New York Fashion Week 2026: Nikaido Shochu Signs On As Official Spirits Partner

With Exclusive Cocktail Tastings and Bar Takeovers at Model Auditions and Live Fashion Shows, Nikaido Joins One of America’s Most Influential Cultural Events, Highlighting Shochu’s Global Relevance and Versatility

NEW YORK, NY - Nikaido, the 160-year-old Japanese family company responsible for a dramatic shift in how Japan drinks with the introduction of its low-calorie, low-alcohol Nikaido Oita Mugi Shochu, announces today that it has signed on as Official Spirits Sponsor of New York Fashion Week 2026 at Sony Hall.

On September 7, Nikaido Shochu will present a cocktail and tasting event at Runway 7, the Official Model Casting & Media Day at NYFW, when more than 3,000 models arrive for runway auditions, alongside press, photographers, and approximately 250 designers and production crew preparing for the forthcoming main show week.

From a custom pop-up bar, Nikaido will pour three signature Oita Mugi Shochu cocktails:

• Hojicha Martini - NIKAIDO paired with roasted green tea (hojicha) — health-conscious and low-ABV, leaning into shochu's lighter profile.
• NIKASO - A refreshing, easy-drinking style built for repeat sips over the course of the evening.
• TokyoSlide - NIKAIDO with soda and Martinelli's iconic sparkling apple cider — a crowd-pleasing, session-able option that will replace your favorite brunch cocktail.

These three cocktails, offering three distinctively different styles, demonstrate Nikaido’s versatility—credible as a premium spirit served neat, and equally at home as the base of a well-crafted cocktail.

Following Runway 7, Nikaido will continue pouring at Sony Hall September 11, 12, and 13, serving two cocktails: New Fashion, a NIKAIDO-based, low-sugar variant of the classic Old Fashion, and Hojicha Martini.

Says Yuichi Nikaido, eighth-generation President of Nikaido, “Nikaido Shochu is dedicated to introducing shochu, one of Japan’s most beloved traditional spirits, to a wider audience across the United States. While we have been building awareness through bars and restaurants, and more recently through sports partnerships on the West Coast, we also believe that shochu belongs in lifestyle and cultural moments that shape contemporary America.

“As New York Fashion Week is one of the world’s leading platforms for fashion, creativity, and cultural influence, it presents a unique opportunity to introduce shochu to new audiences and showcase its versatility in a fresh and modern context.

“We are excited to partner with New York Fashion Week and look forward to inspiring more people to discover and enjoy authentic Japanese shochu.”

ABOUT NIKAIDO

The Nikaido family has been brewing and distilling in Oita prefecture, Kyushu, Japan, for eight generations. Founded in Hiji-Machi in 1866 as a nihon-shu brewery, it has remained in the ownership of the Nikaido family ever since.

In 1949, NIKAIDO began to switch production from nihon-shu to shochu, drawing on the family’s generations of experience working with koji, the essential component in the making of nihon-shu and shochu.

Since the 16th century, shochu has been made using rice koji. But in the early 1970s, Mr. Akira Nikaido, the 6th generation president of the NIKAIDO company, began to develop a novel method of making a 100% barley koji, with the aim of creating a shochu with a cleaner, more broadly palatable flavor profile. He predicted that this would make shochu more accessible to the drinking public, and lead to a growth in popularity of the spirit. When combined with vacuum distillation, the resulting liquid was a new, easier-drinking style that preserved delicate floral aromas and subtle vanilla, toasted coconut, and stone-fruit flavor notes.

In 1974, the first 100% mugi (barley) shochu was released to an enthusiastic public. What was once a region-specific spirit soon became the national drink of Japan, and mugi shochu became the style for which Oita prefecture was known. Oita is now the origin of 99.6% of Japan’s mugi shochu.