Uyeda, Kazuo (1944–), is a bartender and bar owner who is considered one of the five “grand masters of Japanese bartending,” along with Yuichi Hoshi, Hisashi Kishi, Takao Mori, and Hidetsugu Ueno. See Ueno, Hidetsugu. His global claim to fame is as the inventor of the “hard shake,” a highly stylized way of employing the three-piece cocktail shaker that he claims rounds off spirit flavors and creates a far colder and smoother cocktail than other shaking styles. See hard shake.
Uyeda was born in Chanai, Hokkaido. His first bartending job was at Tokyo Kaikan in 1966. Eight years later he moved to Shiseido Parlor and Bar l’Osier, where he was appointed chief bartender and director in 1995. In 1997, Uyeda opened his own bar in Ginza, Tender, where he is still to be found most nights. See Tender Bar.
Despite a reticent and private demeanor and a lack of English skills, he rose to global visibility via the Slovak bartender Stanislav Vrdrna, who idolized him and organized training sessions for him in Bratislava and New York where he introduced the hard shake to the Western bartending world.
He is the author of several bartending books, including Cocktail Techniques, published in 2000, which is one of the very few Japanese bartending books to have been translated into English. His signature drink is the Grasshopper, and he is also credited with the coral garnish whereby salt is applied thickly to the outside of the glass using colored liquors. See Grasshopper. In common with many Japanese bartenders, he pays much more attention to the color and appearance of his drinks than is common in Western bartending.
“Kazuo Uyeda.” Difford’s Guide. https://www.diffordsguide.com/people/51651/bartender/kazuo-uyeda (accessed March 15, 2021).
Tamasaburau. “The Best Tokyo Bars: Meet the Masters.” Time Out Tokyo, July 8, 2016, https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/bars-and-pubs/the-best-tokyo-bars-masters (accessed March 15, 2021).
Uyeda, Kazuo. Cocktail Techniques. New York: Mud Puddle, 2010.
By: Angus Winchester