Sakaya NYC Blog

It’s summer in the city and the temperatures are climbing so we’re focused on bringing you tastings of sake that offer refreshing respites from the heat and humidity as well as some new seasonal unpasteurized sake (namazake) that are sure to please the palate and slake the thirst…

Thursday, July 1, 2010, 6 to 8pm

Narutotai Ginjo Nama Genshu Sake (Tokushima)

Thursday, July 8, 2010, 6 to 8pm

Joto Sake Tasting

Ban Ryu Honjozo (Yamagata)

Saturday, July 17, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Light Sake for Summer Drinking

Kudoki Jozu Junmai Ginjo (Yamagata) and Sawanoi Junmai Ginjo (Tokyo)

Saturday, July 24, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Japan Prestige Sake Tasting

Summer Namazake

Saturday, July 31, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Asahi Shuzo Brewery Tasting

Dassai Sake (Yamaguchi)

With Summer just around the corner, our tastings for June offer opportunities to sample some great sake for warm weather refreshment …

Saturday, June 5, 2010, 4 to 6pm

Kotsuzumi Sake Tasting

Kotsuzumi Tokubetsu Junmai & Kotsuzumi Junmai Daiginjo (Hyogo)

Friday, June 11, 2010, 6 to 8pm

Chokaisan  Sake Tasting

Chokaisan Junmai Daiginjo (Akita)

Friday, June 18, 2010, 6 to 8pm

World Sake Tasting

Dewazakura Omachi Ginjo (Yamagata)

Saturday, June 26, 2010, 4 to 6pm

Yuzu and Ume Sake Tasting

Ume no Yado Yuzushu  & Umeshu  (Nara)

We had the privilege of collaborating with our friends at neighboring vegetarian restaurant Dirt Candy on a special sake dinner on Thursday,  May 20.  It was the first time that we’ve worked with a restaurant and we’re happy to report that the dinner (which sold out within hours after it’s announcement) and sake pairings with each dish were enjoyed by both seatings of enthusiastic diners.  After starting off with a “snack” of jalapeno hush puppies paired with the dry style  Dewazakura Tobiroku sparkling sake, guests selected an Appetizer,  Entree, and Dessert each of which was accompanied by a complementing sake pre-selected by SAKAYA.

At each seating, Rick gave a brief introduction to premium sake and highlighted the general idea behind the selection of the evening’s  food friendly sake.   Diners’ questions and comments were then sought and answered throughout the evening as they arose.

We would like to express our profound appreciation to Chef Amanda Cohen of Dirt Candy for inviting us to work with her and her staff.  It was a wonderful experience for us and we hope that it has created some new excitement about premium sake.  We also highly recommend that you visit the restaurant to enjoy Amanda’s amazing food!

If you think vegetarian restaurants are boring,  you’re in store for a delightful surprise when you visit one of our favorite restaurants, Dirt Candy.  The immensely talented chef owner Amanda Cohen defies convention and skeptics with her delicious, soul satisfying food created entirely from fresh seasonal ingredients that will entice food lovers both vegetarian and otherwise.

As fans of the restaurant we were delighted when Amanda invited us to collaborate on a sake dinner pairing her spring menu with matching premium sake from SAKAYA.  We are happy to announce Dirt Candy’s  sake dinner on May 20.

Click here for details.  We’ll be there to share some sake basics and discuss the pairings so please join us for some great food, fun, and sake!

Dirt Candy
430 E. 9th Street
New York, NY 10009
212.228.7732
www.dirtcandynyc.com

This month will be busy for sake lovers with an abundance of  sake tasting events in NYC.  In addition to the nine tastings at SAKAYA, there is the Nishimoto Trading “The Best 100 Sake!” at EN Brasserie on Saturday, May 15, and the annual Japan Society sake lecture by sake expert extraordinaire John Gauntner and accompanying tasting on Wednesday, May 19.

Our lineup of tastings at SAKAYA kicks off with the latest of the exciting new spring seasonal namazake followed by a series of brewers visiting from Japan who will introduce you to their sake.   After all the opportunities to explore so many this month,  you’ll be sure to celebrate Memorial day with sake!

Saturday, May 8, 2010, 4-6pm

Japan Prestige Sake Association Namazake Tasting

Otokoyama Kasumi Junmai Namazake (Hokkaido), Gokyo Junmai Nama (Yamaguchi), & Urakasumi Tokubetsu Junmai Nama (Miyagi)

Thursday, May 13, 2010, 6 to 8pm

Fukumitsuya Brewery Tasting

Kagatobi Junmai Nama, Kagatobi Ai Junmai Daiginjo Nama, & Kuro Obi Doudou Yamahai Junmai (Ishikawa)

Friday, May 14, 2010, 6-8pm

Yumegokoro Brewery Sake Tasting

Naraman Junmai (Fukushima)

Tuesday, May 18, 2010 6-8pm

Imada Brewery Company Tasting

Fukucho “Moon on the Water” Junmai Ginjo (Hiroshima)

Friday, May 21, 2010, 6-8pm

Jokigen Sake Brewery Sake Tasting

Jokigen Junmai Ginjo (Yamagata)

Saturday, May 22, 2010, 4-6pm

Akita Seishu Brewery Sake Tasting

Dewatsuru Kimoto Junmai & Dewatsuru Hihaku Junmai Daiginjo (Akita)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010, 6-8pm

Shindo Brewery Sake Tasting

Gasanryu Honjozo (Yamagata)

Greetings!

