press release

Yuya Takahashi, the world's best bartender, joins THE KAHALA Lounge

2025.07.15

Signature cocktails will be available from Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

THE KAHALA HOTEL & RESORT YOKOHAMA (Address: 1-1-3 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture / General Manager: Yasutoshi Abe), which will celebrate its 5th anniversary in September 2025, is pleased to announce that bartender Yuya Takahashi, who won the overall championship at #HennessyMyWay 2024, a global cocktail competition hosted by the world-famous cognac brand Hennessy, has joined THE KAHALA Lounge. To commemorate this, the cocktail that won the world championship at the competition, "Tinctura," will be added to the bar menu starting Wednesday, July 16, 2025.

Yuya Takahashi is the bartender who won the overall championship at the global cocktail competition "#HennessyMyWay 2024," sponsored by the world-renowned cognac brand Hennessy and held in Cognac, France and London, England, in October 2024. Born in Iwate Prefecture in 1992, Takahashi worked at over a dozen hotels across Japan in his early 20s. He then joined Resorttrust Co., Ltd. in 2020 and began his career as a bartender at the members-only resort hotel XIV Arima Rikyu. After approximately five years of experience, he has now assumed his position at THE KAHALA HOTEL & RESORT YOKOHAMA. To commemorate this milestone, we will begin serving the world-famous cocktail, "Tinctura," at THE KAHALA Lounge, located on the hotel's top floor. This unique cocktail, which received high praise in a variety of categories, including comprehensive tasting evaluation, sustainability, originality and creativity, product knowledge, and performance, is truly one-of-a-kind.

■About Yuya Takahashi

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Born in Iwate Prefecture in 1992. In his early twenties, he honed his restaurant service skills at over a dozen hotels across Japan, primarily resort hotels. In 2020, he joined Resorttrust Co., Ltd. and began his career as a bartender when he was assigned to the bar at XIV Arima Rikyu, a members-only resort hotel. He has been in his current position since July 2025.

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I am excited to be starting my new position in Yokohama Minato Mirai, a major city that has long served as the gateway to Japan. Please look forward to not only our signature cocktail "Tinctura," but also to the new menu items we will be developing in the future, inspired by the life and scenery of this port city.

■ Overview of the world's best cocktail "Tinctura"

Using Japanese ingredients such as roasted green tea, soybean tea, and Japanese pepper, the cocktail brings out the roasted, spicy, and fruity notes inherent in Hennessy XO's long aging process. The diverse cultural backgrounds of the ingredients are beautifully fused to create a dazzling experience, while the cocktail's creation process, reminiscent of an intricate ritual, left a lasting impression. This cocktail was highly praised not only for its flavor, but also for its memorable experience and performance. "Tinctra" refers to the "philosopher's stone," a legendary substance said to grant immortality, and the cocktail's name comes from the fact that the brandy that forms the base of the cocktail is said to have originated as an elixir of immortality.

・Hennessy XO
・Roasted blend tea (hojicha, black bean tea, used dried Japanese pepper)
・Wine Pumice Liqueur (Wine Pumice Powder + Hennessy VS)
・Sansho syrup (dried sansho pepper + sugar beet molasses)

【場所】THE KAHALA Lounge（ザ・カハラ・ホテル＆リゾート横浜 14階）
【期間】2025年7月16日（水）～通年
【時間】19:00～23:00（ラストオーダー 22:30）
【料金】3,795円（税サ込）
【URL】https://thekahala.jp/yokohama/event/4600/
【お問い合わせ】045-522-0077（レストラン予約10:00~17:00）

<Yuya Takahashi's planned arrival date>

July 16th (Wed), 18th (Fri) - 23rd (Wed), 25th (Fri) - 27th (Sun)
August 2nd (Sat) - 4th (Mon), 6th (Wed) - 8th (Fri), 10th (Sun), 11th (Mon, national holiday), 14th (Thu), 15th (Fri), 17th (Sun) - 19th (Tue), 22nd (Fri) - 25th (Mon), 27th (Wed) - 29th (Fri), 31st (Sun)

press release