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Sugidama Sake Podcast
Sugidama Sake Podcast
Ep. 49: How to Enjoy Sake: Easy Buying Guide
The new season of Sugidama Sake Podcast is out and I am releasing the first episode on Saturday! This is the start of a mini-series "How to Enjoy Sake". After talking to a lot of people who don't drink sake I have realised that very often the reason is that they believe that sake has some special rules for buying, drinking and enjoying it and they don't know them.
In reality, sake is like any other drink, has its own particularities but they are not as complex and different from other alcoholic beverages as some people think. Its a Japanese drink so some of the language associated with it is Japanese, but it should not be a problem if you don't know it. You can start your sake journey without any advance knowledge.
And in the first episode of the series I am giving very simple and easy tips for buying your sake.
Another exciting thing is that I am organising Sake & Pintxos Discovery Night to celebrate versatility of sake. It's a drink that can be enjoyed with any kind of food! And on December 14 we will drink it with iconic Basque food, pintxos, which are so ubiquitous in Northern Spain.
If you are in London that day, please come! It would be great to meet any of my listeners. The tickets and the event information: Sake & Pintxos Discovery Night.
Don't forget, Sugidama Podcast now has a sponsor, London Sake, an excellent online sake store. London Sake has one of the widest selections of premium and craft sake available online today plus shochu and some other beverages. They deliver across the UK and Europe, and with over 100 sake from 25 breweries, there really is something for everyone.
Using simple online tasting notes and sensible, affordable food pairings they help you find the perfect sake without any of the fuss. Listeners of the podcast can get a 10% discount Listen to the episode to get the magical code! London Sake: making sake simple.
Episode's Content:
- Sake & Pintxos Discovery Night: a bit of the back story
- "How to Enjoy Sake" mini-series idea
- Where to buy sake?
- Is a price of sake a factor?
- Sake lingo: should I know all this strange words?
- Why is sake shop staff invaluable?
- Sake of the episode: Kamoizumi “Red Maple” 2-Year Aged Nama Genshu Ginjo
Kampai!
Sake of the episode:
Kamoizumi “Red Maple” 2-Year Aged Nama Genshu Ginjo
Kamoizumi Shuzo
World Sake Imports UK
London Sake
Red Maple Full Review
Sugidama Blog
Sake & Pintxos Discovery Night
Sugidama Podcast on Podchaser - please review if you don't use Apple Podcasts
Music used:
Wirklich Wichtig (CB 27) by Checkie Brown https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Checkie_Brown_1005/hey/Wirklich_Wichtig_CB_27
Just Arround the World (Kielokaz ID 362) by KieLoKaz
A wide range of premium and craft Japanese sake delivered fresh to your door.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
[Music] Hey everyone, welcome to episode 49 of Sugidama Podcast. The podcast about Japanese sake, the drink we just 150 years ago was only available in Japan, but now you can buy it in many places, even at your local supermarket, if you're lucky, of course. And we're going to talk today exactly about how to buy sake. But before, let me tell you about our sponsor, London Sake, which has one or the widest selections of premium and craft sake, available online today. You can choose from over 100 sake, from 25 breweries, and they will deliver across the UK and many European markets. And if you don't know what sake to choose, you can use simple online tasting notes, and very sensible and affordable food pairings to help you decide. What's more, you can get a 10% discount by just using the code SUGIDAMA, all caps during checkout, London Sake, making sake simple! So, that's me Alex, your friendly sake specialist, blogger, sake judge, sake educator, and... you name it. I live in London, and besides this podcast, I write about sake on my Sugidama blog, where also published tasting notes, overviews, and information about sake events happening in London. Also, I organise various events, which of course involve sake. And as it happened on December 14th, I am organising Sake and Pintxos Discovery Night, at the Hearth in Queen's Park. So, you could be quite surprised, Sake and Pintxos, and pintxos, if some people don't know, it's just a different name for tapas, Spanish tapas. So, they're called Pintxos in Northern Spain, especially in San Sebastian, Bilbao, this kind of area, Basque Country. And this idea came from our trip to San Sebastian this summer, when we tried quite a lot of different pintxos there. So, we're