As friends of SAKAYA with more than a passing interest in sake, we wanted to make you aware of the very best way to learn all there is to know about it in just three days!  It is sake expert/educator John Gauntner’s Sake Professionals Course.  As January 2007 graduates, we found that it not only provided the comprehensive knowledge and fundamental understanding that we needed to build our business, but also put us in touch with an indispensable network of friends and kindred sake souls with whom we have a lasting bond.   At the time that we took the course, it was only offered in Japan but since then John has begun to offer it at varying locations in the U.S.  San Francisco is the site for this June.

Whether you are already a sake enthusiast or have always felt that you wanted to delve more deeply into it, this is your opportunity to get the most thorough indoctrination into all things sake!  As John guarantees, once you have completed this course, there will be nothing that anyone can ask you about sake that you won’t have covered.

John Gauntner, the premier authority on sake will be offering his Sake Professional Course in San Francisco on June 20, 21, and 22, 2010.  The course is geared towards those working in the restaurant industry, but is open to anyone is  seriously passionate about the subject and/or is seeking to start a sake career.

The course is the most thorough English language sake education to be found anywhere.  Attendees will learn not just about the technical aspects of sake brewing, but will also participate in sake tastings which focus on differences in rice varietals, types of sake yeasts, and regional styles.

For all the details click here.

April is sakura (cherry blossom) season.  In Japan, people enthusiastically engage in the festive ritual of ohanami,  viewing the cherry blossoms and gathering  under sakura trees to picnic.  Of course sake is an integral component of this annual celebration.  With ohanami as the theme this month, we’ve chosen sake for our tastings for their floral aromatics which evoke spring and the sakura.  We hope that you attend one of the  Sakura Matsuri in the New  York Metro Area and that you’ll find the right sake for your ohanami celebration at SAKAYA!

Friday, April 2, from 6 to 8pm

World Sake Imports Sake Tasting

Masumi Arabashiri Junmai Ginjo (Nagano)

Saturday, April 10, from 4 to 6pm

Ohanami Sake Tasting

Kamoshibito Kuheiji Junmai Ginjo (Aichi)

Saturday, April 17, from 4 to 6pm

Ohanami Sake Tasting

Jukusei Jozen Mizunogotoshi Junmai Ginjo (Niigata) & Umenishiki Junmai Ginjo (Ehime)

Friday, April 23, from 6 to 8pm

World Sake Imports Sake Tasting

Dewazakura Oka Ginjo (Yamagata)

Thursday, April 29 from 6 to 8pm

Joto Sake Tasting

Yuki no Bosha Junmai Ginjo (Akita) & Taiheikai Tokubetsu Junmai (Ibaraki)

Hiroko had never been north of Tokyo. When she mentioned to Kosuke Kuji　（久慈浩介）, the 5th generation of Nanbu Bijin Brewery (南部美人酒造）in Iwate, Kuji-san invited her to his brewery.

Nanbu Bijin Brewery is located in Ninohe （二戸）, Iwate prefecture in the Tohoku region about 3 hours from Tokyo by rail, and the second to last stop on the Tohoku Shinkansen before Hachinohe, Aomori prefecture. With a population of about 31,400 (in 2006) it is rather small city which still has the remains of the historic Kunohe Castle (九戸城） and the famous Kindaichi Onsen (金田一温泉). Among its restaurants is the legendary soba restaurant Maita Koubou Sobae-An (米田工房そばえ庵）, the hard-to-get-in yoshoku Restaurant Bonheur, （レストラン・ボヌール), and an extremely famous ramen shop, and several late night drinking spots.

Anyone who is familiar with Japanese language may get confused about the name Nanbu Bijin (南部美人). Translated as Southern Beauty, one may wonder why the “Nanbu” (南部) or Southern when the brewer is located in the northern part of Japan?

“Nanbu” comes from the name of the Nanbu samurai clan which originated in Northern Japan, mainly in what was once known as Mutsu province (which now encompasses present-day Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, and Aomori plus some parts of Akita). Descended from Emperor Seiwa (reign 858-876), Minamoto no Mitsuyuki (1165?-1236?) of Kai province (Yamanashi prefecture), took the name “Nanbu” from the town where he lived changing his name to Nanbu Mitsuyuki. He is said to have moved to Mutsu province around the time of the Oshu War (奥州合戦) in 1189. Over time, the Nanbu became the dominant samurai clan in the Mutsu area and built their castles as they established themselves in the area which is how the Nanbu name came to be associated with this part of a Iwate.

