On Friday night, I went to Caliquors Tokyo in Kanda for a second round of drinks. I decided to try a mysterious beer called "Raccoon's Drink" based on the label. It was described as having an exotic peach flavor, but instead of a fruity peach taste, it had a strong jalapeno flavor and aroma. It was definitely exotic, although not what I expected. The regular customers at the bar were getting excited and suggested sharing a high-end Italian wine from Lazio region called Le Coste / Arela Vecchia Vigna Magnum 2015 (Magnum bottle). We all cheered and decided to share a glass. It was incredibly delicious.

Second stop in Kanda. We went to Caricars for another round of drinks. We had the following wines: El Prat 2020, Ostara Vino Bianco, Prosecco Sur Lie Casa Coste Piane, and Rosantico 2016 Bressan Gravner. We mainly drank orange wines. I don't know much about the world of wine, but I enjoyed the lovely aromas and unique flavors. It's a different kind of deliciousness compared to sake. I should probably study more, but the world of wine is so vast that I often give up and just enjoy what I'm drinking. We also had another drink from a double magnum bottle. All of this for only 7,000 yen! Thank you for the delicious meal.

On Monday, I visited the restaurant to meet up with a friend who works there. I usually only drink Super Dry beer, so I have no idea about craft beers. I just let the staff recommend me what to drink. I tried the HIMITSU BEER SPARKLE from Nara Brewery and Yorocco Beer Down to Earth. For wine, I had Colle Florido Bianco il Postino. Personally, I really liked the HIMITSU BEER from the brewery in Mie. It had a great citrusy flavor. If you don't know much about craft beers, it's best to tell the staff your preferences and let them recommend something for you. Craft beers also have cool designs on their containers, so choosing based on design can be fun too. This place allows you to bring your own snacks, so I'll bring some next time!

Drinking at DEN and then heading to Caricarz with regulars. We decided to try some wine, opting for a selection recommended to us as we are not very knowledgeable about wines. We shared the following bottles: - La Castellada Ribolla Gialla 2015 - Bressan Rosantico 2016 - Vodopivec Origine 2016 - Georgium Pinot Noir - Damijan Ribolla Gialla Selezione 2005 The focus was on Italian wines, with two from Friuli. The Georgium Pinot Noir was from Austria. The orange wines were particularly enjoyable, with a nice balance of acidity and fruity flavors. The Damijan Ribolla Gialla Selezione 2005 was a special treat that is not typically served by the glass. Caricarz truly excels in their wine selection. Thank you for the wonderful experience!

I wanted to have a light drink, so I stopped by. I ordered "Kaishun Tsubo". The manager recommended warming it up as it is quite strong. It was served warm and had a slightly dry taste. It had a strong kick to it even when warmed up. It had an alcohol content of 17% and a polishing ratio of 90%. If I had it cold, it would hit me hard. "Asahikiku" had a light and pleasant taste. It had a subtle fragrance and a mellow feeling. Made from Yamada Nishiki rice with a polishing ratio of 60% and an alcohol content of 15%. It was an easy-to-drink sake. There was one customer before me and a total of four customers in the restaurant while I was there.

I've always wanted to go to this place but was too nervous to go alone. This time I had someone with me so we managed to open the door. We chose the "New Hatsusakura 180ml (¥830)" sake, served hot. It was slightly sweet and elegant. Perfect for this time of year, warm sake is nice. This Hatsusakura was featured in the magazine dunchu as a modern namazake. It has a gentle sweetness with a sharp acidity that stands out. Indeed, the sweetness is gentle! While enjoying it, the brewer from Puku Puku Brewery showed up with some sake, so we couldn't resist having a glass. It's a unique sake that combines traditional Japanese sake-making techniques with innovative craft beer techniques. It had a strong citrus flavor, almost making me question if it was really sake. The place was not crowded on a weekday night. This place might divide opinions, but I quite like it. I'll definitely go back again.

I was looking for a gift to bring to a friend's house for drinking. When I told the store clerk my preferences, they recommended some options for me to compare. After trying a few, I ended up buying a bottle of my favorite sake. It was so convenient, I really like this place.

In a back alley of Kanda Konyamachi, next to Harimasa-do Acupuncture Clinic, a liquor store opened on May 30, 2020. The owner offers carefully selected craft beers, natural wines, and sake. You can try them on the spot or purchase them. It's a trendy open-style shop, different from the traditional "kakuchi" style. Inside the shop, there is a large table in the center where you can stand and drink. On the right wall, there are bottles of sake at room temperature. On the left wall, wines and bottled beers are chilled in the refrigerator. At the back, beer taps are lined up. They also have a special sake warmer for serving hot sake. In June 2020, I passed by and saw some young people having a good time drinking inside the shop. When I approached, the owner welcomed me to join in. They had a handwritten TAP LIST with seven types of craft beers listed, so I tried the Repubrew 69 IPA (400ml) for 1,000 yen. It was a light IPA with a pleasant hop aroma, and I ended up having two more glasses. The atmosphere was relaxed, and various people from nearby restaurants and customers came in for a quick drink. In October 2022, I attended the Sake Go-Around 2022 event and tried the Hatsusakura sake in collaboration with Yasui Sake Brewery from Shiga Prefecture. The appetizer (500 yen) was a soup with crucian carp sushi and fermented deer meat. The young master from Yasui Sake Brewery was there, and I had a nice conversation with him about their "Hatsukoi" sake with a cute label. My friend later bought a bottle of it. In December 2022, I quickly stopped by and had an IPA since there were few customers inside.

