Adding to Monaco’s cachet is its association with the most haute of cinematic icons to grace the silver screen or its tiny handheld counterpart—James Bond. This linkage owes its existence to the construction of the Casino de Monte Carlo in 1878 by Charles III. Personally, I have never been a big fan of public-works projects, … Continue reading Casino Cachet →

The status quo here is status; i.e., prestige. The Principality of Monaco has an international image that is unmistakably haute. Its name exudes luxury, discernment, and quality of the highest caliber. Given those indisputable facts, let us now consider what some of its citizens are doing with Japan’s national beverage. Well, how does the Monaco … Continue reading I’ll Be Your Mirror: Monaco Reflects Japan’s Finest, Part 2 →

Looking in a Mirror, Vigee Le Brun In the previous entries I have emphasized the importance of looking inward to facilitate the selling of sake to Japanese, but sometimes it is advisable to look outward in order to look in. This concept may best be understood by considering the opening lines of the Velvet Underground’s … Continue reading I’ll Be Your Mirror: Monaco Reflects Japan’s Finest, Part 1 →

Drinking Sake, Hokusai & Sakata Well, what have we learnt so far? First, as the downside of globalization becomes better known by the various publics that have experienced its negative impact on their lives, there will be greater respect and fondness for the national/local. This should galvanize sake breweries, sake retailers, and trade organizations to … Continue reading Advertising for a New Age →

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall This entry will not explore the phenomenon of declining domestic sake sales in great depth, nor will it contain the citations and academic references that characterize many of my blog entries. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in Japan the drinking of nihon-shu carries unwanted baggage for some Japanese youth. In short, … Continue reading Insurmountable Image Problem?: Hardly! →

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 →