Japanese sake is made from water, rice, and koji. There are many specific rice varieties cultivated for brewing sake, all of which are lumped together as sakamai (酒米). Some are more prominent than others and one in particular has gotten itself a bit of a cult following. You may refer to it as the OG or grandfather of sakamai and of course, we are r…

In our latest Podcast Cindy Bissig and Frank Walter had the pleasure to welcome no other than Singapore’s first Sake Samurai – Adrian Goh, the director and chief educator at Inter Rice Asia, IWC judge and organizer of one of Singapore’s biggest Sake Matsuris! For anyone unfamiliar with what a Sake Samurai is or how to become one, it is a prestigiou…

Sebastien Lemoine, Chris Hughes, and Miho Ota sit down with Sam Boulton, author, mixologist and drinks consultant to talk about his new book, “The Art of Mixing Koji Cocktails.” Sam is based in Birmingham, and is one of handful of experts on Japanese booze in the UK. He was a participant in this year’s Advanced Shochu Academy in Kagoshima, and then…

Many people will be familiar with the word GI (Geographical Indication), especially if they are familiar with wine. Famous GIs are known around the world like Champagne or Prosciutto. But what about sake? Does sake need a GI system? What does a GI actually mean? Where do we find these regions in Japan and does GI make any sense in the sake world? O…

As sake continues to gain popularity around the world, shochu is next in line. In August 2024, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association (JSS) held its inaugural week-long Advanced Shochu Academy in Kagoshima. The event was designed to educate professionals in the global beverage industry about shochu. The 12 participants came from diverse backg…

Happy Sake Day! Here is a list of events that are happening this month in Japan and around the world. Outside Japan (Sake Day Events) On October 1st in Melbourne, Australia. Tamura Sake Bar is celebrating World Sake Day 2024 from 6 to 9PM. https://www.tamurasakebar.com/ On October 4th from 4 to 10 pm, World Sake Day NYC 2024 will be happening at Th…

Nada is a well-known name in the world of sake. Almost a brand, it is associated with the area whose sake dominated the Edo (Tokyo) market in the later part of the Edo period (1603-1868), and it is still the largest sake production area in Japan. Despite this track record, “Nada sake” can sometimes be reduced to an association with “Industrial sake…

This week on our show, we’re heading to Kagoshima, the heart of Japan’s shochu production! Join us as one of our regular hosts, Chris Pellegrini, sits down with the incredible Maya Aley – a certified Shochu Meister and industry expert with over 6 years of experience. Maya is also the manager of Bar Roku, a must-visit destination for shochu lovers. …

Summer in Japan is hot! Too hot some might say. To help beat the heat, nihonshu producers sell a variety of sake called natsuzake or “summer sake.” But what is natsuzake really? It has no legal definition and no established taste or serving guidelines. Miho Ohta and John Gauntner have a conversation about the recent trends in natsuzake until Frank …

This week we are excited to welcome not just one, but two amazing guests to our table Yu Nakamura and Nattinee Sirirattanapol, aka Pam, who are changing the face of sake in Thailand with an array of amazing projects and collaborations! So join us as one of our regular hosts Chris Hughes sat down with them at our base the Japan Sake and Shochu Infor…

We’re Back! This time we are talking to Maksim Polkin of Imadeya, one of the most well known sake distributors in Japan. He is usually at their Ginza Six location, but helps introduce people to the wonders of sake all around Tokyo. Sebastien Lemoine and Chris Hughes talk with Maksim about how he found himself in Japan and in Sake. Their conversatio…

This week Chris Hughes continues our discussion of contract brewing sake with a conversation with Nathaniel Hoy. We started this series with Episode-117: A Sake of Your Own: Contract Brewing Sake: in which Sebastien Lemoine, Chris and Justin Potts shared their opinions and expertise on the trend of sake companies brewing custom sakes for clients. W…

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air Sebastien Lemoin and Cindy Bissig are talking about the World’s largest sake event, which just so happens to be a project that one of our other regular hosts; Rebekah Wilson Lye is deeply involved in. We are of course talking about Craft Sake Week in Tokyo! Japan’s most prominent sake event, which was founded b…

During the recording of Episode 115 “Should sake be promoted like wine?”, Sarah Stewart mentioned a research project between some members of the British Sake Association, and Coravin, the US firm selling a device aimed at preserving the flavors of wine in the bottle after indulging oneself with one glass or two. Intrigued, Sebastien Lemoine reached…

This week Justin Potts, Chris Hughes, and Sebastien Lemoine discuss the growing trend of sake companies making special sakes for clients and/or partners. The conversations covers the benefits to both established breweries and entrepreneurs trying out their ideas before having to create their own brewery. Their conversation also goes into the differ…

This week we’re digging a classic from out of the cellar – our episode exploring the absolute magic of sake that’s been crafted to stand the test of time. While still a relatively niche category within sake, more and more producers are leaning into clearly communicating the amount of time – and in what form – their sake spends maturing prior to rel…

