I suppose we started collecting bourbon because we were deeply immersed in American culture. Looking back, America itself was the very embodiment of my youth. I loved tossing back a shot of bourbon, followed by a beer as a chaser.

Sticking to a chosen brand and drinking it faithfully might be because it brings back memories of playing pool with friends late into the night. It was precisely because I was so soaked in that American atmosphere that I wanted bourbon to be the core of our bar.

At the same time, I have a memory of unexpectedly ordering a vodka martini at a bar in Shanghai a few years ago and finding it astonishingly delicious. When I asked the bartender for the brand of vodka, he told me it was a premium Russian vodka. That flavor has stayed in my heart ever since.

Vodka, too, has its own starting point for me. When I was living in America, my host family had a Russian babushka—a grandmother. I even started studying Russian back then just so I could talk directly with her.

Although I have never set foot in Russia, that experience sparked a strong interest in Russian culture. I hope that one day, using a premium Russian vodka like the one I encountered back then, we can serve a properly shaken martini to our guests here at the bar. The memories of alcohol that began with my American youth are perhaps slowly transforming and connecting to the counter we have today.