it would also stop making Campari soda. Founded in 1904 by a British expatriate, this brand is the antithesis to modern velvety craft he sodas. Mr. Odado likes the aggressive effervescence, and says that’s because while Campari soda requires choking (a term used to describe the refreshing feeling of a carbonated drink hitting the back of your throat), Wilkinson has plenty of carbonation.
He pours the 190-milliliter bottle into a glass and, as proof of his precise pouring, pours the drink all the way to the brim.
Odado says there is a misconception that Japan’s elite bartenders only care about technique, while bartenders in other regions understand showmanship. “My job is primarily a showmanship job,” he says. “Don’t you think it would be cool to pour your drink freely to the brim?”
This extra foam comes in handy when you mix the drink by vigorously moving the bar spoon until the Campari red has fully risen.
Finally, there is no citrus slice in the Bar Shake Campari Soda. Adding lemon juice would be overkill.
If you want to try the drinks that have made Kodachi famous, you’ll have to step into Bar Shake all by yourself. He serves it in a heavy-bottomed shot Zwiesel Collins glass, the only one he owns. “He used to have 12, but someone broke them and he can’t buy them anymore,” he says. If two people order drinks at the same time, he will serve them in wide, short, light highball glasses, but technically speaking, they will not serve the exact same drinks.
“I looked around to see if there was more glass like this, but they no longer make it,” he says. “Every time someone broke it, I smiled and said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s totally fine.’ But of course I didn’t mean it.”
Kodato’s Campari soda stays effervescent, at least as long as a rational person can drink it, but that’s rarely an issue with bar shakes. “It’s not something you drink over the years,” he said, downing the glass in three parts.