going to one bar, have a pintxo, which looks like a small open sandwich, as a slice of baguette, with some kind of filling on top. It could be something like ham, or it could be cheese, omelette, Spanish omelette, or it could be some kind of Spanish Russian salad, egg, fish, of course. So, you buy one pintxo, you order a glass of txakoli, which is... or chacolí, which is their white wine, and you enjoy your pintxo with a glass of white wine. And then you go to another, or order something different, some different pintxo, with another glass of wine, beer, they sell beer in small wine glasses as well. So, you're going around probably like three, four bars, have your pintxos as some kind of appetiser. And then you go for normal meal to another restaurant, or you can keep going and have your dinner consisted of pintxos. So, we were going there around this bar, it was very vibrant, a lot of people, and it's quite lively, and pintxos were delicious, very delicious. And pintxos, I've got a feeling that they are begging for sake, because pintxos are umami laden, and I was thinking, must be very, very nice with sake, amazing with sake. But of course, they don't serve sake, they're in San Sebastian, they serve txakoli and beer. So, when we came back to London, we decided to test this idea, and we made pintxos, and my daughter, she was that time in Japan, she sent me a small bottle of very nice sake, and we had it with pintxos, and it was amazing, it was very good, it was amazing, amazing combination. So, we are thinking, oh, we like it, and what about other people, probably they will like it as well. So, we decided to do this Sake and Pintxos Discovery Night, just to let people know that sake is not always drunk with a Japanese food, and you can drink it with any kind of food, and pintxos was very easy food to make, and it's delicious, and it goes very well with sake, it's like portions,(so you brought) so the idea is to have five pintxos, five sake, we will have a few quizzes to test your sensory abilities, and a raffle, with prizes from our sponsors, from Kampai London, which is a sake brewery in London, from JFC, which is one of the biggest suppliers of Japanese food, and probably from some other companies, so it's going to be fun, and during these rounds of five, it's going to be five rounds of sake and pintxos, I will tell about sake, about myths, about why I paired this particular pintxo with, this particular sake, or something, probably a few words about breweries and sake itself, so it's going to be, it's going to be very cool. If you're interested, please, please, please, come. The tickets are on the Sugidama blog in the event section, and I will put the link in the show notes, they are discounted at the moment, the full price is 75, but I think at the moment it's 65, and I will probably keep it that way, so please follow the link in the show notes, and buy tickets, and come, and see me in person, it will be very, very good evening. So this is a new season, the first episode, and there are a few changes, compared to previous seasons. The first one is that I will try to have less scripted episodes, a bit tired of writing up everything, and reading it and trying to sound natural. So I will try to do it in a less scripted way, let's say. You see, it's not scripted, and I'm struggling. Anyway. So this season is going to be two mini-series, as you know, I like doing seasons by mini-series. But this time I will do one mini-series in six episodes, and then followed by another, the second mini-series in six episodes, I'm not going to mix them. The first mini-series is how to enjoy sake. I was thinking about it for some time, and I think a lot of people, they don't buy sake, they don't order sake, not because they don't like it, but because they don't know how to... Well, they think that there is a certain way of drinking it, they don't know what to buy, if they're going to sake shop. I remember I went to Japan Centre many, many years ago when I wasn't interested in sake, and I wanted to buy sake, and I was thinking, "Oh, what sake should I buy? I have no idea." So it's a bit difficult, daunting, if you don't know anything about it. So this mini-series is exactly to help people to buy and enjoy sake. I will tell you a short story. I've got a friend, and we were meeting for lunch, and I suggested a Japanese restaurant, and we went there, it's like a nice udon restaurant, and after the lunch, he told me, "Oh, I'm so glad that you invited me to the restaurant, because I was passing by this restaurant, and I wanted to go, but I had no idea how to eat udon, what is udon, what to order, I was sort of like afraid. Now I can see