Sip and Guzzle Logotype

In 1860, the Japanese consulate, comprised of 77 samurai, made its first voyage to the United States. During this journey, they made their way to New York City, where they frequented the legendary Jerry Thomas' bar, located on Broadway. In Thomas' 1862 publication of “How to Mix Drinks,” he gives the recipe for his Japanese Cocktail, which was created for the Japanese diplomat, Tateishi Onojirou Noriyuki.

Shingo Gokan’s The SG Club in Tokyo imagined the kind of American bar that these worldly samurai would have opened upon returning to Tokyo. Sip and Guzzle represents the next chapter of this vision and imagines if the samurai did open that bar and took everything they learned, the best of New York and Tokyo, and came back to to where it all started.

Welcome to Sip & Guzzle

Team

Shingo Gokan

International bartending icon Shingo Gokan is a 22-year bar veteran and the creative force behind some of the highest-ranked bars in the world, including The SG Club, Speak Low, Sober Company and The Odd Couple. After earning the title of Global Champion at the Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition in 2012, Gokan has earned numerous prestigious titles, including International Bartender of the Year at Tales of the Cocktail 2017. He also took home Altos Bartender’s Bartender in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2019, and Roku Industry Icon in Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021, making him the first person to win these two awards. Gokan has been recognized in Bar World 100 as one of the most influential figures in the bar industry for the past five years, placing as high as No. 4. He is the founder of SG Group which operates eight bars and restaurants in Japan and China. SG Group is the winningest hospitality company associated with World’s 50 Best Bars and Asia’s 50 Best Bars, with 49 cumulative awards. Sip & Guzzle is the next chapter of the story set by The SG Club, the bar ranked No.3 at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2021 and No.10 at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2020. 

Shingo shares, “I started my career at the legendary Angel’s Share prior to opening bars in Japan and China, so coming back to New York to open Sip and Guzzle is very special to me,” says Gokan. “My life shares a common origin story with the samurai who came to the Big Apple and returned to Asia with passion and knowledge. Now, I’m bringing back everything I’ve learned in Asia and working with Steve Schneider, the consummate New York bar star, to share it at the first expansion of The SG Club. The incredible bar fare by Chef Mike Bagale takes our original concept to a whole new level.

Steve Schneider

Steve Schneider has more than 20 years of bar experience in New York, Singapore, Shanghai and Panama City, earning a reputation as one of the most respected and inspiring bartenders in the industry. Steve is a Partner at Employees Only Singapore, The Odd Couple in Shanghai and The Elysian Café in Hoboken, N.J. These positions followed a long-time stint as a Principal Bartender at Employees Only in New York when it earned “The World’s Best Cocktail Bar” Award at Tales of the Cocktail. Steve joins as Bar Manager and Head Bartender at Guzzle. 

“I’m stoked to be back in the Big Apple collaborating with the one and only Shingo Gokan to give New Yorkers their first-ever taste of The SG Club as seen through a New York lens,” says Schneider. “Shingo and I could not be any more different as people and in our bartending styles. But as we demonstrate at our first collaboration, The Odd Couple, in Shanghai, that is why the magic happens. I can’t wait for our guests to have a high-energy, fun experience on the ground floor with me and a slower-paced, sublime time downstairs at Shingo’s intimate bar.”

Mike Bagale

Mike Bagale is the former executive chef of Chicago’s three Michelin star Alinea. Known for his progressive and experimental cooking, during his eight-year tenure the restaurant placed 7th on the esteemed World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.  In 2012, he became the first person in history to create floating food with Alinea’s famous edible green apple balloon. He currently operates Super Food Concepts: an international creative consultancy firm that collaborates on dining experiences with artists and brands from around the world. 

“Much of the inspiration behind what I like to describe as a modern izakaya-style menu began in Japan- down slim, dimly-lit back alleys perfumed with binchotan smoke, on the B1-level of department stores, among the serene streets of Omotesando. I spent three years living abroad, with much of that time in Asia, and this menu is a culmination of my memories, retooled and reframed, and designed to complement the whimsical and singular tipples by my partner, Shingo Gokan.”

Ben Yabrow

Ben Yabrow is a Tales of the Cocktail-nominated bartender and partner in Sip & Guzzle - the New York extension of Tokyo-based, World’s 50 Best-recognized The SG Club.

A protégée of globally-acclaimed bartender Shingo Gokan, most recently Yabrow served as head bartender at New York’s experimental cocktail den Double Chicken Please. During his tenure, the dual-concept lounge was crowned sixth best bar in the world and the number one ranked bar in North America on the esteemed World’s 50 Best Bars list, and also won the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for World's Best Cocktail Menu–one of the bartending world’s highest honors.

Previously, Yabrow spent time working with Gokan at The SG Club; he was part of the team that earned The SG Club the ranking of 10th best bar in the world.

“When Shingo reached out to me in 2019 asking if I wanted to open bars with him in New York City, it was the easiest decision I’ve ever made. 2 months later I was living in Tokyo working at The SG Club which made me fall in love with bartending all over again. I’m so excited to bring next chapter of this concept home to the US and show this city what we’ve been working on for the past 4 years. Partnering up with people like Shingo, Steve, and Mike is a dream come true for anyone in the industry, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside such talented and overall good people.”