Archive for 2012
Tamagawa’s Philip Harper at Sakagura
In Japan, a master sake brewer is known as a Toji. They train for years and it’s their job to manage the day to day operations of sake production. And it’s not everyday that a Toji superstar blows into town, so I wasn’t about to miss my chance to talk sake with the Kyoto toji ...
Deeply Madly Truly Dassai… Yopparai Style
Sake Bar Yopparai kicked off May with a fun evening of yummy-sake-drinking and good-food-eating by partnering with Dassai Brewery for an event called “Deeply Dassai, Yopparai Style”. The event focused on a 5 course set menu, all paired with Dassai Sakes. Sounds good, but wait – there’s more… the little surprise is that many of ...
Lucky Rice Grand Feast 2012
There’s one event each year you can rely on to provide some exotic food and sake, a dash of glamour and some killer views of the Park. We’re talking about the Lucky Rice Grand Feast. Held annually and benefiting City Harvest, the Grand Feast is a celebration of good food, good drink and SAKE! Some ...
Tatenokawa Launch Party at Kirakuya
Tatenokawa Sake Brewery is one of those rare outfits that focuses exclusively on producing super-premium grade sake. That’s right, nothing but Junmai Daiginjo will do for the folks at this brewery. If you’re a fan of Junmai Daiginjo like I am, get to know the name Tatenokawa. Two of their sakes selected for import to ...
Sake In the News
In Japan, sake has long been known as “The Drink of the Gods”…but coming soon, sake will also be designated as the “National Alcoholic Beverage” by the Japanese Government. My initial reaction to this news was, HUH? Sake isn’t already officially the “National Alcoholic Beverage”? But the more I thought about it, I realized that ...
Kibō Cookbook Event with Elizabeth Andoh
I was recently honored to help support an event called “Kibō: A Taste of the Tohoku” here in New York featuring well known Japanese cookbook author Elizabeth Andoh. Living full time in Japan since 1967, Andoh-sensei is famed for teaching the complexities of Japanese cooking to an English speaking audience through in person classes and ...
Get Yopparai at Yopparai
I recently discovered a new sake bar gem on the lower east side called Yopparai. In English, “yopparai” means ‘drunkard’, or ‘I’m drunk’. This hidden away sake sanctuary has a large selection of premium sakes by the carafe and an even larger selection of wonderful sakes by the bottle. When I spoke with owner Gaku ...
Masumi Night at Sakagura
April 4th was a special night at Sakagura Restaurant celebrating the annual Springtime U.S. launch of Masumi Masumi Arabashiri Junmai Ginjo Nama Genshu sake from Miyasaka Shuzo. The tasting set on this night consisted of Miyasaka Yawaraka Junmai, Masumi Arabashiri Junmai Ginjo Nama Genshu and Masumi Yumedono Daiginjo Genshu. Keith Norum and Katsu Miyasaka were ...
Masumi Hits the Big Apple!
There are a few signs of Spring that are unmistakeable… That first warm day when you step outside and smell that fresh clean air, the blossoming of the nearby trees and of course, the arrival of Masumi Arabashiri! Miyasaka Brewery just arrived in town and have kicked off a week of events all around New ...
NYC: A TASTE OF THE TOHOKU
A TASTE OF THE TOHOKU Monday, Apr 9 6:30p International Culinary Center, New York, NY Join Les Dames d’Eescoffier for a guided tasting of Japan’s Tōhoku region sampling regional foods and sake with an illustrated talk by Elizabeth Andoh. Elizabeth Andoh, a leading expert on Japanese culinary arts, was a Dame while living in New ...