Episode 124. Week in and week out, our standard gear for tasting and evaluating sake is a simple wine glass. This works really well and almost everybody has one nearby. But in Japan, there are a wide variety of shapes, materials and sizes used to make cups for drinking sake. That got us wondering if we should take some other cups out for a test drive and compare them to our usual stemware. This week we are exploring an industry standard sake cup - the "kikichoko".  A larger relative of the standard ochoko, Kikichokos have a blue and white bullseye design inside the cup. To learn all the secrets of the kikichoko and to see how it stacks up against our trusty wine glass, listen now to this week's sake vessel smackdown! #sakerevolution Support the show

Episode 123. Can you keep a secret?  We usually can... unless it involves sake intel that's hot off the presses.  This week, we have a fun interview with California sake expert and sommelier Greg Beck.  Greg is the founder and owner of Sake Secret, an L.A. County sake pop up. He studied Japanese in college and found his way to sake through the festivals and matsuri while working in Hiroshima.  As his passion for sake grew, he returned to the States to share the secrets of sake with everyone.  While the pop up is fantastic, Greg has a dream to give sake a permanent home in Southern California and so he's launched a Kickstarter campaign to make a brick and mortar sake shop a reality in SoCal.  Listen in to hear Greg's story and consider supporting his efforts to share the Sake Secret with us all!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 122. A long overdue return to the Sake Education Corner lets us explore a common question affecting everyone who brings a bottle of sake home - what's the deal with sake storage?! How long can you keep your sake before opening, after opening, at what temperature, in what location, and what to avoid.  While the lawyerly answer to any of these questions is often "it depends", we get into the nitty gritty and provide concrete advice anyone can implement immediately. So crack open your fridge and  let's store some sake!    #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 121. This week, we shine the sake spotlight on a region of Japan that is virtually unknown to most sake fans. We’re talking about Kagoshima, the volcanic, sub-tropical home base of “imo” sweet potato shochu on the southern tip of Kyushu island. Despite being a world famous mecca for distilled shochu, two of the over 100 distilleries in Kagoshima have ventured into sake production giving us a sake lifeboat in this vast ocean of shochu. Today we’ll be tasting one of them: Tenbu sake from Nishi Shuzo, a distillery founded in 1845. The remarkable point here is that they only received their sake brewing license in 2020 making this one of the youngest sake breweries around. How does sake that is made by shochu distillers actually taste?  Well, let’s dive in and explore the sake from one of the most unlikely places in Japan: Kagoshima! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 120. Stop the presses! Sake has been more and more in the news recently and we wanted to take a look at some of the newsworthy headlines hitting our shores.  This week, we'll discuss reports of the first ever "carbon neutral" sake coming out of Hyogo from the Kobe Shushinkan Brewery.  This involves not only changes to the energy that powers the brewery but also changes to the production process itself to optimize energy expenditures and production time.  Is this a sneak peek into sake's future?  We also debate the somewhat controversial "Sake Viva" program put out by Japan's National Tax Agency.  This program solicits marketing proposals that will encourage drinking among the younger generations.  Lots to unpack here, too!  Listen in to get our two cents the latest sake headlines as we uncover some sake in the news!  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 119 This week we welcome sake expert Jessica Joly to the podcast to introduce us to this very special trio of sakes all from Saga Prefecture. The breweries are all different and distinct, but they have collaborated to create a set of three bottles with a unique branding and flavor story you won’t see anywhere else. First, from Koimari Brewery, we have the Tropical Junmai Daiginjo which uses the silhouette of a pineapple on the label to communicate it’s fruity aroma and flavor. Next, the Crisp Junmai Daiginjo from Mitsutake Brewery has an illustration of an octopus to signify the crisp, clean flavors and water like minerality. Last but not least, the Yano Brewery has crafted a 5-year-aged Junmai Kimoto sake that uses an outline of a mushroom to project its deep umami flavors. The packaging on the whole set is beautiful and a fun way to communicate the range you can enjoy from Saga sake. Also, Jessica gives us the lowdown on an upcoming sake sake event Happening Sept 19, 2022 at Sakagura in NYC. Listen in to hear the whole saga! #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 118.  This week, John and Timothy combat the boredom of late summer by exploring another extreme sake.  If you've ever put a squeeze of lemon in your iced tea, you know acidity can transform a beverage. But what role does acidity play in sake? and how do we taste it?  By exploring a sake that is much higher in acid, we hope to uncover  this and more.  Wine is well known to have more overall acidity than sake, so let's see if this high acid brew brings some wine-like qualities to the tasting.  We sure hope we will never sour on tastings higher acid sakes.  #SakeRevolutionSupport the show

Episode 117. This week John and Timothy give a recap of their recent visit to the Joy of Sake event in New York City.  This is one of the "big kahuna" sake events in the U.S. and a great kick off to what we hope will be a return to more in-person sake tasting overall.  We explore some of the history and what to expect at this event.  John even lets us in on his favorite sips of the night.  If you'd like to join next year, we give you all the details on staying connected to get in on their next big tasting.  We also enjoyed a summery nama sake from the Niwa no Uguisu brand which we tasted as a rare example of an unpasteurized usu-nigori (lightly cloudy) sake.  Listen in as we all discover the "Joy of Sake" together!  #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 116. Week in and week out, our standard gear for tasting and evaluating sake is a simple wine glass. This works really well and almost everybody has one nearby. But in Japan, there are a wide variety of shapes, materials and sizes used to make cups for drinking sake. That got us wondering if we should take some other cups out for a test drive and compare them to our usual stemware. This week we are exploring a real square in the world of sake cups - the masu.  Born as a box-shaped measuring cup for rice and re-imagined as a fragrant wooden cup for drinking sake, the masu is a totally unique vessel and one that you will find in Japanese sake bars and izakaya across the world. Have you tried drinking your sake out of a square box? And how does that masu stack up against our trusty wine glass?  Listen now to our third sake vessel smackdown! #sakerevolutionSupport the show

Episode 115. While Sake Revolution is currently the only U.S. sake podcast, there are several other podcasters around the world working hard to spread the good word of sake.  We thought it would be fun to connect with our international colleagues for a little sake pod "crosstalk" to network and share the sake love. This week we connect with  Japan-based sake podcasters Giulia Maglio and Cindy Bissig, creators of "Sake Unplugged".  This podcast promises to take listeners behind the sake curtain and in our interview we find out about how they connected to get their podcast off the ground as well as the challenges of running a weekly show. Join us in the crosstalk!   #sakerevolutionSupport the show