Umami Mart

Jennifer Colliau is one of Bay Area’s greatest bartenders. To use words such as “smart,” “talented,” or “creative” seem to undermine her qualities. Rather, she is a force in the industry — ambitious, yet down to earth; knowledgable, yet curious; confident, yet humble. Her mind is a sponge; she lights up when talking about cocktail history […]

I found this cocktail inside Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails book that we carry at Umami Mart. Aptly named the Mother-In-Law cocktail, it is indeed a stiff enough drink to prepare you for a visit with the in-laws. There’s nothing like a boozy, numbing drink to smooth out anxieties and tensions that a family gathering […]

When we talked about me creating a cocktail with the theme of love for Valentine’s day, I balked. Love… ha! How trite! But in these tumultuous times, we could all use some love. Now, more than ever, am I right? When I walked with thousands of other people at the Women’s March in January, we chanted in unison, […]

A good mixing glass is essential to any home or professional bar. But what should you know before you buy one? Of course, you should pick the one that fits your personal style, but beyond aesthetic appeal, there are a few other considerations that can drastically affect your success at making your next stirred cocktail. Here’s a […]

When the holidays roll around, I reach for Cognac. The Sidecar is my all-time favorite cocktail for these times – a festive mix of Cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon. Nothing says, “Let’s Party!” like a shaken drink; and there is an old-timey, finger-snapping elegance to Cognac that always makes me feel like I’m hanging out with Daisy, Nick, […]

http://blog.umamimart.com/2016/12/gold-rush-sale/ We hope you had a very merry Christmas and are having a very happy Hanukkah! Now that you’ve finished shopping for everyone else, it’s time to start shopping for yourself. Take advantage of this golden opportunity at our Annual Gold Rush Sale. Starting today, get 20% off 24K gold plated barware and gold-rimmed glassware. Sale […]

Our friend Lou Bustamante recently released this great cocktail book that we’re excited to carry in our shop. Lou is a spirits professional who’s worked in almost every aspect of the industry – bartending, working in a distillery, developing recipes and products, teaching cocktail classes, and more. He’s also a published writer – covering the spirits and cocktails world for publications […]

Around this time every year, Yoko’s aunt Judy starts bringing around bags of passion fruit for us. She has a very healthy and giving tree in her backyard, which produces plenty of fruit. Judy has been talking about the cocktail she makes with these passion fruit for some time now. Before we said goodbye last […]

Japanese cobbler shakers are notably smaller than their American counterparts. One of the biggest reasons is completely functional – compact shakers are easier and lighter to handle, especially for the Hard Shake, a mesmerizing cocktail making technique created and perfected in Japan. However, we realize sometimes you need to go big. Over the years we’ve gotten requests for larger cobbler shakers, […]

It is really difficult to create cocktails using sake as a base. Sake tends to be subtle and the nuances are often lost when other spirits are combined into the drink. So it takes a genius who understands these subtleties to come up with a cocktail that allows the sake to shine on the palate. Our friends […]