"The new buds of mugwort have just come out," he says, taking out a mortar and pestle, and stirring with a wooden branch instead of a spoon. I gazed upon Hiroyasu Kayama as if I were an elementary school student being shown around a new secret base. He had just returned from a trip to discover Bolivia's local sake, Singani.
Singani is a distilled spirit made solely from Muscat of Alexandria grapes. While neighboring Peru produces Pisco, a distilled spirit made from the same grape, and it has become popular around the world, Singani is still relatively unknown.
"I really did travel all over Bolivia. I saw traditional distillation and, wanting to try Singani, went to the place said to be the birthplace of the drink. It's in an area with no electricity, gas, or running water, where only 30 families produce around 3,000 bottles a year. Then, on the way back, my car got stuck in the river..."
Wanting to know how Singani is consumed, he also ventured into "Bolivia's Golden Street." The eventful report has been detailed on Shikayama's social media.
Tokigawa Town, a no-tourist area
In his early twenties, Shikayama wanted to go abroad to work, but due to family circumstances he had no money and was hesitant to even buy a can of coffee.
"Right now, I'm saying I'm catching up on my delayed youth. But wait a minute. I have something to brag about. I've been writing a diary every day since I was in the third year of junior high school. This triggers memories. (Flipping through the pages of the diary) Ah, in 2019 I went abroad 18 times, caught a cold in Shanghai, got taken away by a bad police officer in Uganda..."
Even in 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he went to Macedonia to harvest juniper berries. Since 2022, he has traveled abroad almost every month. In between guest shifts, he travels to fields and remote villages in search of the origins of plants and alcohol. In Goa, India, he toured distilleries that produce the local liquor Feni, and in Nairobi, Kenya, he explored the juniper berry vegetation. He sometimes even brings a small still from Japan to bring to life the flavors he collects locally.
"I want to turn terroir into a liquid. Since the Industrial Revolution, there have been some things that could only be made with the necessary knowledge and machinery, but I thought that if we use methods that existed before that, anyone could make it themselves as long as they understood the principles. This year I'm also taking my distiller to Mongolia. The bars in Ulaanbaatar are really booming."
In a room in a multi-tenant building, fruits and plants are soaked, dried, or distilled, waiting in an orderly fashion for their turn. 
The techniques and tools are freely available, from grinding, freezing, and setting fire to the process. That's why it's called a den of evil.
Having been ranked in the "WORLD'S 50 BEST BARS" and invited as a guest from various countries and regions, he has experienced firsthand the distribution and development of bar culture around the world.
"Until recently, the current bar culture movement wasn't even seen in Singapore or Hong Kong. Since then, it has spread to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Manila, Phnom Penh... more or less in line with economic growth. Bartenders who can be called driving forces have also appeared in each area. Personally, I would like to go to more places where bartenders are not yet in demand."
Despite traveling abroad so much, Kayama is a local, with two bases in Nishi-Shinjuku, where his bar is located, and Tokigawa Town, Saitama Prefecture, where his parents live. At his family home, known as the "Kayama Farm," he cultivates a variety of plants that can be used as cocktail ingredients, including juniper berries and mugwort.
"I often take bartenders from overseas to Kayama Fields. They are delighted when I tell them, 'This is a no-tourist area.'"
The branch we currently use as a bar spoon is, of course, from a tree growing in the Kayama field.
It's up to you to drop it into the liquid.
"After working in the fields for over 10 years, I sometimes find it cute that the weeds grow so beautifully with each season, and when I pull them out and the smell of the soil reminds me of my childhood. I'm a man obsessed with the past (laughs)."
This year, he will be building a house in his beloved hometown. First, Shikayama will cut down and dry the cedar trees from his family's mountain.
"I wonder what kind of house it will be. It's quite interesting. We will also build a bar counter and a workshop. We will be able to store plants and alcohol and control the temperature properly. Until now, we have been bringing ingredients to Nishi-Shinjuku and preparing them, but from now on, we will be able to harvest them, prepare them directly in the workshop, and then bring them to the bar."
New initiatives have also begun in Nishi-Shinjuku, where the bar is located. For example, an original glass was created by an artist from Toyama. A tiny coupe-shaped glass is set inside the glass, and it also has a lid with a handle.
"Thanks to this glass, we were able to create a system where you place botanicals in the small glass inside and drink the liquid while smelling the aroma. The botanicals can be herbs or spices harvested from the Kayama fields, or even fragrant wood."
The bark of the mesoy plant is dried and infused in vodka. It is then shaken with orange juice and topped off with tonic water. The small glass inside contains lightly toasted mesoy. The smoke is trapped inside, and the aroma is revealed when the lid is opened. 
The African Juniper Gimlet is made by mixing Kenyan juniper berries with Kenyan gin, lemon juice, honey, and sage leaves in a mortar and pestle, then shaking. Garnish with a juniper berry pierced on a cocktail pin. 
"Chufray" is a drink made with Bolivian distilled liquor Singani in the local style. It is made by pouring Singani, lime juice, and ginger ale. Finished with a slice of lime. A refreshing drink that brings out the unique charm of Singani.
Benfiddich has been open for 10 years. He became a bartender at the age of 20, and will be 40 in 2023, which means it will also be his 20th year in the business.
"My goal is to still be standing behind the bar at Benfiddich as a bartender named Hiroyasu Kayama, even 10 or 20 years from now, and to live a fulfilling life in the place where I was born and raised. I want to continue doing these things until I retire in my 90s."
He has received many offers to do business overseas and to open stores in commercial facilities, but he remains adamant about using his own hands and body.
"I believe it's up to me to turn what I've seen into a liquid. I'm the type of person who doesn't like the world turning when I'm not around (laughs). I'd be lonely if I came back and the atmosphere in my place had changed."
Shikayama's spirit is to ferment and distill the fruits of his travels and the memories he has cultivated in his hometown, whether they be liquid or memories, and bring them to fruition as cocktails. He snapped off the branch he had just stirred and let me smell it, saying, "See, it smells great, doesn't it?"
