In the American sake market, few brands hold the name recognition that Ozeki does. While the brewery is best known for producing the warm house sake of your local sushi joint, they make a variety of excellent products. You may also be surprised to learn that Ozeki sake has a long history, both in the U.S. and Japan. Let’s take a closer look at this storied company and some of the sake that they brew. What is Ozeki? The history behind the brewery Ozeki draws Miyamizu water from their own well to make their sake. Miyamizu is a prized water for sake making because of its rich mineral content, par ..read more

The 3rd Annual American Craft Sake Festival took place July 22, 2023 in Charlottesville, Virginia. Having attended and thoroughly enjoyed last year’s event in Asheville, North Carolina, I was eagerly looking forward to this year’s iteration, which was looking to have more vendors, more brewers, more food and more festivities. Thanks to the Sake Brewers Association of North America, who organized the festival, not only was it a chance to meet the brewers and sip sake from 15 different breweries, it was also an opportunity to learn about and meet some of the important folks that work to support ..read more

Back in 2021, we gave our recommendations for some of the best warm sake for you to try. Well, a couple years have passed and we’re at it again. The fact is, there are plenty of amazing sake to drink warm or hot. But it’s important to know which ones, as not all sake benefit from heating. When you do find that special bottle, drinking sake warm can feel comforting and magical. It’s yet another way Japan’s national beverage can reveal itself to you. Which sake to drink warm Generally, sake categories such as junmai, honjozo and “futshushu” (table sake) can be enjoyed at a greater range of tempe ..read more

While living in Taiwan, my wife and I decided to take a weekend trip to Tokyo to celebrate our anniversary. Having found a ludicrously cheap pair of tickets at the very last minute, it was very much a spur-of-the-moment trip for us, and we felt fortunate to be able to take a trip to Japan for just one weekend. We really didn’t have much planned out aside from visiting our usual sake spots and wandering the streets of some new corner of the city we had yet to visit. And so over breakfast on our first full day, we spent some time researching things to do that night. Overwhelmed by the myriad opt ..read more

Everyone knows that New York City is incredibly diverse and extremely densely populated. Still, I was still profoundly surprised when I saw the size and diversity of the crowd attending The Joy of Sake in New York on Friday, June 16, 2023. The line to enter the Metropolitan Pavilion for this three-hour drinking spectacular elicited a very unusual “woah” from me. As someone who has spent practically half her life in the city, there is really not much that throws me anymore. But as I stood in line and subsequently entered the convention space, I was impressed. People of all walks of life were he ..read more

July and August are full of exciting summer festivals (“natsumatsuri”) throughout Japan. The word “natsu” means summer and “matsuri” means festival. Historically, the purpose of Japanese festivals was to express gratitude to the gods. The word “matsuri” comes from the Japanese verb “matsuru,” which means “to enshrine.” People gather at shrines and pray to the gods for abundant harvests, and to drive away bad spirits that bring illness and disasters. The tradition is still carried on today, but there are also new non-religious types, like community-based or season-themed festivals. Natsumatsuri ..read more

The “ochoko” is a traditional drinking cup for sake. It comes in various materials which subtly influence the flavor of sake. Though the ochoko is but one of several traditional sake cup options, it may be the most commonly used and well known amongst them. This article will explore the ochoko’s humble pre-sake origins, different materials used to make ochoko, and how those materials affect the experience of drinking sake. What is an ochoko? The ochoko is one of the most popular sake cups. It is a small, round cup that can be made from various materials. An ochoko can hold anywhere from 18 mi ..read more

As a national beverage of Japan, sake is forever intertwined with the country’s cultural identity. The Japanese people have been making sake for millennia, and it has touched everything from good times at the dinner table to the economy. It’s not just a drink, but a symbol of cultural heritage. Despite this, sake’s role in Japanese drinking culture has been diminishing for decades. Why is this happening, and what can we do to save the dying art of sake brewing? The westernization of Japan Night view of Tokyo, the most populous city in the world. Globalization has its pros and cons. While the i ..read more

While the diversity of foodstuffs available to our friends who maintain a vegan diet has grown significantly over the last few years, it can still be a challenge to determine what may or may not be safe for them to enjoy. Prepackaged food and soft drinks have ingredient lists that make it possible for vegans to examine the contents, but alcohol doesn’t usually come with a list of everything that goes into it. Even if it does, there might be animal products used in the production process. Some vegans forgo alcohol altogether just to be safe. On the surface, sake seems to be vegan friendly. It i ..read more

Photo by Kristin Teig. Where: 525 Western Ave Brighton, MA 02135 Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Wed, Sun); 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Thurs-Sat) From its NBA team to its pubs, Boston is a city known for its Irish. So when I sit down at the city’s first sake bar, The Koji Club, owner and founding member Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale tells me that when she was young, she was unsure about how to connect with her Asian heritage. “I grew up half Japanese in Massachusetts,” she says plainly. “I grew up closer to the Italian side of my family. There aren’t really any cultural touchpoints for a little Japanese girl her ..read more