Sakaya NYC Blog

Kick off the New Year with some new sake explorations at SAKAYA. Our lineup of tastings for January features visits and expertise from the creators of Shichiken, Nanbu Bijin, and Dassai as well as a diverse array of premium sake from Vine Connections and World Sake Imports, two premier American importers…All except Nanbu Bijin (4PM) begin at 6PM and continue until 8PM.

Shichiken: 6pm~8pm, Friday, January 4

Tsushima Kitahara, the 13th generation of the Shichiken brewing family returns to
make his farewell appearance before heading back to his role at their Yamanashi-ken kura. If you missed his last visit, you’ll want to be here for this eye-opening introduction to the pleasures of drinking his Junmai Ginjo sake at several different temperatures.

Nanbu Bijin: 4pm~6pm, Saturday, January 12

Kosuke Kuji, the 5th generation of the family which owns and operates this Iwate-ken brewery, will offer samples of his “Southern Beauty” Junmai Ginjo and Tokubetsu Junmai sake accompanied by a healthy helping of his cheerfully delivered insights into how their unique attributes are achieved.

Vine Connections: 6pm~8pm, Friday, January 18

Sake Sommelier Paul Tanguay of Vine Connections will familiarize visitors with selections from their carefully chosen portfolio of ginjo sake.

World Sake Imports: 6pm~8pm, Thursday, January 24

Enjoy an assortment of high quality sake from the portfolio of the pioneering importer responsible for creating the Joy of Sake events in Honolulu, San Francisco, and New York.

Dassai: 6pm~8pm, Thursday, January 31 & 6pm~8pm, Friday, February 1

Kazuhiro Sakurai, 4th generation of the family that owns the Dassai brewery in Yamaguchi-ken will offer samples and discuss the fine points of their Dassai 50 Junmai Ginjo and Dassai 23 Junmai Daiginjo.

We look forward to seeing you soon at SAKAYA.

Kanpai to a Happy (Sake) New Year!

Rick & Hiroko

SAKAYA
324 E.9th Street (just east of 2nd Avenue)
New York NY 10003
212.505.7253 (SAKE)
www.sakayanyc.com

To kick off our schedule of tastings, we have arranged two very different sake experiences for the Holiday Season…

Sake Shichiken (Friday, 12/21, 6PM)…Learn all about and experience the pleasures of drinking this brewery’s Junmai Ginjo at different temperatures (chilled, room temperature, and warmed) from Tsushima Kitahara, the 13th generation of the founding family of this small Yamanashi-ken kura.

Joto Sake (Thursday, 12/27, 6PM)…Sample a variety of contrasting brews from the portfolio of this importer which specializes in small production, artisanal sake (“jizake“) from throughout Japan.

And, please remember that we offer samples of a number of our sake for you to taste every day. So don’t be shy, please ask us about what’s available!

Kanpai!

SAKAYA

324 E.9th Street

NYC 10003

212.505.7253

As we await the next step in the construction of the interior of the store, we thought that the time was right to introduce a thumbnail sketch of the illustrious history of nihonshu (sake)…

With over 1,700 years of history, sake is older than the Japanese written language. Lore has it that natural airborne yeast landed on an open container of rice producing a slightly fermented liquid that gave some lucky farmers a pleasant buzz. A more factual history documents sake as having migrated with the first Chinese immigrants to arrive in Japan. In any case, by the year 700 or so, it had gained favor with the Japanese Imperial Court which formed its own brewing department. As Buddhism took root in Japan, sake took on a religious ceremonial role bringing sake-making directly into the hands of the shrines and temples. It was during this period that sake brewing methods and “technology” made major advances creating the beverage that resembles what we know today. Within another 400 years or so, breweries had cropped up all over the region surrounding the ancient capitals of Nara and Kyoto and pasteurization was discovered (about 300 years before Louis Pasteur was born!) as a means of prolonging the life of the product.

From its ceremonial start, sake went on to become a staple of daily life for common folk and an integral part of the national culture. Following WW II, the end of rice rationing and brewing innovations produced great strides in sake diversity and quality with Japanese national consumption peaking in 1974. Unfortunately, the volume and number of breweries have been in decline ever since.

Today, there are roughly 1,100 active sake breweries (sakagura or kura) spread throughout all but one of Japan’s 48 prefectures. Sounds like quite a few right? Well, in 1923 there were about 10,000! And as recently as 1970 and 1988, there were 3,500 and 2,500 respectively.

While the number of breweries and overall sake production has fallen, the good news is that premium or ginjo-shu sake production has actually increased. Even better news is that we in the U.S. are a prime market that has captured the attention of Japan’s sake industry. The interest in sake in our country has grown rapidly as evidenced by the year-over-year double digit increases in import volume over the last several years. Our country has only begun to discover the pleasures that centuries of Japanese brewing craftsmanship has created and refined to one of the most intriguingly complex, food friendly beverages on the planet.

And that dear friends is why Sakaya will be there for you!

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October 1st is Sake Day or Nihonshu no Hi in Japanese. Sake Day officially originated in 1978 when the Japan Sake Brewers Association declared it as the day to celebrate and promote the enjoyment of sake. Historically, its origin can also be traced to the implementation of the Japanese State Taxation Law in 1895 which taxed sake based on a production calendar beginning in October. In addition to the practical (tax) and rice harvest rationale for this timing, there is also the idea that it has some basis in the fact that the kanji or Chinese character for sake is é…’, which is very similar to that of the Rooster, the tenth sign of the Chinese zodiac é…‰.

On this particular Sake Day, we are also celebrating the progress on the interior of our shop. The personality of Sakaya is beginning to take shape with freshly painted “river rock” colored walls, a “metallic pearlescent” white ceiling, and a stripped and refinished cedar-shade floor.

Please join us in enjoying a cup, glass, or bottle of sake today to thank our friends in the sake brewing community for their dedication to creating and producing this exquisite beverage.

Kanpai!