Nanbu Bijin Brewery is rather small, family-run operation. It has seven kurabito (people involved in the brewing process), all young men in their 20’s and 30’s. They also employ twenty staff members to run the operation. The brewery produces 2,500 koku of sake.  (1 koku = 180 liters or 100 – 1.8 litter isshobin). It is considered a small to mid-sized brewery (those with production of less than 1000 koku are very small.)

Kuji-san is an energetic young man in his 30’s whose ebullient personality casts sunshine on the sake world and beyond. He has been to New York City to promote his sake many times, and has enthusiastically encouraged many sake fans to become Nanbu Bijin lovers.

He is also a risk taker and revolutionary in terms of developing new products with a spirit akin to the samurai Nanbu Mitsukuni who made the bold move to very far north from where he was born. Seeing the popularity and trend of umeshu or plum sake/liquor, Kuji-san has created a non-sugar added umeshu.

The journey started when his wife Rika suggested mixing his “All-Koji Sake” with kiwi or strawberry to make a fruit cocktail. This all-koji sake was a early brainchild that he created in 1998, and it is now a staple of the Nanbu Bijin lineup. It is made from just three ingredients: koji (koji-mold affected rice), water, and yeast starter instead of the four ingredients usually used for making sake: rice, water, yeast, and koji. Koji-mold’s job is to break down the rice starch into the simple sugar, glucose. Therefore, koji (rice inoculated with koji mold) has a high glucose level. This “All-Koji Sake” has a little sweetness that makes it a good mixer for a fruit cocktail.

After his wife’s inspiration, Kuji-san had his “ah ha!” moment. He theorized that the all-koji sake could be infused with ume (Japanese plum) to make an umeshu that is naturally sweet. He tweaked his all-koji sake, and using the koji’s natural glucose level, he successfully create the umeshu that needs no additional sweetener.

His search for the perfect ume for his product led him to a local farmer in Iwate prefecture. He also found a young local artist to design the label for the product. He patented the process in 2009, and his umeshu now sells briskly…his February released umeshu is almost sold out.

Look for it in the U.S. by October of this year. Kuji-san’s samurai spirit inspired umeshu is sure to cast its spell on umeshu fans here too!

Spring brings with it some great seasonal namazake (unpasteurized sake) and one of the most highly anticipated arrives in New York next week (the week of 3/21/10).   Masumi Junmai Ginjo Arabashiri from the  Miyasaka Brewing Company in Nagano will debut not only at SAKAYA at our tasting on Friday, March 26 (6-8PM) but also at two restaurant events where the brewer will pour and speak about their sake.    Don’t miss the opportunity to taste the Arabashiri and as well as the other fine sake from this legendary brewery!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Spring Surprise, sake tasting and dinner featuring Masumi sake

from 8 to 11pm

1 or 8 (66 South 2nd Street, Brooklyn)

$55 per person + tip

RSVP:  718-384-2152

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Sake Nouveau 2010, Masumi “Arabashiri” Kickoff Party

from 6 to 8pm

En Japanese Brasserie (435 Hudson Street)

$37 (including tax & tip)

RSVP:   212-647-9196

Friday, March 26

Masumi Arabashiri Tasting at SAKAYA

from 6 to 8pm

At the end of this month, the  much-anticipated  Masumi Arabashiri Namazake from Nagano arrives at SAKAYA and at selected restaurants in NYC.  An early spring seasonal unpasteurized sake (namazake is  unpasteurized sake), it has become a favorite of many of our customers and has won fans among sake enthusiasts and neophytes alike.

What is arabashiri?  In the latter stages of the sake brewing process,  the fermented  mash of rice, water, yeast and koji, called the moromi is  pressed to separate the liquid (sake) from the solids  (sake kasu).  This pressing portion of the process has three stages and the sake from each is earmarked for  separate bottlings.  Arabashiri is the first stage which yields a sake that has a bright, zingy, fresh taste.  Arabashiri is followed by Nakadori (middle stage) and Seme (the last stage).

We’ll also be featuring two exquisite sake, Kanbara “Bride of the Fox” Junmai Ginjo and Tentaka Kuni “Hawk in the Heavens” Junmai,  from  Hiroko’s recent six kura itinerary in northeastern Japan on March 12 and a tasting of one of Saga prefecture’s finest sake, Azumaichi Junmai,  on March 20.

We hope that you can join us for one or all of these memorable sake experiences!

Saturday, March 6, 2010, 4 to 6PM

JFC Importer Sake Tasting

Kotsuzumi Junmai & Junmai Daiginjo (Hyogo)

Friday, March 12, 2010, 6 to 8PM

Vine Connection Importer Sake Tasting

Kanbara Junmai Ginjo (Niigata) & Tentaka Junmai (Tochigi)

Saturday, March 20, 2010, 4 to 6PM

Azumaichi Junmai (Saga)

Friday, March 26, 2010, 6 to 8PM

World Sake Import Sake Tasting

Masumi Arabashiri (Nagano)