At The World’s 50 Best Bars 2026, revealed in Milan earlier this month, the undeniable momentum behind Asian cocktail culture took center stage on the global stage. More than a dozen bars representing dynamic Asian metropolitan centers earned coveted spots on the prestigious top 50 list. Leading the charge once again was Hong Kong’s celebrated Bar Leone, which secured the title of The World’s Best Bar for the second consecutive year, while Milan’s own Moebius Milano followed closely at No. 2, earning the distinction of Best Bar in Europe.
The general outcome of the awards reflected a broader, ongoing shift in what drinkers and hospitality industry leaders increasingly value. In Japanese and broader Asian bar culture, a drink is rarely considered in isolation from its surrounding environment. Elements such as ice, custom glassware, temperature, texture, pacing, physical setting, and attentive service are woven directly into the guest experience. Technique is deployed not merely as a performance of technical expertise or showmanship, but as a deliberate means of making a guest feel genuinely considered and cared for.
Japanese cocktail culture has long made an exquisite art of these intricate details. Today, its foundational values of rigorous craftsmanship and thoughtful hospitality are becoming an increasingly influential vocabulary within the global bar community. The widespread international appeal lies not only in a recognizable, minimalist Japanese aesthetic, but equally in an approach that seamlessly marries discipline with ease, ritual with sociability, and innovation with a profound attentiveness to time-honored traditions.
During The World’s 50 Best Bars Week in Milan this October, the city transformed into a vibrant temporary meeting point for international bartenders, bar owners, and prominent hospitality professionals. Across the metropolitan area, a whirlwind of guest shifts, educational masterclasses, exclusive dinners, and curated tastings created an unusually energetic circuit of exchange. It functioned simultaneously as an industry summit, a lively social occasion, and an international showcase for a profession that has grown more globally connected and collaborative than ever before.
Against this backdrop of international celebration, Ceresio 7, the prominent rooftop restaurant and bar in Milan, played host to a major industry initiative. The House of Suntory presented Suntory Time, an immersive platform designed to explore the artistry, seasonality, and distinctive hospitality that continue to shape modern Japanese drinking culture. The program brought foundational spirits including Roku Gin, Toki Japanese Whisky, and Haku Vodka into a series of thoughtful conversations and tastings framed around a contemporary expression of Japanese heritage. This approach remains deeply rooted in the meticulous attention to detail that characterizes Japanese bartending, extending from the careful sourcing of local ingredients to the architectural construction of a drink, its presentation, and the quality of human interaction fostered between bartender and guest.
Among the week’s most closely watched and anticipated appearances was Shingo Gokan, the acclaimed Japanese bartender, innovator, and entrepreneur behind New York’s Sip & Guzzle and Hong Kong’s Gokan. Earlier in the year, in April, Sip & Guzzle claimed the No. 1 spot in North America’s 50 Best Bars 2026, earning the official title of The Best Bar in North America. At Ceresio 7, Gokan brought his signature balance of technical rigor and approachable warmth to a high-profile guest shift centered on Japanese ingredients and playful, unexpected flavor profiles. Among his creations was the striking Omatsuri Banana, a dessert-adjacent cocktail combining Toki Japanese Whisky, rich miso, dark chocolate, and caramelized banana, which expertly brought savory and sweet notes into harmonious balance.
Later that evening, during the main awards ceremony held at the historic Palazzo del Ghiaccio, Gokan was honored with the Roku Industry Icon Award 2026. Sponsored by Roku Gin, the accolade recognizes an individual who has made an extraordinary, lasting contribution to the global bar industry. In Gokan’s case, the award acknowledged an influence that extends far beyond the physical walls of any single establishment. Over his career, he has built an international footprint as a bartender, founder, mentor, and operator, helping to establish a sustainable model of Japanese-inspired hospitality that travels easily across diverse cities and cultural boundaries.
Earlier that same day, Julia Momose—a talented chef, bartender, and the creative force behind Chicago’s Kumiko—led an intimate masterclass at Ceresio 7 as part of the Suntory Time programming. Her session explored the delicate ritual of the Toki Highball, utilizing a familiar, classic format to vividly illustrate the precision, restraint, and deep sensitivity to ingredients that define Japanese cocktail-making. Momose’s craftsmanship was further recognized when Kumiko was included on the 2026 global extended list of The World’s 50 Best Bars at No. 70, following a stellar 2025 season in which the Chicago establishment won World’s Best Bar and Best U.S. Restaurant Bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
For Momose, however, the professional journey always begins with a deeply personal memory. Her initial introduction to the craft happened years ago in a quiet speakeasy bar in Kyoto, where she experienced her first cocktail and witnessed the quiet magic of genuine hospitality firsthand. That formative experience inspired her to create similar meaningful encounters for others, eventually guiding her toward the dream of opening her own venue after relocating to the United States.
She ultimately found the ideal canvas for that vision in Chicago. Finding a city where she felt immediately at home, Momose embraced its distinct atmosphere, welcoming people, and burgeoning food-and-drink culture. At Kumiko, her venue in the city’s West Loop, she strives to bring together Japanese heritage, hyper-seasonal ingredients, and an authentic sense of welcome. Momose describes her role as an ambassador for Japanese culture with a balanced mixture of personal pride and professional responsibility, aiming to challenge common stereotypes and share a culture that celebrates individuals, specialized agricultural products, and enduring traditions.
That core ambition is most clearly expressed through the philosophy of omotenashi, a foundational Japanese approach to hospitality that Momose defines as careful, intuitive listening and a profound respect for the individual needs of each guest. Sometimes, she notes, that means providing quiet space and solitude, while at other times it invites warm conversation. With every guest who walks through the doors of her bar, her overarching goal is to offer omotenashi, ensuring that a visit does more than simply serve a drink, but instead communicates the values, stories, and poetry of Japanese culture.
This philosophy represents perhaps the most consequential aspect of Japanese bar culture’s growing global relevance. Its expanding influence is not merely a matter of an imported visual language—such as minimalist interiors, Japanese whiskies, or ceremonial ice carving, though those details remain compelling. Rather, it is a transferable model of sincere care, where the ultimate objective is to make the guest feel recognized without transforming standard service into a performative display of attentiveness.
The broader Suntory portfolio offered several distinct expressions of this philosophy throughout the Milan events. Roku Gin takes its primary cues from shun, the traditional Japanese concept of enjoying agricultural ingredients strictly at their seasonal peak, utilizing six native Japanese botanicals to give the spirit a distinct perspective. Toki Japanese Whisky represents the vibrant, dynamic energy of contemporary Tokyo, intentionally introducing Japanese whisky into modern, social drinking occasions. Meanwhile, Haku Vodka, crafted entirely from 100% Japanese white rice, offers a smooth profile characterized by a soft, subtle sweetness designed to support individual expression in complex cocktails. The deep relationship between seasonal awareness and thoughtful design is also clearly visible in expressions like the Roku Sakura Bloom Edition, a limited-edition gin inspired by the sakura season and the Japanese custom of hanami, or flower viewing, featuring a soft floral profile underscored by a subtle saline note from cherry blossom leaves.
A striking example of how Japanese drinking culture is successfully rooting itself across Europe is offered by Milan’s Ronin, an ambitious multi-level nightlife destination. The venue brings together several distinct formats traditionally associated with Japanese social life, housing an izakaya and listening bar that serves drinks alongside small dishes, an intimate cocktail bar featuring private karaoke rooms focused on Far Eastern mixology, a dedicated restaurant, and a quieter cocktail lounge setting. The atmosphere is vibrant and lively, drawing crowds of diverse generations and seamlessly integrating drinking into a broader modern ritual of food, music, and late-night conviviality. Conceived by Italian entrepreneurs, this Japanese-style nightlife adventure is increasingly drawing the attention of operators across the continent.
The energetic week in Milan underscored the reality that the rise of Japanese and Asian bar culture reaches far beyond numerical rankings and accolades. It represents a fundamental, growing influence on how the international drinks community defines quality: precision without rigidity, seasonality without nostalgia, and a style of hospitality that remains acutely sensitive to the individual rather than performative for its own sake. At a time when the world’s best bars are becoming increasingly international in their reference points, Japanese cocktail culture continues to offer a deeply resonant proposition, demonstrating that the most memorable drink is not merely made with technical skill, but served with unwavering attention, warmth, and care.
