Sake On Air

This week we are excited to welcome not just one, but two amazing guests to our table Yu Nakamura and Nattinee Sirirattanapol, aka Pam, who are changing the face of sake in Thailand with an array of amazing projects and collaborations! So join us as one of our regular hosts Chris Hughes sat down with them at our base the Japan Sake and Shochu Information Center in the heart of Tokyo for a chat wit...

We’re Back! This time we are talking to Maksim Polkin of Imadeya, one of the most well known sake distributors in Japan. He is usually at their Ginza Six location, but helps introduce people to the wonders of sake all around Tokyo. Sebastien Lemoine and Chris Hughes talk with Maksim about how he found himself in Japan and in Sake. Their conversation also winds through the forest of sake reta...

This week Chris Hughes continues our discussion of contract brewing sake with a conversation with Nathaniel Hoy . We started this series with Episode-117: A Sake of Your Own: Contract Brewing Sake : in which Sebastien Lemoine , Chris and Justin Potts shared their opinions and expertise on the trend of sake companies brewing custom sakes for clients. We recommend you listen to that episode before l...

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air Sebastien Lemoin and Cindy Bissig are talking about the World’s largest sake event, which just so happens to be a project that one of our other regular hosts; Rebekah Wilson Lye is deeply involved in. We are of course talking about Craft Sake Week in Tokyo! Japan’s most prominent sake event, which was founded by no other than Hidetoshi Nakata in 2016 is...

During the recording of Episode 115 “Should sake be promoted like wine?” , Sarah Stewart mentioned a research project between some members of the British Sake Association, and Coravin, the US firm selling a device aimed at preserving the flavors of wine in the bottle after indulging oneself with one glass or two. Intrigued, Sebastien Lemoine reached out to Grace Hunt, Chief Operating Officer at To...

This week Justin Potts, Chris Hughes , and Sebastien Lemoine discuss the growing trend of sake companies making special sakes for clients and/or partners. The conversations covers the benefits to both established breweries and entrepreneurs trying out their ideas before having to create their own brewery. Their conversation also goes into the differences between partnership sakes, private brand sa...

This week we’re digging a classic from out of the cellar – our episode exploring the absolute magic of sake that’s been crafted to stand the test of time. While still a relatively niche category within sake, more and more producers are leaning into clearly communicating the amount of time – and in what form – their sake spends maturing prior to release, and the wider beverage-loving community is f...

It feels like only the very recent past when opportunities for more formal sake education and certifications were few and far between, and when they were available, they were often infrequent and hosted in only a handful of territories, which made learning from knowledgeable industry insiders and professionals relatively prohibitive for most of the world’s growing number of sake-curious. Thankfull...

We’re getting back to basics this week in the world of shochu with one of our most popular shows from our back catalog: Shochu 101 . Released back in December of 2018 , Mr. Shochu himself, Christopher Pellegrini , walks us through the fundamentals that should help anyone new to the category better understand and enjoy Japan’s incredible indigenous spirit. As to why we selected this particular epis...

This week’s episode of Sake On Air we dive further into the topic started with our post “Is wine the best way to promote sake?” last year. Arline Lyons , who wrote the post and has extensively researched the topic, takes a seat behind the mic and joins one of our regular hosts, Sebastien Lemoine to talk more about her findings. However, we thought it may not be a fair discussion without havi...

Many of our listeners are likely aware of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture back on New Years Day, 2024. While the most severe damage was unquestionably across the peninsula, the massive quake reverberated across neighboring prefectures as well, resulting in extensive, far-reaching damage that’s going to take a great deal of time to truly assess, no...

We are always thrilled to be joined by special guests here at Sake On Air, but it is rather rare that we have a chance to interview a 15th-generation kuramot o. This week we’re thrilled to share our recent interview with Junichi Masuda, newly appointed CEO of Tokubee Masuda Shoten , makers of Tsukinokatsura , a brand of which we are all collectively huge fans. This week our regular hosts Rebekah W...

This week we’re digging up a classic from the archives that we released back in April 2020. The theme of the week is kanzake , which felt appropriate as a majority of our audience is now officially rolling into the winter months. If you’re interested in more warm/hot sake insight, we highly encourage you to check out the special session we hosted from Sake Future Summit 2020 featuring the mission...

