Walking into Daisuke Ito's Land Bar in the Shinbashi 新橋 district in Tokyo must feel like walking into an original 1920s speakeasy. A narrow staircase leads to a door in the basement of 3 Chome-15 Shinbashi.

The bar is tiny. Three guests were already sitting at the bar. Two empty seats remained. Daisuke Ito became a bartender to learn how to make the gimlet he tasted in Hisashi Kishi's Star Bar when he was visiting Tokyo from his native Sendai. Ito persuaded the master barman to hire him and learned the trade working 10 years under Kishi. Because of this reason I first ordered a gimlet. It was fun to observe Ito make my gimlet. While mixing he carefully tasted my gimlet twice to make sure the balance between the gin and the lime juice was just perfect. A gimlet can be sweet with added syrup. I was pleased Ito made my gimlet with just lime and gin.

For my second drink I asked Ito to recommend me what to order. Since I told him I was from Amsterdam he made me a cocktail with London Dry Gin No 3. This gin is distilled in The Netherlands in one of the oldest Dutch distilleries. For this cocktail he used two use huge blocks of clear ice, which has brought me to Land Bar in the first place. I wanted to observe this ice from close by. It takes 48 hours to make this type of ice. You have to freeze the water very slowly.

Notice the bottle on the right. Because I told Ito about my fondness for German wines he pulled out a bottle of Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin. I never heard of German gins and even though I didn't drink Monkey 47, I sniffed from the bottle and this gin smells amazing!

The complementary glass of water also contained the clear ice. It is a beautiful sight. The roasted almonds and rice crackers complemented the experience. Ito pays attention to even the smallest detail. Perfection in 12 square meters.

Address:
東京都港区新橋3-15-6 村上ビル B1F.
B1 3-15-6 Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo.