A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On October 11, bartender Toshihiro Fukami appeared, introduced by “Wandering Bartender” Tetsushi Ono. We asked him about his background in gin making, the identity of the eating perfume he is working on, and the joy of making things.
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I started making gin after being exposed to the atmosphere of the site.
Celeina (MC): First of all, let me introduce your profile. Toshihiro Fukami is a bartender at HUGE Inc. and is also involved in product development and the launch of new stores. in 2019, he started making gin as the head distiller of NUMBER EIGHT DISTILLERY. At the newly launched EGG’S Corporation, he is working as a hybrid bartender, working on the eating perfume “JOUR DÉ CHANCE” as a development manager.
We would like to start by asking you about your work as a bartender. I understand that you are also involved in recipe development. How do you create cocktail recipes?
Fukami: The menus for standard cocktails are published in cocktail books, and I use them as a reference while developing arrangements using Japanese ingredients and things that I wish would be on restaurant menus.
Takano (MC): How many different kinds of menus have you created so far?
Fukami: I have never thought of keeping track of the number of menus I have developed, since there are quite a few different types in the cocktail book.
Takano : I understand that you actually create your menus while tasting them, but don’t you ever get drunk while tasting so many?
Fukami: There are times when I feel quite comfortable. But I keep it because it has to be done properly.
Celeina: I understand that you are making gin while being on site as a bartender from 2019, what made you decide to make gin?
Fukami: I was a Japanese finalist in a gin cocktail competition called Bombay Sapphire. In the end, I lost, but as an extra prize, I had the opportunity to visit the new Bombay Sapphire distillery in London.
Celeina：How did you go from being interested in the atmosphere of the site to making gin as a job?
Fukami: It didn’t lead to work, but I was born in Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, where they make shochu, so I asked a classmate who makes shochu if I could make gin by adding various ingredients to shochu. While we were discussing this, a gin called “Ki no Bi” made in Kyoto was introduced to the world, and it was significant that the world became a place where gin could be found.
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Gin has potential.
Takano: To begin with, I would like to ask you to define gin.
Celeina: What is gin made from?
Fukami: Gin is a liquor called distilled spirit. It is made from a high alcohol called neutral spirits, and flavored with a spice called juniper berry, which is called gin.
Celeina: I see. Gin has a distinctive flavor, doesn’t it?
Takano: What kind of gin would be the odd one out among the gins you have made, Mr. Fukami?
Fukami: The gin I made was made in Yokohama, so I made a gin using Yokohama citrus called Shonan Gold and a cacao gin using cacao from a chocolate shop in Kamakura called Maison Cacao. We use it to add aroma.
Takano: Gin has a lot of potential.
Fukami: That’s right. So, more and more places are making gin because it is easy to add individuality to it.
Takano : That’s interesting. As a way to communicate something, zines are like a kind of media.
Celeina： This is the “NUMBER EIGHT GIN” that you just introduced to us.
Takano: The packaging is very stylish.
Celeina： The bottle is very stylish and long and thin.
Takano : I would like to display it in my room.
Celeina: Why did you choose the number 8?
Fukami: The distillery is located in a commercial facility called Yokohama Hammerhead in Minatomirai. The distillery is located on top of piers No. 8 and No. 9 in Yokohama New Port, so we got the name from the No. 8 pier.
Celeina：I would love to hear more, but let’s interrupt for a song. I asked Fukamizu-san to choose a song that we would all like to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would you like to hear?
Fukami: “City Lights” by Fantastic Plastic Machine.
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How to enjoy “JOUR DÉ CHANCE” an eating perfume
Celeina: You are in charge of the development of “JOUR DÉ CHANCE” an eating perfume, at the newly launched EGG’S Inc.
Fukami: Maybe you don’t know what it means (hafa). It is just ordinary syrup, but it has a very good aroma, so we market it as an edible perfume.
Celeina: I see. It is true that gin also has a very distinctive aroma, so I guess there is a connection in that sense as well.
Fukami: Gin is also called “drinking perfume,” so there is a connection between the two.
Celeina: We actually have “JOUR DÉ CHANCE” in our studio.
Takano: The package design is also very nice, square like a perfume bottle. What do you think of the smell?
Celeina: It smells so citrusy that you can’t tell it’s food.
Takano : It really is like a cosmetic. I want to apply it directly to my skin.
Fukami: You can actually eat it, but you can’t use it as a perfume.
Celeina: Is there a recommended way to eat “JOUR DÉ CHANCE”?
Fukami: When we first made the syrup, we thought a lot about recommending it in drinks, but in the end, we came up with the idea of pouring it over ice cream.
Celeina: So we also had ice cream available in the studio.
Takano: I’ll have some. We poured it over delicious, simple vanilla ice cream, and it becomes something else. It will be classy.
Celeina: I’ll have some too. It’s delicious! It’s like a dessert served in a French restaurant. Just sniffing the syrup, I thought it would taste citrusy because of the strong citrus flavor, but it matches the vanilla ice cream very well.
Takano: It transforms ice cream that you can buy at supermarkets and such into a very high-end product. I recommend this.
Celeina: Where can I buy “JOUR DÉ CHANCE”?
Fukami: Right now, it is only sold online, but we are thinking of expanding it to our own website in the future.
INDEX
The joy of making things is that there is a moment when you think, “I’ve got it!”
Takano: They also make good gifts. You continue to create new cocktails, gins, syrups, and other new products.
Fukami: There are only hardships. First of all, as a bartender, serving cocktails to the customers in front of me is complete. But with gin and syrups, it’s not just the customer in front of you, but they are on the shelves as products, so there is the pleasure of introducing them to the world as products. It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Celeina：When is a fun moment for you?
Fukami:When I am making a product, there is a moment when I think, “This is it!” That’s a fun moment.
Celeina: Isn’t that the moment when the song is first written?
Takano: I was going to say the same thing (haha).
Celeina:We were also able to ask you about the joy of making things. “FIST BUMP” is a circle of friends connected by goo touch around, so you introduce your friends to us.
Fukami: It’s Chanpon Chikara, a sake video creator.
Celeina: What is your relationship with him?
Fukami: He is originally from Nagasaki and I am from Kumamoto, so we became friends through our Kyushu connection. He was working in the video industry, and when he started sending out information on alcohol through the Corona Disaster.
Celeina: In a word, what kind of person is he?
Fukami: He is the man who drinks the most delicious sake in Japan.
Celeina: Tomorrow, we will connect you to the creator of sake, Chanpon Chikara. FIST BUMP: Today we welcome bartender Toshihiro Fukami. Thank you very much.
GRAND MARQUEE
J-WAVE (81.3FM) Mon-Thu 16:00 – 18:50
Navigator: Shinya Takano, Celeina Ann
