Ueno, Hidetsugu (1967–), is a bartender and bar owner and is considered by many to be the de facto global ambassador for Japanese bartending due to extensive world travel and his comfort with lecturing in English. He is also considered one of the “five godfathers” of Japanese bartending. See Uyeda, Kazuo.
Ueno started bartending in 1992, though his rise to prominence started eight years later as opening bartender at the critically revered Star Bar in Tokyo with his friend Hishahi Kishi. This led him in 2008 to open his own bar, Bar High Five, in Tokyo’s frenetic Ginza neighborhood. High Five has won numerous international plaudits. Renowned for carving ice into diamond shapes, Ueno San, as he is known, has been a judge for Diageo’s World Class Competition since its inception and in 2016 won World’s Best Bartender at the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards.
See also ice carving; Japan; and Tales of the Cocktail.
“Hidetsugu Ueno San.” Difford’s Guide. https://www.diffordsguide.com/people/9307/bartender/hidetsugu-ueno-san (accessed December 12, 2016).
McGoram, Simon. “An Interview with Hidetsugu Ueno.” Australian Bartender, February 6, 2011. https://australianbartender.com.au/2011/02/06/an-interview-with-hidetsugu-ueno/ (accessed December 12, 2016).
By: Angus Winchester