that, yeah, it's very easy, you go and you see what they've got on the menu, if you don't want to eat with chopsticks, you can eat with fork and knife, it's quite easy." So it's one of the reasons why people don't buy sake, they get afraid of how to buy it, how to drink it, what food they should have it with it. The aim of this series is to help people make it easy, so yeah. So in this episode, the first episode, I will talk about how to buy sake. Easy! So the first question is "Do I need to know much about sake to pick a good one?" And the answer is very simple, no, you don't need to know a lot about sake. You don't need to know all these terms, strange words, and how it's made. The only thing you have to, you should know is that sake, it's pretty much like wine, so it's drunk like wine, it's not the spirit, so it's not strong, and you also need to follow a few easy steps, I will talk about in a minute. And of course, if you get interested and you want to know more, there are many, many ways to learn about sake. Okay, let's talk about the place, where to buy sake. So you've got a few options. Of course, a specialised sake shop, it's probably the best option. You can go there, you can see sake, you can look at the labels, read the tasting notes, if there are tasting notes, talk to the staff, and you've got your sake straight away, you can take it home and drink it in the evening, for example. Also, another option is Japanese grocery stores. They often have a selection of sake, some of them have got a very good selection, like Japan Centre, Ichiba, in London, or Natural Natural. So it's another option, Japanese supermarkets, or sometimes some Asian supermarkets. They also sell sake. Another option is online sake store, they usually have very good selection of sake, and they've got tasting notes, they've got a lot of information, some of them got chatbots, which can help you to make a choice, or they can help you, probably there is a person, some people sitting behind on the other side, and they can reply. The only downside is, of course, you have to order it, it will take some time to get delivered, you have to pay delivery charge very often, there is obviously a minimal amount, you have to pay to get free delivery. But yeah, they've got very good selection, and you can, to choose your sake stress-free, you can browse their website, read the notes, look at the labels, and get a lot of information about sake. And sake could be slightly cheaper online, because you don't have to pay this rent, but you have to pay the delivery charge, as I said. Another option is wine shops. Some of wine shops, they have some sake selection, like Hedonism Wines, for example, in London. They've got a section of sake, it's not huge, but they've got a few sakes there. There are some other shops that also now stock sake. I remember I was passing by some small wine shop in the City and I saw a few bottles of Kampai Sake and some other sake there. So yeah, we're getting there. The last choice is supermarkets, I know that like Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Tesco, they all have at least one brand of sake, or one type of sake, but it's usually futsushu, it's usually sake (that is) not very expensive, and I don't know how they choose it. But I know that some of them, like Sainbury's, they've got Mio, which is nice sparkling sake. But yeah, the choice is very, very limited, and it's probably not your best choice of sake, unfortunately, at the moment. I hope, I hope that the supermarkets will get on the trend, because a lot of people like Japanese culture, and Japanese food, and now, Japanese drinks as well, so they will expand their selection of sake, but not at the moment. In Japan, obviously the situation is completely different, even in your local 7/11, which is like convenience store, you can have a very good selection of sake, not as good as in a specialised store, other supermarkets, for example, big supermarkets, but yeah, still pretty good selection. But it's same with wine here, beer here, you will have a good selection of wine and beer in your local convenience store, very often, and so yeah, it's your choices, so the best choice is specialised sake shops, followed by Japanese grocery stores, then online sake shops, and wine shops, and then supermarkets. So you decided where to buy. You go to the store you have chosen, or going online. So the question is, whether the more expensive sake always a better choice? And it's not, it's not. Price is not a major factor, the price in sake is obviously affected by sake grade or style. Futsushu, which is like table sake, in all cases, will be cheaper than Junmai Daiginjo. Brand? There