A Glass That Stays Gently by Your Side on Christmas Eve: The Winter Mandarin Cocktail
2026.10.05
In short: for Christmas Eve 2025, Bar Little Happiness in Hiroshima offered a limited “winter mandarin” fruit cocktail for guests who don’t drink whisky or rum, and chocolates made to pair with spirits for those who do.
Merry Christmas. Hiroshima is wrapped in even brighter lights tonight.
Little Happiness is a whisky and rum specialist, but once in a while we gently step outside that frame.
For today, Christmas Eve, we have prepared a glass that brings a cosy warmth to a special night.
It is like the memory of winter mandarins we devoured under the kotatsu as children.
Among the many kinds of mandarin, that unique sweet-and-sour scent makes you feel warm deep inside: “Ah, winter has come again this year.”
We have sealed that nostalgic, precious gift of the season into a glass.
🍊 “Winter Mandarin Fruit Cocktail” 🍊
Carefully made to bring out the mandarin’s natural fruitiness as much as possible.
“Whisky and rum might not be for me…”
If you are here with a partner who feels that way, we highly recommend this cocktail.
Fresh and gentle, with no sense of strong alcohol.
They can spend the holy night at the same pace as you, beside you as you enjoy the depth of whisky and rum.
I would be happy if it becomes a soothing glass, like a “perch” to rest on.
And for you, the lover of whisky and rum: “chocolates made for the bar.”
A special piece created only to bring out — never to disturb — the complex aromas of the drink, sharpening and deepening its outline.
Of course, your partner will surely enjoy it too.
The moment it touches your tongue, a blissful delight you have never tasted anywhere else spreads out.
A marriage that slowly melts together in your mouth. Perhaps this is how grown-ups enjoy Christmas.
📝 Please note: this winter mandarin cocktail is a limited menu item.
As a gift of the season, it appears on a whim and disappears on a whim — a special encounter just for tonight.
Step away, just a little, from the bustle of the holy night.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Every encounter is meant to be. Welcome to the world of Rum&Whisky.
Mika Tanimoto, Bar Little Happiness
[About the author]
Mika Tanimoto
CEO, Little.m Inc. / Owner-bartender
Since 2006, I have run Bar Little Happiness, a whisky and rum bar in Nagarekawa, Hiroshima. I visit distilleries in Japan and around the world and write about the people who make the spirits. Recipient of the Hiroshima City Excellent Skilled Worker Award.
“Whisky and rum taste even better when you know the hearts of the people who make them.”
[Visit the bar] 📍 Bar Little Happiness
Rolling Nagarekawa 1F, 5-14 Nagarekawa-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima
Mon–Sat 7:00 pm – 12:30 am / Sun 7:00 pm – 12:00 am (closed when I travel to visit distilleries)
No cover charge, no reservation needed
