Hiroshima-Venice Friendship Commemoration Original Cocktail Launch Event with BACARDI JAPAN

“Sakurao Brewery and Distillery Co., Ltd. (hereafter SAKURAO B&D 1-12-1 Sakurao, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima Prefecture; President & Representative Director Koichiro Shirai) and BACARDI JAPAN LIMITED (Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President & Representative Director Tomonori Azuma) held a Hiroshima-Venice Friendship Commemoration Original Cocktail Launch Event at Hilton Hiroshima on March 10th, 2024.

Guests of Honor at the Ceremony
(From left: Mr. Tomonori Azuma, President & Representative Director of BACARDI JAPAN LIMITED; Mr. Gianpaolo Bruno, Head of the Trade Promotion Section, Embassy of Italy in Japan; Mr. Marco Prencipe, Consul General of Italy in Osaka; Mr. Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima City; Mr. Yasuo Harada, President, Italy-Japan Association of Hiroshima; Mr. Koichiro Shirai, President & Representative Director of SAKURAO B&D.)

The ceremony was attended by Mr. Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima city, and Mr. Marco Prencipe, Consul General of Italy in Osaka. Additionally, representatives from restaurants in Hiroshima and media organizations were invited to celebrate the friendship between the two cities with original cocktails.

The three original cocktails were inspired by the connections between the two cities and were crafted with Japanese gin using Japanese ingredients from SAKURAO B&D, along with vermouth and sparkling wine from BACARDI JAPAN's Italian brand, MARTINI. Owner and bartender from The Bar TopNote, Shingo Noma, who has close connections to both companies, created and served the cocktails at the event.

After the event, we will conduct promotions, such as distributing cocktail books, so that the cocktails can be offered at restaurants and bars in Hiroshima and other cities in Japan. We hope that the enjoyment of the original cocktails will further deepen the friendship between Hiroshima and Venice.

《 Original Cocktails for Hiroshima-Venice Friendship Commemoration 》

From the left: Bacaro, Hand in Hand Negroni, Unite Bellini

Hand in Hand Negroni

Venice developed through seaborne trade and is a beautiful water city that prospered as a trade capital connecting Europe and the East in the Middle Ages. Hiroshima has also flourished as a water city. This cocktail connects these cities of water, celebrating their beautiful waterside and ocean scenes. SAKURAO GIN, made from carefully selected Hiroshima ingredients, and MARTINI, made from grapes grown in the Veneto region of Italy, are perfectly matched. This cocktail is a proof of the friendship that the history of these water cities has brought together.

Bacaro

Venice was a place where goods from faraway places gathered, connecting the West with the East. The traditional cuisine of Venice reflects its unique history. One type of food culture that is unique to Venice is the ‘bacaro.’ A bacaro is a place for casual drinking and eating and is a symbol of the aperitivo culture.

Unite Bellini

The most famous cocktail in Venice, the Bellini, is named after the Venetian painter Giovanni Bellini. It is said that Harry’s Bar, a famous restaurant bar in Venice, named the cocktail after Bellini because the pink color of the cocktail is similar to the pink in Bellini’s paintings. This Bellini has been reimagined with the blessings of the Hiroshima sun. The Unite Bellini, a gorgeous cocktail made with yuzu and peach juice, was born.

《 BACARDI JAPAN LIMITED 》
Founded in Cuba in 1862, BACARDI is now the world’s largest privately held spirits company, selling BACARDI Rum, Dewar’s Scotch, Bombay Sapphire, and other brands enjoyed in over 170 countries and regions worldwide. The company established its Japanese subsidiary in 1995 and began a business alliance with Sapporo Breweries Limited in 2011, offering Japanese customers new ways to enjoy alcoholic beverages.

《 About MARTINI 》
Founded in 1863, this long-established Italian brand boasts the world’s No. 1* sales volume. Its products, including vermouth, liqueur, and sparkling wine, are made from grapes produced by contract farms that have been passed down through generations. Highly acclaimed for their quality, these products have received numerous awards and medals from royal families and organizations in various countries and are loved by consumers worldwide.
*Vermouth: in sales volume from Jan. to Dec. 2022 (IWSR)
*Italian sparkling wine: in sales volume from Jan. to Dec. 2022 (IWSR)