Event Report: Tokyo International BarShow 2025 The Historical Journey

This year’s BarShow was another big one. 14,100 attendees showed up across May 10-11… and it even rained on Saturday.

The rain didn’t seem to bother anyone though. 14,100 is actually a slight decrease from last year’s visitor count of 14,500. I think nobody noticed. Despite advance warnings of being unable to re-enter the venue if you left, or maybe not even being allowed to enter in the first place, the crowd management did seem to have improved this year. Realistically, though, this is a vast number of attendees given the space. Luckily, I was able to devote both days this year to hitting booths – and this year there were 50 of them.

In a first for the Tokyo International BarShow–at least by my memory–drinks historian David Wondrich was a special guest alongside gin power couple Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown. This is in line with the theme of this year’s show: “The Historical Journey.” Masterclasses and brand seminars were mostly history-focused as well, addressing subjects like pre-Tiki-era cocktails in the Pacific.

And what a merry journey it was. I did manage to visit the Suntory booth this year as they’re set to relaunch the Kanade series of liqueurs. The booth put a spotlight on the Osaka Factory, where Roku gin, Haku vodka, and Kanade is made. It’s actually the oldest of Suntory’s currently operating distilleries, being built in 1919. Yes, that makes it even older than Japan’s first bona fide whisky distillery, the Yamazaki Distillery (built in 1923).

Right across from Suntory’s booth was Nikka Whisky’s booth, where the focus was largely on using their spirits in cocktails. That said, global brand ambassador Emiko Kaji did give an interesting pairing suggestion for the company’s relatively new world-blended whisky, Nikka Frontier: chocolate-covered kaki no tane. She also dispelled rumors that Nikka Frontier is turning to an on-trade-only product: it will simply be less available in the off-trade, but not gone altogether.

This year’s Nadeshiko Cup was lifted by Mayoi Tamaki of Bar Sekirei in Akihabara. I can’t say I’ve been but it’s great to see representation of standalone bars in neighborhoods you wouldn’t ordinarily look for a cocktail bar. Just goes to show that in Tokyo, there’s always something around every corner.

I say it every year, but the Tokyo International BarShow stands out as the most fun of these drink events here in Tokyo. Whisky festivals are great, sure, but adding cocktails presents booth staff with an opportunity to show their creative side. And when bartenders get creative, the results are usually delicious. See you there next year.