are some very well-known fashionable sake brands which can fetch a premium like Dassai, for example, or Kubota. Brewing method? Some sake could take longer to make, low temperature brewing or they're aged, or they use some special ingredients like top-grade rice. Things like that. And also small batches or limited editions, because there is no economy of scale. There are small breweries, they make very small batches of sake, and it would be a bit expensive. But high price doesn't mean that you will like the sake, or the sake will be the best for particular occasion. So when you choose sake, first decide on your budget, what amount of money you want to spend on the bottle sake. Think about the occasion. Is it, I don't know, some kind of dinner with friends, or it's casual drinking or some kind of tasting, I don't know. Think about what kind of food you want to have with it. For example, you thinking, okay, I'm planning a dinner, and I want to make, I don't know, like chicken casserole with it. So what kind of sake should I buy for that? And of course your general preferences, do you like sweet or dry drinks? Would you prefer fruity, flowery, or savoury? Look at the bottle. You might think, look at the bottle, you say, oh yeah, I want this bottle, I want to drink this sake because I like the label. Why not? So keep these things in mind when you choose your sake. Don't (get) fix(ed) on the price only, don't try to buy the most expensive sake, or try to buy the cheapest one, which is okay if you, I don't know, if you're trying to, if you're thinking about your, I don't know, like your round birthday, like your 30s, or 40, or 50s, or 60s, and you want to treat yourself by something expensive. If you want casually to drink sake, or have some kind of drink with your friends, or buy something not very expensive, for casual drinking. So before we talk about sake lingo, and how to get good advice about sake, let me remind you about London Sake, our sponsor, and their huge selection of curated sake sets, which provide a great opportunity to explore various styles and types of sake. Have a look, but don't forget about the magic word, SUGIDAMA, all caps, to get your 10% discount. Okay, so should I pay attention to all this lingo, like Junmai, Ginjo and Nigori? Not at the start of your sake journey. Don't try to memorise all these words, don't try to look them up all the time, think, oh, what should I do. Because the words themselves won't give you a lot of information. And if you only buy on the basis of the type of sake, you can get something that you either don't like, or something that doesn't fit your occasion. So, operate by more familiar and easy categories, refined, cloudy, like white wine, closer to red wine, full-bodied, light and fresh, sweet and dry, good for specific food, things like that. And when you've got this in mind, what kind of sake you want, it's much easier to make a choice, easier to select sake from the available sake in this particular shop. So, gradually you will learn some terms and names, but it's not essential, it's just to keep in mind. Okay, I like this one, so should I try this one, is it typical for this type of grade of sake, grade or type of sake, and you can see if you like it or not. So, try to remember what you like, and then describe it at the shop, because for example, you say, you may say, "Oh, I had this sake, it was fruity, and slightly sweet, I liked it very much, and do you have something similar?" Or you say, "Oh, I like dry sake, I like dry wine, or I like sweet wine", and things like that. Or you can look at the tasting notes and see, Oh, this is this says, sweet, this says acidic, so I like sweet and acidic, and you buy that one. So, don't try to read too much into this foreign terms, try to see what sake is like from the tasting notes, from the talking to the staff at the shop, and from some other descriptions, and buy it on these basis. If you don't know some words, so what? Advice from staff is essential, because a lot of knowledgeable staff work at sake shops. Don't be shy, describe what you like in other drinks, if you've never tried sake, or you tried sake before, and you don't know what you want. Talk about the occasion, talk about food, ask for the advice. In many, many cases, people, especially in specialised sake shops, they will help you to choose sake you like. And ask as many questions as you like, because a lot of people who work at sake shops or sake industry, they're very, very passionate about the drink. And they will tell you a lot of information, sometimes too much, but anyway, they will help you choose what you like. So, I think to summarise what I said, you