Even bartenders with respectable whisky collections of their own throw in the towel in the face of this Fukagawa gem, famed as an oasis for those looking to sample rare malts at reasonable prices. It’s named after its owner, Kazuhiro ‘Moorie’ Morimura, a born-and-raised Kikukawa local. Fresh out of bartending school and woefully under-financed, Morimura still couldn’t help jumping at the opportunity to open his own place when he got word of a suitable piece of real estate back in 1997.
Designed by the owner himself and decorated together with his father, a house painter, and friends from the neighbourhood, Moorie is a supremely homely, American-style joint with old Hollywood movie posters and signed photographs on the walls. It all reminds us of the old adage that a bar lives and dies with its master, no matter how great the cocktails or how rare the bottles on offer. And knowing that the ‘day’s cocktail’ goes for a mere ¥490, it’s no wonder that Moorie has a stranglehold on the local competition.