Cocktail

One of the cool things about cocktails, as opposed to fancy chef recipes, is their accessibility. Just about any joker armed with a good cocktail book, booze, ice, jigger, and shaker can mix up a drink with great results.

I'm not one for brunch, which is rather unfortunate since I live in the City of Brunch, New York. Don't get me wrong, I dig eggs Benedict, smoked salmon and bagels, and Bloody Marys--when they are properly prepared.

I think the events of the last couple of weeks deserve a signature cocktail. I have here a modest offering to commemorate the recent financial meltdown: The Old-Fashioned Bail Out.

I'm not exactly sure when and where I first tried Hitachino Nest brand beer. (Perhaps it was at Blue Ribbon Sushi in New York?) But since their debut in the late 1990's, the Japanese craft brews have had a meteoric rise to fame, garnering much praise and acquiring cult-like devotion.

Navigate Japan's mixology epicenter—as tipsily traversed by writer Hugh Garvey in "Tokyo, Cocktail Capital of the World"—with this helpful map.

In the city's back alleys, subbasements, and skyscrapers, Japan's bartenders have perfected the fine art of mixology. For a slideshow of images from this story, click here. And check out an annotated map of Tokyo showing where to taste the best of the city's cocktail revolution.