can go to specialised sake shops, Japanese grocery stores, you can buy online, or try to find something at the supermarket, depending on the country, I don't know, I'm sure in Hong Kong, in supermarkets, in Hong Kong, you probably have much wider range of sake than he in London. So, it depends. But yeah, I think specialised sake shops, Japanese groceries, and online sake shops, and sometimes wine shops, are your best bets to get good sake. Don't worry about the sake language, set your budget, talk to the staff, or try to get in touch with online sake shop staff, if it's possible, or read through the tasting nose, with something in mind, what you want, what kind of food you want to have with it, what kind of occasion, what are your preference in other drinks, and all it will help you choose a very good sake. So, today's sake episode is "Kamoizumi Red Maple, two-year-aged, nama ginjo. So, Kamoizumi brewery is well known for its Summer Snow Nigori. The brewery is relatively young, for Japanese breweries, founded only 111 years ago, in 1912, in Hiroshima prefecture, renowned for sake brewing. And it's founded by Junichi Megake, a son of a grain merchant, who was only 23 at the time. The name of the brewery comes from the name of the spring, from which the brewery takes the water for the sake. Kamoizumi was one of the pioneering breweries, which started a revival on junmai sake in 1965. It's still considered a bit eccentric by a lot of other sake breweries, because they try to innovate, they try to mix different things and try to do something very interesting. So yeah, it's very well-known brewery. Kamoizumi Red Maple. The bottle is very distinct. The bottle looks like a wine bottle, with a dark red label with two bright red maple leaves, so it's very very different from your normal sake bottle, but it's their choice. I have drunk Red Maple before, but for this episode, I'm going to use the tasting notes made by Jamie Ryder, who also was on this podcast, episode 47, for my blog some time ago. The link to the full review is in the show notes. So the Red Maple is a sake that builds in character from the first sip and keeps on surprising. Pine nut, pear to begin with, undercut by strawberry, yoghurt, and vanilla ice cream. It has gorgeous lactic notes and the bright and floral finish. The sake is recommended to drink chilled to make the most of the delicate flavours. However, I tried it warmed up, and it's great too, and amazing for the current weather. For food pairing, Jamie suggested that Red Maple would go beautifully with pork, sirloin, and grilled vegetables, beef bourguignon, and even New York cheesecake. That's it for today, I'll be back with the next episode about sake rules and rituals. In the meantime buy a bottle of sake and try it warm. Read my post with recommendations on Sugidama.co.uk, or you can look up warm sake at the London sake website where you can get 10% discount by entering SUGIDAMA all in caps at the checkout. And if you like to buy Kamoizumi Red Maple, then you can search for it on the internet because it's usually available in autumn, a late autumn. I've seen it at some tasting quite recently. It was available at London Sake and some other online sake shops, but it's a moment it looks like it's sold out. I think the new batch should come soon. Anyway. So about the Sake and Pintxos Discovery Night. Go to the website, buy tickets, and we will see you there. It's gonna be a very good evening with sake, pintxos, quizzes, a ruffle. Yeah, it's gonna be fun. So if you have any questions or suggestions about any sake topic, just drop me a line. My email address is alex@sugidama.co.uk, or you can tag me on Instagram @sugidamablog in one word, or on Mastodon @sugidamablog@universeodon.com. All the information in the show notes. Again, if you liked the episode and want more, hit the subscribe button, and you will get every new episode downloaded to your player as soon as it's out. If you would like to give me a bit of support, please leave a review or rate Sugidama podcast. Spotify now allows you to rate postcards you listen to, and so if you use this platform, rate Sugidama podcast there. Of course, you can share this podcast, and please, please, please do, because one of the things is that people usually get podcasts from their friends, recommendations of podcasts from their friends, so you can be this friend and recommend Sugidama podcast to somebody who is interested in sake. And if you've got any friends who interested in sake and would like to try it, Sugidama Sake & Pintxos Discovery Nnight is the best option. So please, please, please come, I'll see you there. Thanks a lot for listening. Goodbye!