On this day, I had a particular restaurant in Kanda in mind and when I went there, it was closed. This kind of thing happens quite often. In such situations, it is convenient to go to a restaurant that you have saved. This restaurant was located in a somewhat hard-to-find place, but there was already one customer there. - The staff are very friendly and have a lot of regular customers who love them. - The staff were considerate towards me, a solo customer, and left a very good impression. - The owner started the restaurant by collecting rare sake from the San'in region. - They have not only sake but also wine and other drinks. - It is a rare restaurant where you can bring your own drinks. - It gets crowded with people on weekends. It seems like a very fun restaurant, so I would like to visit again!

On this day, I stopped by Umetsu's namazake and then headed to Caricares as the second stop. I suddenly felt like having 2-3 more drinks after the go-around the other day. I arrived at the shop around 9 pm. There were two customers already inside and three groups of four customers behind me. Although it's a liquor store, it feels like there are always people enjoying sake tasting. If you come here, start with Umetsu's namazake. Here are the drinks I had: - Umetsu's namazake Tamayoshi - Asahikiku WINS - Sanin Togo Butsuhosho - Junmai Daiginjo Fukura - La Castellada Bianco Vulf Umetsu's namazake Tamayoshi: I chose Tamayoshi over Yamada Nishiki. The astringency in this Umetsu sake is very delicious. Asahikiku WINS: Unlike Umetsu's namazake, it has a sweet and mellow taste. Sanin Togo Butsuhosho Junmai Daiginjo Fukura: Although it's from the same Fukura brewery, the company has changed, and the sake has transitioned from a robust sake suitable for warming to a sake with a strong ginjo aroma. When I ordered Sanin Togo, the staff suggested, "If you want, you can compare it with the one sold for less than 1,000 yen at Don Quijote," so I didn't hesitate to compare them. It's a disappointing change for those who like warmed sake, but they probably had no choice. Oh well... However, a junmai daiginjo for less than 1,000 yen, what's going on? La Castellada Bianco Vulf: I was recommended to try this as Caricares' house wine. Although it's called a house wine, if you buy it by the bottle, it costs around 10,000 yen, which is quite a good wine. It's an orange wine with a refreshing Sauvignon-like taste and a complex flavor of grape seeds and skins, making it delicious even if you don't drink much wine. There are no unnecessary items in this small shop, only delicious sake. Thank you for the meal.

I found this place on the internet for the first time. After having a decent meal at the first party, I decided to have whiskey or sake and remembered that there was a niche standing bar near Kanda Station, or rather a "kaku-uchi." The small shop is lined with beer servers, wine, and a wide variety of sake. I was told that the owner is a drinker who collects his favorite drinks and started this shop two years ago. The manager also seems to be a heavy drinker. It's a really nice and wonderful place. The sake selection is all unfamiliar to me. I was told that most of them are sake from western Japan, with Gunma being the northern limit. It seems that this is how it turned out when the owner collected his favorite sakes. I was impressed by the fact that they serve warm sake by gently heating it with a chiller. I enjoyed drinking warm sake while picking mixed nuts, mostly green peas, in a Japanese style. I feel happy. I heard that it's BYOB, so I'm thinking about where to get some sake. I'm getting excited.

#Caliquors Tokyo# A funky liquor store (standing bar) located in Kanda. A stylish and interesting place where people who love alcohol gather. #Craft beer #Wine #Sake You can order rare drinks by the glass. #Bring your own snacks #Kanda gourmet #Standing bar #Sake lovers unite #Wine lovers unite

Someone said that it's the strongest "kakuchi" (standing bar) in Tokyo. The cheerful manager welcomes you, so you can enjoy drinking alone. The shop closes at 22:00 if there are no customers, but if there are customers, it stays open until morning. When you enter, there is wine on the left, beer at the back, and sake in one-liter bottles on the right. I started with a beer. You can choose from the case yourself or get draft beer from the server. They have a good selection of YOROCCO from Kanagawa. The owner always tries all the drinks before putting them on the shelves, and only keeps the ones he likes. That's why there are many different drinks from the same brewery. The customer next to me called it "hako oshi" (box recommendation). Sake is best enjoyed warm. I initially asked for it at room temperature, but there weren't many recommendations. It might be better to rely on the owner's suggestions. After trying a few sakes, you start to understand the owner's preferences. His dedication to sake is impressive, especially considering how young he is. There isn't much food available, but you can freely eat snacks left by customers. It might be nice to offer to pay when eating them. By the way, using the restroom incurs a fee. The clientele is relatively young, but it's a wonderful place where conversations flow easily among customers. I think I'll visit again soon.

A beer and sake shop. The sake lineup is mostly suited for warm sake, which is not often seen elsewhere. You can taste all the alcohol (for a fee) before buying, making it the best shop. The store is small and it's hard to see inside, but it's a place where only alcohol lovers gather to stand and chat while tasting.

