Joy of Sake Tasting in Honolulu, San Francisco & New York, Sept 9, 15, 27, 2005

A haiku for sake:

Ah. Sake. Drop of
Rain touched by moonlit jasmine
Always brings pleasure.

OK. So I'm not the next Basho. But you gotta love sake, the perfect accompaniment to so many foods and flavors that we love (Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Japanese in general, sushi in particular, and more) that are really difficult to pair with wine. Sake is going to be the next big thing after Vodka. Mark my words.

If you want to get a jump on this rising trend and you happen to live in New York or San Francisco, then there's no better place to do it than the Joy of Sake Tasting. Apparently this has been going on for at least a couple years right under my nose and I've known nothing about it. Clearly I was not paying enough attention.

The Joy of Sake event brings over 200 sakes, many of which are not yet available in the US, to one place along with sake-friendly food from some of the top local Asian and French restaurants for a two-and-a-half hour tasting extravaganza. Friends who attended last year (why they didn't tell ME about it will be the subject of heated conversation later) say that it's a bit of a mob scene and hard to taste as many of the sakes as you want, but that it's a unique opportunity that shouldn't be missed.

For the San Francisco event, food will be provided by Betelnut, The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, Hana, Hog Island Oyster, Kiku of Tokyo, Kirala, Kyo-ya, Memphis Minnie's BBQ Joint, Ozumo, Roy's, Sakae Sushi, Sanraku, Sho's and Sushi Ran.

The Joy of Sake - Honolulu
September 9, 2005 6:00 PM to 8:30PM
Hawaii Convention Center
1801 Kalakaua Avenue
Honolulu, HI 96815

The Joy of Sake - San Francisco
September 15, 2005 6:00 PM to 8:30PM
Hotel Nikko
222 Mason Street
San Francisco, CA 94111

The Joy of Sake - New York
September 27, 2005 6:00 PM to 8:30PM
The Puck Building
295 Lafayette Street
New York, NY 10012

Tickets for the event are available at $65/person and can be purchased on the Joy of Sake web site.

A portion of the proceeds from the event will be dedicated to the Takao Nihei Memorial Fund, honoring the legacy of Takao Nihei, who revived sake brewing in the United States following WWII and developed early techniques for making sake from California rice.

Posted by: Alder on September 5, 2005 9:05 AM: Tweet; Share this post elsewhere: Digg it! - Add to del.icio.us - Add to Stumbleupon - Add to Reddit; Filed under: Sake , Wine Activities

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Comments (6)

Jack wrote:

09.05.05 at 10:47 AM

Those friends also say that the sakes are organized by type, but also into two groups: ones available in the US and ones that aren't. So, that's probably the coolest part: tasting sakes not availble in the US.

What's also different, is you pour the sakes yourself. Well, pour is not the right word. Suck some into a small squeezy bottle and them squeeze it back out into your tasting cup. Bringing a small crystal tasting glass might serve you well, too.

Karen wrote:

09.05.05 at 5:34 PM

Alder,

I am pleased that you have been writing about Sake. I'm marking your words, and agreeing with them, too!! Looking forward to reading more about the Joy of Sake Tasting event. Drinking Sake is a truly delightful experience. In closing...congratulations to Vinography for being mentioned as "perhaps the Web's most popular and comprehensive wine blog" in the October issue of Food & Wine magazine!!! Karen

Barbara wrote:

09.05.05 at 8:46 PM

Anxiously awaiting your sake tasting report Alder. But damn - I hate getting into something and then finding out it is the latest "trendy" drink. Just when I thought I'd found a new taste experience!

Lenn wrote:

09.06.05 at 8:56 AM

Hmm...it's during the week (usually can't make those in NYC)...but it's at 6 p.m....

I may just have to make this happen!

I'll admit to having little experience with sake...

Alder wrote:

09.06.05 at 11:27 AM

:-)

Thanks Barbara. Just because something is trendy, doesn't mean it's not good !

Alder wrote:

09.06.05 at 11:29 AM

Thanks Karen! Please send me your feedback as I continue to write about sake