With more travelers these days favoring unique experiences over a few days of leisure for their limited vacation days, Japan’s sake breweries have gradually been improving and expanding their offerings to both domestic and international visitors choosing to tick “sake journey” off their bucket list. An industry that’s largely sheltered itself from outside visitors for a significant chunk of recent...

Fabio Ota joins regular host Sebastien Lemoine to talk all things sake in Brazil. Fabio, a lawyer turned sake guy, is the CEO and creator of Megasake , São Paulo’s premier sake shop and distributor. He was named a Sake Samurai earlier this year as part of the 18h cohort, and holds 13 different sake certifications. Sebastien and Fabio get into the ins and outs of the unique nature of sake in Brazil...

For many years a Sake Tasting Competition has been held for selected sake sommeliers from across the country in Tokyo to challenge their tasting skills and knowledge. This year the Brewing Society of Japan has released a special tasting kit, that can be bought by anyone (depending on the availability of it, of course) to help sake professionals and people who strive to learn more about how to eval...

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air we dive further into the world of Shochu and Cocktails as we are excited to have had the chance to talk to Christian Suzuki-Orellana , aka ‘ Suzu ’, the founder of Kagano Pop-Up, General Manager & Bartender at “Wildhawk” as well as a participant of the immensely popular Netflix show, “ Drink Masters ”.  Among his many achievements, he has...

This week, we ask that you indulge us just a bit as we…indulge. During Justin’s super-secret (and all-too-brief) return to Japan we had the opportunity to conduct a single recording. That date just happened to coincide with Kusu Day (September 4 th ) and the magnificent tasting set available at the JSS Information Center. Since Awamori doesn’t get nearly enough love, both on this show and in gener...

In our last podcast episode of Sake On Air, we had two of our regular hosts Chris Hughes and John Gauntner talk with Katsunari Sawada , the man behind the pocket-sized sake can, KURA One . If you have not had a chance to listen to it yet, we recommend you do so ( here ) before listening to the 2nd part, as we are looking further into the question of whether this could be indeed the future of packa...

In this week’s episode of Sake On Air, two of our regular hosts Chris Huges and John Gauntner came together to chat with Katsunari Sawada san, the mastermind behind KURA One ! For anyone unfamiliar with KURA ONE, the company’s mission in their own words “is a sake service that changes the “unreachable” into “deliverable”.” Moving away from the bigger sized 720 m...

Arline Lyons never expected to be the go-to translator for sake related writings coming out of Japan, but remix Mr. Crichton, “sake finds a way.” Our American host in America, Justin Potts sat down with her to talk sake, translation, and some exciting news regarding the growth of Sake on Air. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Arline holds the (WSET) Level 3 Award in Sake and is a SSI International Kik...

How do we effectively promote Japan’s indigenous beverages? That is the million-dollar question and something the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association are working on relentlessly every day. On the Shochu front, one way they are doing this is by collaborating with bartenders and mixologists from all around the world who have fallen in love with Shochu and Awamori and showcasing the fruits of th...

Martin Sturma’s path to kurabito life at Shimizu Seizaburo Shoten has been a winding one. He first started working with sake at the JETRO Prague office , but he had already fallen in love with drink thanks to a fateful encounter on a study abroad trip to the U.S., of all places. By 2020 he was ready to make the move to Japan and start working at a brewery, but the pandemic got in the way, and he f...

Somehow, they’ve done it. Despite the long list of complex and seemingly impenetrable barriers, the folks at Tippsy have managed to make a large, diverse, and inspiring range of sake available to anyone just about anywhere in the U.S. Since founding Tippsy in 2018, Genki Ito has managed to expand Tippsy’s offerings to over 400 unique products and make them available to nearly every state across th...

Aruten, arukoru tenka, or the ingredient largely responsible for the need to create a category of junmai sake in the first place, is sake that has been made with an addition of brewer’s alcohol. Four years and 4 months ago John , little Chris , big Chris , and Justin discussed the differences between junmai and aruten sake in episode 11 of Sake on Air . How time flies. But today Justin is diving b...