On this day, I visited Caricars for the second time. I had only been there once right after they opened last year. I bought two bottles of Umetsu's nama-zake at that time and have been aging them in the refrigerator. Since I usually drink beer, I tried Yorocco Beer's Cultivator and Dry Hop Farmhouse Ale. Craft beer from Kamakura. - Cultivator: Very delicious hop aroma, fruity acidity and sweetness. It tastes even better when chilled, with a refreshing feeling added. - Dry Hop Farmhouse Ale: Spicy flavor with a good bitterness. It has a clean finish. Both are delicious, with completely different nuances. - Jukasumi Hiyahiya Oroshi: I recently had Hiyahiya Oroshi at Waka. It's R1BY, so it's been aged for over two summers, making it Hiyahiya Oroshi. It has a soft mouthfeel with expanding umami. - Jukasumi Junmai Ginjo Kairyo Omachi: This has become a staple, with a solid umami backbone. It tastes delicious even when warmed or slightly chilled. Perfect for a final drink. Thank you for the meal.

On the last day of work, with no company gathering due to the pandemic, I decided to end the day early and have a solo year-end party. I headed to "Carry Cars Tokyo," a place I learned about from reviews by senior reviewers. It's only a 5-minute walk from my workplace, and although I had passed by the front of the store many times during lunch breaks, I only recently noticed its existence. Inside the store, there is a large standing table for drinking in the center. The refrigerators and shelves on the walls are filled with sake, wine, and beer. There are 8 beer taps, and although only 7 were connected that day, the lineup is unique and shows the owner's dedication, not commonly seen in other places (please refer to the beer list photo). For my first drink, I had a 200ml glass of Fur & Bones, which was surprisingly served in a huge glass. It's a stylish glass with a thin stem, but the large bowl part is filled with the wonderful aroma of the beer. Just bringing the glass close to my nose made me feel so happy! Craft beer is not the only option; they also offer various types of sake and wine. It seems like all the selections are made with the owner's passion, so it would be fun to have them introduce a wine or sake that suits your taste. Since this place doesn't serve food, it's perfect for a quick drink. Checking their Twitter, you can see frequent updates on newly connected craft beers and newly arrived drinks, so it's a good idea for those interested to keep an eye on it. Thank you for the great experience! I will definitely visit again!

On Saturday afternoon, after comparing American craft beers at Screamin' Hop, I decided to challenge myself to the highly anticipated "Caricars Tokyo" in Konnya-cho for the first time! When I entered around 5:30 pm, there were no other customers and the owner was nowhere to be found! It turns out he was taking a nap (lol) - quite a laid-back and unconventional guy! Due to the increase in COVID cases in Tokyo, the number of customers has drastically decreased this week. However, I was able to enjoy a leisurely chat with the owner since it was empty, so it worked out fine for me! Leaving that aside, the great thing about this place is that they have 8 taps of craft beer (7 on that day), so I went all out and started with a Canadian Toronto Godspeed Irori (half pint for 800 yen) - Cheers! It's a Peated Scotch Lager style, with a subtle peat aroma and surprisingly easy to drink. I don't usually drink whiskey, but I might actually like this. After leisurely finishing my first drink, I shifted to a comparison of warmed sake, which I was curious about! It was a bit challenging to choose from the shelf lined with San'in style warmed sake, but I was told to sniff the aroma of the opened sake, so I chose the relatively mild "Juji Asahi" Junmai Ginjo Kaikoshu Omachi (120ml) and had the owner warm it up for me. It's nice that you can warm it up yourself using the "Kansuke"! After finishing the "Juji Asahi," I got a bit carried away and added a second warmed sake, the Ebina "Izumi Hashi" Nama Moto Momoiro Kuro Tonbo (120ml). Since this one also had a relatively mild aroma, I decided to go for it. After that, a few regular customers trickled in, buying wine and sake, but it didn't get too crowded, which was nice. For my second craft beer, I tried the Yorocco Beer Cultivator (half pint for 800 yen), and also bought a can of craft beer for home drinking. In total, I spent around 2800 yen just on drinks, which is the price for standing and drinking! I ended up spending about 3.5 hours here, and overall, I'd rate it 3.8 stars, with a high likelihood of revisiting! Thank you for the meal. The restroom inside the restaurant is apparently paid, so the owner suggested using the restroom at a certain pachinko parlor, but I opted to walk to Kanda Station and use the public restroom under the bridge instead (lol). This might just be the Kanda style!

Umez's nama-zake is not my favorite, it's like Shaoxing wine. Aosui Midoriyama has a smooth and easy-to-drink taste, on the sweeter side.

The variety of alcohol is quite extensive and there are many rare drinks that you don't see elsewhere, which is interesting. However, there is a charge to use the restroom, like 300 yen per visit. If you need to use the restroom, you might have to use the public toilets at the station, which can be dirty. In addition to the restroom fee, the corkage fee for alcohol is high, and the hospitality is low. It's better to use it for takeout.

A great place for natural wine lovers. A must-visit restaurant.