It feels like only the very recent past when opportunities for more formal sake education and certifications were few and far between, and when they were available, they were often infrequent and hosted in only a handful of territories, which made learning from knowledgeable industry insiders and professionals relatively prohibitive for most of the…

We’re getting back to basics this week in the world of shochu with one of our most popular shows from our back catalog: Shochu 101. Released back in December of 2018, Mr. Shochu himself, Christopher Pellegrini, walks us through the fundamentals that should help anyone new to the category better understand and enjoy Japan’s incredible indigenous spi…

This week’s episode of Sake On Air we dive further into the topic started with our post “Is wine the best way to promote sake?” last year. Arline Lyons, who wrote the post and has extensively researched the topic, takes a seat behind the mic and joins one of our regular hosts, Sebastien Lemoine to talk more about her findings. However, we thought i…

Many of our listeners are likely aware of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture back on New Years Day, 2024. While the most severe damage was unquestionably across the peninsula, the massive quake reverberated across neighboring prefectures as well, resulting in extensive, far-reaching damage that’s goin…

We are always thrilled to be joined by special guests here at Sake On Air, but it is rather rare that we have a chance to interview a 15th-generation kuramoto. This week we’re thrilled to share our recent interview with Junichi Masuda, newly appointed CEO of Tokubee Masuda Shoten, makers of Tsukinokatsura, a brand of which we are all collectively h…

This week we’re digging up a classic from the archives that we released back in April 2020. The theme of the week is kanzake, which felt appropriate as a majority of our audience is now officially rolling into the winter months. If you’re interested in more warm/hot sake insight, we highly encourage you to check out the special session we hosted fr…

With more travelers these days favoring unique experiences over a few days of leisure for their limited vacation days, Japan’s sake breweries have gradually been improving and expanding their offerings to both domestic and international visitors choosing to tick “sake journey” off their bucket list. An industry that’s largely sheltered itself from …

Fabio Ota joins regular host Sebastien Lemoine to talk all things sake in Brazil. Fabio, a lawyer turned sake guy, is the CEO and creator of Megasake, São Paulo’s premier sake shop and distributor. He was named a Sake Samurai earlier this year as part of the 18h cohort, and holds 13 different sake certifications. Sebastien and Fabio get into the in…

For many years a Sake Tasting Competition has been held for selected sake sommeliers from across the country in Tokyo to challenge their tasting skills and knowledge. This year the Brewing Society of Japan has released a special tasting kit, that can be bought by anyone (depending on the availability of it, of course) to help sake professionals and…

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air we dive further into the world of Shochu and Cocktails as we are excited to have had the chance to talk to Christian Suzuki-Orellana, aka ‘Suzu’, the founder of Kagano Pop-Up, General Manager & Bartender at “Wildhawk” as well as a participant of the immensely popular Netflix show, “Drink Masters”. Among his man…

This week, we ask that you indulge us just a bit as we…indulge. During Justin’s super-secret (and all-too-brief) return to Japan we had the opportunity to conduct a single recording. That date just happened to coincide with Kusu Day (September 4th) and the magnificent tasting set available at the JSS Information Center. Since Awamori doesn’t get ne…

In our last podcast episode of Sake On Air, we had two of our regular hosts Chris Hughes and John Gauntner talk with Katsunari Sawada, the man behind the pocket-sized sake can, KURA One. If you have not had a chance to listen to it yet, we recommend you do so (here) before listening to the 2nd part, as we are looking further into the question of wh…

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air, two of our regular hosts Chris Huges and John Gauntner came together to chat with Katsunari Sawada san, the mastermind behind KURA One! For anyone unfamiliar with KURA ONE, the company’s mission in their own words “is a sake service that changes the “unreachable” into “deliverable”.” Moving away from the bigge…

Arline Lyons never expected to be the go-to translator for sake related writings coming out of Japan, but remix Mr. Crichton, “sake finds a way.” Our American host in America, Justin Potts sat down with her to talk sake, translation, and some exciting news regarding the growth of Sake on Air. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Arline holds the (WSET) Le…

How do we effectively promote Japan’s indigenous beverages? That is the million-dollar question and something the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association are working on relentlessly every day. On the Shochu front, one way they are doing this is by collaborating with bartenders and mixologists from all around the world who have fallen in love with …

Martin Sturma’s path to kurabito life at Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten has been a winding one. He first started working with sake at the JETRO Prague office, but he had already fallen in love with drink thanks to a fateful encounter on a study abroad trip to the U.S., of all places. By 2020 he was ready to make the move to Japan and start working at a b…

Somehow, they’ve done it. Despite the long list of complex and seemingly impenetrable barriers, the folks at Tippsy have managed to make a large, diverse, and inspiring range of sake available to anyone just about anywhere in the U.S. Since founding Tippsy in 2018, Genki Ito has managed to expand Tippsy’s offerings to over 400 unique products and m…

