Sake News from Japan / Sake Muse
Clearly a dessert sake
PR Times reports on a new launch by Clear on their sake e-commerce site SAKE100 ("Sake Hundred"). The site aims to sell premium, high-priced sake and this is their third product to date. New offering Amairo (天彩, the colour of heaven) was released on 24 October 2018 as...
Levelling up – WSET sake instructor study tour
On the Sankei Biz site, Sake Samurai Coordinator Toshie Hiraide covers the evolution of the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) foray into sake education - a study tour for newly-minted instructors. Active in 74 countries worldwide, WSET started giving sake...
One sake, many labels
Niconico News reports on a new concept from the Shirataki brewery, makers of Jōzen Mizunogotoshi. Called "Junmai Ginjō My Time", it offers six colourful labels designed by illustrator Ami Kanda that give a degree of personalisation to the brewery's 300 ml bottles of...
Sakes goes strong to compete with beer, chūhai
The Shokuhin Sangyo Shinbunsha (Food Industry Reporter) site reports on a continuing trend among alcoholic drinks in Japan, including sake - higher strength. Commenting that all the major sake breweries have their own "strong" product, the article also predicts that...
Gekkeikan patents fresh(er) breath from zero-carb sake
The Asahi Shinbun Digital site reports on a new patent for mega-brewery Gekkeikan - one that doesn't leave a bad taste in your mouth. Literally. Realising that tōshitsu zero sake (not entirely clear if it's meant to be "sugar-free" or "carbohydrate-free") was less...
Seven sake spots in Kyoto
The NewsWalker site has a round-up of seven places to drink great sake accompanied by delicious fish and side dishes in Kyoto. The information is taken from the 14 September 2018 edition of Kyoto Walker. [Why yes, I'll be in Kyoto in a few months. I translate this...
Is blind tasting best for beginners?
The "Life Hacks for Everyone" site Dime features an interesting take on how to introduce beginners to sake - blind tasting. Why would you make beginners blind taste? For many of the reasons my favourite coffee shop does blind tastings of coffee: without the fancy...
Critical eyes (and noses and tongues) in Sendai
The Sankei News reports on an assessment in Sendai of sake under production in Tohoku, including some critical foreign tongues. Breweries in the six prefectures that make up the Tohoku region (Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima) submitted their sake for...
Sake to go with three Michelin stars
The PR Times reports on a new range of sake aimed at restaurants with three Michelin stars. Louis Robuchon Abe, son of late French chef Joël Robuchon, is the chairman and managing director of Japan Exquise. The company launched a line of six sake from five breweries...
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The translations/summaries of Japanese language news articles or other resources, personal commentary and other content provided on this site or through its associated newsletter are part of a personal project to increase the amount of information about Japanese sake and related fields available in English.
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All translations/summaries and other content are © 2017-2026 Arline Lyons.