“The Japanese Art of the Cocktail” Book by Hanna Lee Communications Wins Spirited Award

Editor's Note: We are delighted to bring you exciting news about the book, "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail." This book is a treasure for people interested in cocktail culture and many others.

Hanna Lee Communications (HLC), an award-winning PR agency specialized in hospitality, travel and luxury brands, today announces that its first book, "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail," won the 2022 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for "Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book." The book is the first by HLC Book Media, where the agency identifies authors among its clients and compelling subjects to bring new hospitality and lifestyle books to life. Promotional efforts, including PR and digital marketing, are built into every phase of the publishing process to create maximum visibility and ensure success.

The Spirited Award win follows a coveted James Beard Media Award nomination, a Barnes & Noble "Best Book of 2021" (Best Cookbooks) and an Amazon Editor's Pick, with the book recently nominated for an IACP Award.

"We are humbled and elated by this recognition of our first book by Tales of the Cocktail," says Anstendig, who is also a freelance journalist. "Winning this award is truly a dream come true, especially for first-time authors like us. It was an honor to collaborate with Masahiro Urushido and bring the fullness of his mixological journey to life. We congratulate the other Spirited Award nominees for their worthy tomes."

Celebrated at One of the World's Most Prestigious Cocktail Gatherings

Tales of the Cocktail's annual gathering in New Orleans is one of the most anticipated and prestigious in the bar and cocktail world. The Spirited Awards, judged by respected bartenders, bar owners, educators and writers from across the globe, represent excellence, both behind the bar and at the keyboard. They have emerged among the industry's most globally recognized accolades.

Part Memoir, Part Travelogue, Part Recipe Book

The book, co-authored by Katana Kitten's Masahiro Urushido and the agency's Editor in Chief/Partner Michael Anstendig, was produced by the agency's President & Founder Hanna Lee who served as the book's Chief Creative Officer. With a foreword by cocktail historian and acclaimed author David Wondrich, the book tells Urushido's epic story of growing up in Japan and becoming a leading bartender, first in Tokyo and later in New York City. Part memoir, part travelogue, part recipe book, it was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, now part of HarperCollins. The book includes 90 recipes for cocktail and bar snacks from Urushido and 35 bartenders in the U.S. and Japan who work in this style, with stunning photography by Eric Medsker.

Earning the Highest Recognition in the Publishing and Cocktail Worlds

• Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award
• The 2022 James Beard Media Award Nomination
• Esquire's ​​The 15 Best-and Most Anticipated-Cookbooks of 2021
• A Barnes & Noble "Best Book of 2021" (Best Cookbooks)
• Amazon Editor's Pick 2021
• Amazon 5-Star Rating
• 2022 IACP Award Finalist
• Hermes Creative Award for Book Design
• 2022 PR News Platinum Award Nominations

"We launched our agency's HLC Book Media to pioneer new ways of telling our clients' stories in their fullest depth and breadth," says Lee. "It is beyond gratifying to see our book recognized and celebrated by our industry peers at one of the top cocktail organizations in the world. Our book is a cornerstone of our agency's Innovation Series that is pushing the envelope of storytelling and brand building for our clients."

(Cover Photo for "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail" by Eric Medsker")

Spotlighted in More Than 100 Top Media Outlets Globally

• U.S.: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Esquire, Forbes, Town & Country, Robb Report, MSN, Imbibe, MarketWatch, Food52, Maxim, VinePair, TODAY.com, PUNCH, COOL HUNTING, Barron's Penta, InsideHook, Vice, Salon, Wine Enthusiast, Architectural Digest, The Spirits Business, Barleycorn Drinks, Liquor.com, Gotham Magazine, Alcademic, Bartender at Large Podcast, Modern Bar Cart Podcast and more
• International: The Cocktail Lovers, Christie's International Real Estate Magazine, Cocktails Distilled, On the Back Bar Podcast and more

"With 23 years of experience running an independent bookstore, it was truly a pleasure to sell 'The Japanese Art of the Cocktail' at this year's Tales of the Cocktail and at my store," says Tom Lowenburg, Owner, Octavia Books in New Orleans. "We have partnered with the festival for more than a decade and were proud to give the book a place of prominence in our display. Needless to say, we sold out. The book eloquently documents the rise of Japanese-American cocktails while interweaving a very compelling personal story. We congratulate the team on their debut book's well-deserved win."

At this year's Tales of the Cocktail, Anstendig and Lee also helped lead a sold-out seminar titled, "How to Write Your First Book," together with fellow first-time authors Holly Graham ("Cocktails of Asia"), Julia Momose ("The Way of the Cocktail") and Martin Hudak ("Spiritual Coffee"). The panel delved into the intricacies of the publishing process from start to finish, including working with traditional publishing houses versus self-publishing.

Testimonials by Leading Authors, Mixologists and Spirits Industry Luminaries

"Like the New York bar he joyfully presides over, Katana Kitten, a drinking den that effortlessly balances high and low aesthetics, Masahiro Urushido embodies both the precise artistry of Japanese bartending and the sunny generosity of pure hospitality. He is, in other words, both the diamond and the shine. You couldn't hope for a better guide through the intricacies and delights of Japan's many contributions to artful drinking."

-Robert Simonson, The New York Times

"Masa says he's obsessed with serving 'surprises' to his guests. That's certainly my experience at Katana Kitten, where the Hinoki Martini arrives cradled in a wooden box, garnished to the hilt, and misted with a final aromatic spritz. He's delivered the equivalent with this book: These aren't standard drinks, but surprises, informed by deep dedication to craft and illuminated by Masa's crinkly megawatt smile."

-Kara Newman, spirits editor for Wine Enthusiast, and author of Cocktails with a Twist

"A palimpsest if there ever was one, the story of the cocktail has been written, erased, and rewritten on the same sliver of land-Manhattan-for well over a century; and the author before you will leave his mark there, too. Masa Urushido's improbable journey from Nagano, Japan, to his perch at Katana Kitten on Hudson Street is one of a growing number of influential cross-pollinations between the cocktail cultures of Tokyo and Manhattan that once bred New York bars in Tokyo and Tokyo bars in Manhattan, and has gradually hybridized into an unclassified, genre-defying, Nikkei-like approach to cocktails in each city. If you read this tenderly written, beautifully photographed text by one of America and Japan's most rightfully beloved bartenders closely, I believe you'll begin to see a new way of tending bar and mixing drinks emerging-undeniably Japanese, but distinguishably American, too-like a flower blossoming improbably between the tiles of a heavily trodden sidewalk in either town."

-Jim Meehan, author of Meehan's Bartender Manual and The PDT Cocktail Book

"Masahiro is the best bartender I know. Scratch that, he's the best bartender any of us know. Ask any bartender who their favorite is, and Masa's name will always come up first. Every time I'm fortunate enough to be in his presence, I am constantly taking notes in an attempt to be a better bartender myself. In this book, he generously shares with us a few of the tricks that make him the best of the best."

-Jeffrey Morgenthaler, bar manager of Clyde Tavern, co-author of The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique and author of Drinking Distilled

"Masa has taken the concept of bartending and elevated it into his own unique art form. You will surely enjoy this unforgettable sensory trip."

-Mike Miyamoto, Suntory Whisky Global Brand Ambassador

To purchase "The Japanese Art of the Cocktail" please visit Amazon.com HERE.

Photo Credit: Lead photo by Cory Fontenot

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