The official release date of Discovering Yamaguchi Sake is here!
Today is the Day! Discovering Yamaguchi Sake
Sake Professional Course
If there is one good thing that the pandemic has brought, it is an absolute GLUT of online classes, webinars and seminars that I normally wouldn't have access to from humble Yamaguchi. Thus did my chance to become a Certified Sake Professional appear. A Certified Sake Professional is Me! With the pandemic still making in-person... Continue Reading →
Daruma Masamune Koshu Study
Daruma Masamune is a label used by Gifu Prefecture brewery Shiraki Tsunesuke Shoten (English link). They are a very unusual brewery, in that their main focus is on koshu: aged sake. Many breweries store some of their sake away for sale farther down the road (Gokyo releases a 15-17 year old koshu every year, for... Continue Reading →
SSA Shochu Advisor Course
The recent covid-related lockdown has, oddly, had a positive effect on some things. For instance, the plentiful online drinking parties increased my connections with like-minded people in far off places that I otherwise never would have made. One of those connections is Sachiko Miyagi, who works for the Sake School of America as an instructor... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Sake by Akiyama Hiroichi
I typically review books elsewhere, but lately I've been reading lots of books about my favorite drink and I thought perhaps others would be interested in hearing about them. Thus, from now on I will be posting my thoughts on the various sake books I read. Sake: The Essence of 2000 Years of Japanese Wisdom... Continue Reading →
A Kikisakeshi is Me!
Beginning in September, I began the Sake Service Institute's International Kikisake-shi correspondence course. I finished the course, passed, and am now a certified International Kikisake-shi! So let's talk about that process and what it actually means. The course is set up to require at least three months, despite the fact that all the materials including... Continue Reading →
Event Announcement!
If anyone out there is in the eastern Yamaguchi area, I'm having a sake event! I'm hosting a very simple sake label-reading class and tasting at Tokuyama Station Library, and afterward we're going on a short tour of Hatsumomidi kura. You can sign up and get more info here: Facebook link Meetup Link It's free,... Continue Reading →
Wakamusume Koshu – Tasting
Today's sake is a rarity: Koshu, aka Aged Sake! I picked this bottle up at tiny Ikedaya Liquor shop in Hofu, Yamaguchi, the only place you can get Takeuchi sake these days. It was just hanging out in their cooler, and it stood out because I've seen a lot of Wakamusume sake before, but never... Continue Reading →
A Great Yamaguchi Sakagura Update
Things go quick once you actually decide to do something with them. As of the last mention of this project, I had yet to even confirm the actual number of kura in Yamaguchi. I asked around and was eventually recommended to the national tax bureau, since they're the ones that actually license and monitor kura.... Continue Reading →
The Great Yamaguchi Sakagura Project
Something that I've been working on sort of unofficially, that I'm actually bringing into the "official" part of work, is an exhaustive index of all of the kura in Yamaguchi prefecture, where I identify and map them, try their sakes, and eventually visit them. The mapping part would be easier if the Hiroshima bureau of... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 