Bartender Glass of God, Episode 1: High-Class Highball

Ryuu Sasakura serves a custom-made highball for the frazzled Hotel Cardinal recruiter, Miwa Kurushima.

Episode 1 — “A Gentle Perch”

First Thoughts.

I’m here for the hooch! I’m not even joking. When I first saw that Suntory, the liquor conglomerate, would be the primary backer for Bartender Glass of God (バーテンダー 神のグラス, Bartender: Kami no Glass), I needed to see how the anime would treat the liquor labels not under the Suntory umbrella. And that is a massive umbrella, but Suntory doesn’t own everything. Those questions can now rest. There will not be creative spellings of “Erija Claig” or “Baker’s Bark.” Bartender Glass of God will lovingly animate every liquor and liqueur label with their full trademarks.

You can enjoy the look and feel of these real-life top-shelf bottles without handing over real-life money. That Bowmore 18-Year is $170 at my local liquor store, and the Yamazaki 12-Year is a steal at $350. Bartender Glass of God will be my inspiration for suggestions the next time I visit a high-end lounge.

Real-Life Liquor and Locations in Bartender Glass of God

We just had an anime that featured real-world products, places, and signs from Hokkaido. Ginza and Shiodome will have the same treatment. The Seiko Clocktower has been a feature of Ginza since 1894 and a symbol of recovery after its reconstruction in the aftermath of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1932. But did you know Ginza has an even closer connection to Bartender Glass of God?

The inspiration for Ryuu Sasakura’s Glass of God cocktails came from a real bartender. Kazuo Ueda opened his Tender Bar in Ginza in 1997. He also created the “hard shake” for mixing cocktails and distilled his bartending philosophy for his book Cocktail Techniques (2000). The tools and strategies for stirring drinks and maintaining artisanal ice are from this book. The similarities between Sasakura’s play on words for “Tender Bar” and “gentle perch” are the usual dramatic flair that fiction takes when translating the real world to the manga page.

Speyside High-Class Highball to Glass of God

This week’s signature drink for Bartender Glass of God is the classic whiskey highball. No. It’s not the Grasshopper, pousse-café style or otherwise. The highball’s ingredients are simple: one unit (a “shot” is two ounces) of whiskey, a highball glass, ice, soda water, and a lemon wedge. Any tallish, thin cylindrical glass holding less than a pint will do. So, what made Sasakura’s version in the Bartender Glass of God episode effective for Miwa? When there are as many variations of a whiskey highball as whiskeys and sodas? This is where the “extra” stuff of anime comes in.

Ryuu Sasakura is scatterbrained about himself but has extraordinary powers of observation about those around him. That skill helps his knowledge of psychology and how cocktail ingredients can act as medicine. The best customer service agents are practical psychotherapists. A bartender, too. Sasakura noticed Miwa’s frazzled stress through a loose sleeve button and ill-fitting watch band. Miwa needed a refreshing breeze to relax, not a stiff dose of alcohol to put her to sleep.

What single malt Scotch whisky helps that? Glenfarclas comes from the Speyside region of Scotland, which features a specific flavor profile. Speyside scotch has almost no smoke in its peat compared to Islay brands or Highland varieties and is much lighter and sweeter. The oak barrels it’s aged in contribute to its clean and orchard fruit flavors. Mix these tastes with citrus and refreshing soda water, and you have a sudden blast of clean air followed by a mellowing warmth. Plus, Glenfarclas is only 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume), so it would be difficult for an experienced drinker to feel tipsy. Just what Miwa needed!

Bartender Glass of God in 2024

Is this reboot different from the 2006 version? The new show is clearly a product of recent times because Sasakura needs help with a smartphone. But he’s also a fish out of water (time?) because he still checks out library books. There are also elements of an overarching plot behind his return to Japan from France and how Hotel Cardinal could eventually recruit him to their high-end counter bar. I foresee Sasakura’s past becoming fodder for the healing anime seen through a seinen filter that 2006 featured. Time will tell how Bartender Glass of God’s reboot structures its season-long story.

Tasting Notes

Whiskey or whisky? Which is correct? Both! Historically, “whisky” has referred to spirits distilled from a fermented mash of grains in Scotland, Canada, Japan, and other nations gushing over (akogarete — yearning, longing for, admiring) Great Britain-senpai. “Whiskey” is mainly a product from the United States and Ireland. But distilleries have used either spelling for stylistic branding purposes. For example, Maker’s Mark and George Dickel call their spirits “whisky.” Dickel was a German immigrant settling in Tennessee, and the Samuels clan (owners of several distilleries before Maker’s Mark) fought in the Revolutionary War for Pennsylvania before settling in Kentucky. Not much love for Great Britain-senpai there!

Bartender Glass of God (Bartender: Kami no Glass) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and multiple language subtitles. Bartender (2006) also streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Have you watched or read the past version of Bartender? Are you interested in bar culture and spirits? If so, what are your favorite drinks or things you like about sharing drinks with strangers? Let us know in the comments below.

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