Aruten, arukoru tenka, or the ingredient largely responsible for the need to create a category of junmai sake in the first place, is sake that has been made with an addition of brewer’s alcohol. Four years and 4 months ago John, little Chris, big Chris, and Justin discussed the differences between junmai and aruten sake in episode 11 of Sake on Air…

“Moyashi” is a bit tricky: it’s simply translated as “bean sprout” in Japanese, but in the world of sake it refers to the sprouting koji starter knows as tane-koji, in Japanese. In this week’s episode we get insight as to how this important terminology also ties into an even more specialized term “soyashi” and how the fermentation process is connec…

The amount of “genshu” sake circulating the market these days is ever-increasing. So first and foremost, what in the world is genshu? This week your regular host Sebastien Lemoine brings the genshu topic to the table on his own terms together with Justin Potts. Beyond defining the term (hint: it’s actually pretty simple!) they also get into how the…

This week we’re lucky to be joined once again by Niigata Sake Lovers founder, sake educator, guide, and evangelist extraordinaire, Tomomi Duquette. Tomomi’s sake vocabulary that she’s brought to the bar this week on her own terms is particularly interesting in that it flies directly in the face of what her sake homefield is best known for. In Niiga…

Not only can a single batch of sake be broken down into unique seasonal releases, it can even be divided up into a range of unique products immediately following the pressing of a single batch. One possible way to do so would be to set aside (and then promptly bottle and distribute) what’s known as “arabashiri”, often translated as “first run”. Thi…

Is it “kura”, or is it “gura?” It’s both! On week’s episode of On Your Own Terms, regular host Justin Potts sits down with Chris Hughes to examine a rather pervasive term in and around the world of sake: kura, the Japanese word that encompasses storehouse, brewery, factory, and nowadays, a whole lot more. Sake breweries are often called sakagura in…

Is it “unfiltered”? This week’s episode of On Your Own Terms explores one component of sake’s rather confusing classification of filtered vs. unfiltered when we discuss muroka sake with one exceptional gentleman who happens to be both the owner and head brewer of North American Sake Brewery and co-founder of the Sake Brewers Association of North Am…

We’re back again with more, On Your Own Terms, the series that allows our guests to select a single bit of sake or shochu-specific terminology to share with us, explaining it concisely, while also reflecting on their unique experiences and perspectives tied to their topic-of-choice. This week, the Sake Concierge, Takashi “Umio” Eguchi, brings both …

In case you missed it, we’ve just kicked off our new mini-series: On Your Own Terms, where we examine sake or shochu-specific terminology concisely through the eyes of the advocates and professionals that have unique experiences and perspectives on their topic-of-choice. Last episode we looked at the ever-popular topic of nama together with Jorge N…

This week we kick off a brand-new mini-series looking at sake (or shochu)-specific terminology in a new way. Up until now we’ve occasionally hosted in-depth discussions on hyper-specific topics unique to sake or shochu making, service, or experiences (see: Koji Basics, Kanzake, etc.), where we would round up our hosts or a team of specialists in at…

Books dedicated entirely to specific sake-producing regions have for all intents and purposes been non-existent in the English language; at least, until now. Enter, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake: A Taster’s Guide to Breweries, Culture, and Terrain, the recently released publication from Stone Bridge Press written by long-time Yamaguchi-resident, sake …

If you’ve been listening to this show even intermittently over the past several years, you’re probably already aware that starting a sake brewery from scratch in Japan is, and has been for decades, a gargantuan task. However, in recent years, the number of young entrepreneurs navigating regulatory loopholes in order craft sake themselves in a manne…

We’re somewhat at a loss for words. When we first began Sake On Air back in October of 2018 it was by no means a given that we would wind up putting 100 episodes about sake and shochu out into the world. Ambition, intertwined with ongoing effort to make a sake-centric podcast a reality was actually years in the making prior to this thing ever getti…

Last week we brought you the first session from Sake Future Summit 2022 in a nice, easy-to-digest podcast package. (Videos from across the two weekends are, of course, still available for your viewing pleasure). This week we’re continuing that trend and bringing you another very special session that specifically examined the current and possible fu…

Back in January across two weekends, the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association hosted the second iteration of the Sake Future Summit. (The first was held back in 2020). For those that missed it, now is as good of a time as ever to catch up! There were a handful of sessions conducted in Japanese (with English subtitles) that will require you to s…

In last week’s episode I interviewed Elliot Faber of Sake Central in Hong Kong If you missed that conversation, I encourage you to hit pause, go back, and check that out. We had a very lengthy conversation, some of which wound up on the cutting room floor. There was one topic, however, that after cutting it from the initial interview, after going b…

Summarizing the work of Elliot Faber is a challenge. Often simply introduced as “Sake Samurai”, a title bestowed in 2016, which added him to the ranks of the select and deserving few to carry the title, ever since he catapulted onto the global sake scene as beverage director spearheading an inspiring sake program at Hong Kong’s now renowned Yardbir…