Fair Travellers Fording the River Oi, Utagawa & Wakasaya, 1800 This week we start our “Marketing Sake Series.” Even readers who are not remotely involved in the selling of this beverage should find the following blog entries of interest. We can assure you that there is nothing hackneyed here. That’s not our style.  From Heraclitus … Continue reading The Dawning of the Age of the National →

These are no slapdash concoctions whipped up “Love Potion No. 9” style. As the subtitle makes clear, they are elegant, and they contain some of our favorite ingredients. The base liquor for both is the seldom-seen kasutori shochu, or sake-kasu shochu (sake-cake shochu). This is rice-based shochu made by refermenting the sake lees. It is … Continue reading Satonowa’s Japanese Herbal Liqueur: Elegant Elixirs from Shiga Prefecture →

L’Orient is an award-winning, Yamanashi-based winery that was established in 1938. Good sign, good sign, good sign. To add another good sign, it is family run! And to add just one more good sign, they know what they are doing. I had the good fortune to meet the vintner, Mr. Uchida, at the Gourmet Show, … Continue reading Trumpeting the Spirit: L’Orient’s Grappa from Muscat Bailey A →

Sake Cup as Boat, Okumura, Masanobu, Edo Period A sultry evening in Tokyo found me at a JSS Media Event, which the organization holds periodically for journalists and sundry. The speaker was Associate Professor Yuki Hata from Meijo University, Nagoya. She was enthusiastically telling those assembled about Edo Period manga containing references to sake and … Continue reading Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association’s Media Event (July 14, 2026): I Left Stirred, Not Shaken →

Rye, Ivan Shishkin (1832-98) There are times when even the most dedicated bon vivant finds pleasure in the simplest drinks and dishes, when the farmhouse apple brandy gives more satisfaction than what is contained in that pricey bottle in the bottle shop, when a slice of dark bread topped with a generous serving of butter … Continue reading The Sincerity of Simplicity: The Joys of Kvass →

Malaysia is one of our favorite countries, for reasons too numerous to mention in this short blog entry. Recently, we had the opportunity to visit one of their showcase cities, Malacca, lots of history, good restaurants, clean streets, and a safe environment. We do not know whether anyone else has picked up on this, but … Continue reading Time for Toddy →

Strawberries, Edouard Manet, ca. 1882 No, this is not about that can! It’s about that cylindrical metal container, so familiar to beer lovers. The first beer can made its commercial debut about a hundred years ago, 1933 to be precise. One wonders whether there will be any events to commemorate this. A number of years … Continue reading The Can →