Sakaya NYC Blog

John Gauntner knows sake.   In fact he knows it like no one else we know.   The opportunity to learn all about sake directly from this master sake expert, educator, and writer is an opportunity that sake enthusiasts shouldn’t miss, particularly when you don’t have to go to Japan to participate.

For a rare second time this year, John’s “Sake Professionals Course” will be offered stateside in Portland OR,  November 7-10.   Not only will you learn all there is to know about sake and meet fellow sake lovers,  you’ll also get to visit one of America’s few sake breweries to see the process in action.

If you can’t make it to Japan for the course in late January (as we did four years ago), we highly recommend the trip to Oregon!  It truly will change your life.   For details click here.

As we enter the proverbial “dog days” of  summer, our tastings for the month have been designed to  feature sake that will transport the mind to cool, refreshing places…

Saturday, August 7, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Summer Namazake Tasting

Ohyama Tokubetsu Junmai Nama (Yamagata) & Tsukino Katsuru “Kohakuko” Junmai Ginjo Nama (Kyoto)

Saturday, August 14, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Kubota Sake Tasting

Kubota Senju Honjozo & Kubota Hekiju Junmai Daiginjo (Niigata)

Thursday, August 19, 2010, 6 to 8pm

World Sake Imports Sake Tasting

Dewazakura Dewa San San Junmai Ginjo & Dewazakura Omachi Junmai Ginjo (Yamagata)

Saturday, August 28, 2010, 5 to 7pm

Takaisami Tokubetsu Junmai (Tottori) & Kaiun Junmai Ginjo (Shizuoka)

We are delighted to have been the subject of Eric Asimov’s column, “The Pour”  in the Dining section of today’s  New York Times today (7/28/10).

To read the article which also appears on the NY Times website click here.

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

Asahi, Kirin, and Sapporo are well-known Japanese beers familiar to drinkers in the U.S.  Lately, however, we’ve begun to see more artisanal beers such as Hitachino Nest, Echigo, and Coedo. In 1994, the Japanese government eased the regulation on the production minimum to legally produce and sell beer from 2,000 kl (about 17,000 US barrels or 528,000 US gallons) to 60 kl (about 500 US barrels or 16,000 US gallons).  Since then, there have been a number of small brewers popping up which produce high quality artisanal beer.  Many are small companies dedicated to producing good quality beer but some are sake brewers who have begun to also brew beer such as Kiuchi Shuzo (founded in 1823) which produces Hitachino Nest.  The first such sake brewery to make beer following deregulation was Uehara Shuzo, the producer of Echigo beer (and Echigo Tsurukame sake).

On  Hiroko’s recent visit to Japan, she discovered beer made by Umenishiki, the sake brewery in Ehime prefecture.  Umenishiki brewery was established in 1872. Their Junmai, Junmai Ginjo and Junmai Daiginjo are available in NYC through the importer, Japanese Prestige Sake Import.  Since 1995, they have also been making artisanal beer which have won medals in Japan’s International Beer Competition. Among the five types that they make, their Bock, Weizen, and Blanse have won Gold, Silver, and Silver medals respectively.

Hiroko picked up one bottle each of the Pilsner and Aromatic Ale to bring home to Brooklyn. Shaken and tossed by luggage handlers, the preservation and condition of the beer might not have been the best, but nonetheless we decided to open and taste them.

We usually drink pilsners from Pennsylvania and ales from California where the style is very hoppy and aromatic. Umenishiki Pilsner was golden in color, very light and tasty with a light fruit flavor and peppery finish. Yet, there was something missing in the flavor. It’s better than Sapporo or Kirin that we drink at Japanese restaurants, but we tend to prefer a more hoppy flavor.

We opened the Aromatic Ale next.  With an alcohol level of 8.5%, it was deep and rich, with a hint of caramel flavor on the back end.

Perhaps had we drunk them in Japan, they would have tasted better. On our next trip, we hope to try their other beers.  Still we enjoyed tasting something that is not available in the U.S.and, hopefully, more artisanal beer will be available in the US.

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.