Niigata Sakes at Sakaya

Mr. Ataru Kobayashi was found at Sakaya last week pouring samples of two of the fantastic Niigata sakes he imports through his company SENA Niigata Sake Selections.

Kobayashi-san is an eloquent advocate for sake from his home prefecture of Niigata. You can really feel his passion for sake and that passion comes through in the sakes he selects to import.

More Beau Timken on WineLibrary.tv!

Check out more of our man Beau Timken of San Francisco’s TrueSake.com schooling WineLibrary.tv’s Gary Vay-ner-chuk about all things sake. Great Job Beau!!
Check out Part 1 if you missed it!

a-may-zing!! let’s hear it for Sake!

Beau Timken Touts Sake on WineLibrary.tv!

Fellow Sake Samurai and all-around sake superstar Beau Timken of San Francisco’s TrueSake.com helps WineLibrary.tv’s Gary Vay-ner-chuk to learn more about sake.
Not to be missed - part one of two!

Check back soon for part two!

Wakatake & Shiratake Tasting at Astor Wines

Hibino-sanThe first time I met Brewmaster Mr. Hibino, I found myself a little lost in translation and deep in the heart of Shizuoka Prefecture visiting Oomura Sake Brewery, home of the famous Wakatake Onikoroshi brand.
This time, however, we were on my turf. I was very happy to hear that Hibino-san was coming to Astor [...]

Sakaya Sake Shop on Eat Out NY!

Our friends Rick and Hiroko, owners of NYC’s only all-sake store Sakaya, were recently interviewed by Eat Out NY’s exuberant host Kelly Choi. Rick and Hiroko are media pros at this point having scored spots on Tokyo TV, NY1, and now this!
I happened to be in the shop myself when Kelly Choi wandered into [...]

007 on Sake: You Only Drink Twice

I recently saw a 1967 Japanese-themed James Bond film “You Only Live Twice” for the first time. This film takes place mostly in Japan and involves a complicated plot about an evil mastermind trying to provoke nuclear war between the Soviet Union and the United States. Viewed 40+ years after it’s initial release, [...]

June 2009 Sake & Food Pairing Class

Behold the Bounty! We Drank This!It goes without saying that I really enjoy teaching sake classes at Astor Center! June started off with our super fun ‘Sake and Food Pairing’ class. This class takes a walk on the wild side of sake and really goes in search of some of the more unique [...]

Japan Society Sake Tasting ‘09: Koji Power

It’s becoming an delicious yearly ritual in my sake tasting routine: The annual Japan Society Sake Tasting and Lecture. Just as in 2007 and 2008, I was eagerly awaiting this year’s tasting.

Niigata Sake Selections Tasting

Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a litte thing for sake from Niigata prefecture. That first brew that enchanted me years ago, Hakkaisan, hails from Niigata and I’ve kinda been smitten by this region ever since. You can imagine my thrill when I got an invite to attend a recent [...]

Sake In the News

Sake is always the number one story with me, but other media outlets have been featuring a lot of news on Nihon-shu, too. Here is a quick roundup of some interesting sake stories making the news recently:
Miho Fujita, president of the Mioya Brewery Co. in Ishikawa, Japan was recently interviewed by the Village Voice. [...]

Joto Sake Brewers at Lan

Joto Sake importers recently held a sake tasting at LAN restaurant in the East Village. Best part was, the Brewers themselves were there to introduce their sakes. When people ask me what they can do to learn more about sake, I always encourage them to attend events just like this one. Talking directly to the people who make the sake is one of the best ways to learn. Let’s check out the Joto sake!

A (Sake) Night to Remember!

Most of the time, I’m years behind the curve when it comes to knowing the newest, coolest and most secret places to eat and drink in New York. This week however, the gods of New, Cool and Secret were smiling upon me

Kimono Clad and in Time Out New York

Imagine my surprise when Food and Drink writer Michael Anstendig alerted me to the fact that my kimono-clad picture was featured on the Time Out NY website!
I recently attended a fantastic sake event and I will post a full report soon. Until then, check out this Blog Post in the Time Out [...]

Joy of Sake Aftertaste 2: Balance & Harmony

The folks at Joy of Sake don’t just stick to their one mega sake tasting event each year. Lucky for us, they also have smaller get togethers they call “Aftertaste” events, each usually focused on a new sake-related theme. Last June, I attended a Joy of Sake Aftertaste event devoted to “Umami”. [...]