Honoring Dr. Jokichi Takamine: Whiskey, Adrenaline, and International Relations

BRONX, NY, USA, July 20, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — This coming Friday–July 21st, at 1:00 pm ET–Dr. Jokichi Takamine (1854-1922) will be honored with a public ceremony outside of his mausoleum at The Woodlawn Cemetery, 4199 Webster Ave., Bronx, NY, celebrating his life and accomplishments.

Takamine was born in Toyama, Japan in 1854 during one of the most tumultuous periods in Japanese history. Like many young men of his generation, he was ambitious and succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations.

In 1891, Takamine patented the use of koji to make alcohol in America and by 1894 he was making koji whiskey in Peoria, IL. If not for industrial sabotage and entrenched political interests, koji whiskey would have been an American style of whiskey by the late 19th century.

Not dissuaded by this failure, Dr. Takamine moved his family to New York City, where in 1901 he isolated medical adrenaline in his Harlem laboratory. This was the first time in history that a human hormone had been isolated. To this day, anyone whose life has been saved by an injection of adrenaline owes a debt of gratitude to Dr. Takamine.

Dr. Takamine died one of the wealthiest men of his day. His funeral was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and he lies at rest at The Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. One of his final acts had been to donate cherry blossom trees to Washington, DC, Grant’s Tomb in New York City, and Baltimore, MD.

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Honkaku Spirits, with permission from The Takamine Faily Foundation, revived his style of whiskey in 2021, releasing Takamine 8-Year Koji Whiskey. The night before the gravesite ceremony, on Thursday, July 20th, Travel Bar in Brooklyn will host A Toast to Jokichi Takamine, a ticketed event open to the public of legal drinking age. Guests will be able to sample the 8-year expression as well as preview the soon-to-be-released 16-year single cask bottling. For tickets, please visit: Japan Distilled: presents a Toast to Jokichi Takamine Tickets, Thu, Jul 20, 2023 at 6:00 PM | Eventbrite.
About Honkaku Spirits: Founded in 2020, Honkaku Spirits was the first portfolio devoted exclusively to koji-fermented spirits including Honkaku Shochu, Ryukyu Awamori from Okinawa, and koji whiskey from Japan. Working exclusively with family-run distilleries, Honkaku Spirits’ mission is to introduce the best traditional Japanese spirits to America. The company is led by Christopher Pellegrini, author of “The Shochu Handbook,” the first English language book about Japan’s indigenous spirits, and supported by ambassador Stephen Lyman, author of the James Beard Award-nominated “Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks.” Bruce Gearhart – formerly president of Bacchus Importers, one of the premier fine wine and craft spirits distributors based in the mid-Atlantic – is the Managing Director. Please follow Honkaku Spirits at @honkakuspirits on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

About The Woodlawn Conservancy:
The Woodlawn Conservancy is the 501c3 not-for-profit support organization for the Woodlawn Cemetery. The primary purpose of the Woodlawn Conservancy is to preserve and interpret the Woodlawn Cemetery (est 1863), a 400-acre National Historic Landmark and Level II Arboretum. Our mission is accomplished through a robust schedule of public programs and the use of the cemetery as an outdoor learning lab. The Conservancy’s signature program is Bridge to Crafts Careers, a workforce development initiative where young people 16-24 are introduced to careers in historic preservation, with intensive training that leads to entry-level positions in masonry and landscape restoration and maintenance. Throughout the year, the Conservancy hosts concerts, author’s talks, and a series of thematic tours designed for students, affinity groups, and the general public. These programs celebrate the legacy of the individuals in Woodlawn’s care, the inventory of trees, and the architects and artisans that created the significant memorials on our grounds. For more information, visit www.woodlawn.org.

About The Woodlawn Cemetery:
Established in 1863 and spanning 400 acres, The Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, is one of the nation’s most distinguished historic cemeteries and a certified Level II Arboretum. In 2011, Woodlawn was designated a National Historic Landmark for its singular importance in the history of the nation and New York City. Woodlawn is also an active cemetery with ongoing burials and funeral services, and more than 310,000 individuals are memorialized on its grounds. Woodlawn is one of the nation’s finest examples of a 19th-century garden cemetery. Its monuments represent some of the best memorial art and architecture in the nation, including nearly 1,300 private mausoleums designed by some of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. The Woodlawn Cemetery is open to the public free of charge 365 days a year from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. For more information, visit www.woodlawn.org.

Interviews, high-res imagery, and more information available upon request.

Meg Ventrudo
The Woodlawn Cemetery & Conservancy
+1 718-920-1469
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