Teaching Elements of Sake at Astor
I recently taught my second sake class at the new Astor Center. I have to say, we had a really fun night! The students were enthusiastic, interested and asking some great questions. Since this was my second class in “the study” classroom and I now had some experience with the technology, I integrated more “interactive slides”. These slides allow me to poll the class, with each student using individual remotes. The computer calculates the totals to give us an immediate response – just like on a game show. I
t’s pretty cool! The new technology is one of the things that makes teaching in this space so much fun.
The Elements of Sake class is, of course, about teaching the basics of sake and introducing students to the basics of tasting sake. I do have to say, we had some fantastic sakes to taste! This class included the following sakes:
Hoyo Manamusume Junmai ( SMV +1, Acidity 1.5, Miyagi Prefecture) Full Flavor with prominent alcohol.
Hitori Musume Junmai Nigori (SMV +4, Acidity 1.4, Ibaraki Prefecture) Texture, texture texture! creamy and soothing.
Koshinohomare Nama Shiboritate Genshu ( Niigata Prefecture, Seimaibuai 65%, Alcohol 17.5%). Full octane genshu nama that maintains it’s poise! very drinkable.
Dassai 50 Junmai Ginjo (Yamaguchi Prefecture, Alcohol 15.6%, SMV +3, Acidity 1.4 Seimaibuai 50%) The classic Dassai 50. balanced and smooth – perfect.
Tsukasubotan Space Sake Junmai Ginjo (Kochi Prefecture, SMV +5, Acidity 1.5, Seimaibuai 55%) The Class Favorite! Made with yeast sent into orbit, this “spacial” sake speaks to me as fruity and it is a real conversation starter!
Wakatake Daiginjo Junmai Daiginjo (Shizuoka Prefecture, SMV +0, Acidity 1.4 Seimaibuai 50%, Alcohol 16.5%) Such a reliable Junmai Daiginjo. My favorite sake to pour for people new to the Junmai Daiginjo classification.
If YOU want to get in on all the fun and all the tasting, please sign up for the March 19th Elements of Sake class at Astor Center.
I know we will have a lot of fun and great discussions about sake! I hope to see you in class!
