Falling in love with sake is easy to do. We all know that. And along with the honeymoon phase of falling in love comes the insatiable desire to learn more about sake. We read books, scour blogs, watch YouTube videos, and go to tastings. It’s a deep rabbit hole to go down as you find…
When Hot Springs, Arkansas native Ben Bell, hoping to launch a sake brewery in his state, told Matt Bell that the area should be the Napa Valley of sake, that vision became a “north star” for the latter native son as well. This was 2016. Had these two very different individuals, who share a last…
Keith Norum is one of the more youthful sixty-year-olds you’ll meet, even in a country where so many people seem youthful in the later decades of their lives. He looks younger than his years, there’s vitality in his voice and expressions, and he gives every indication he’s eager to continue with his busy work in…
Change is inevitable. But that doesn’t mean that it always comes smoothly or that it ever proceeds according to plan. In the sake industry, change usually comes slowly and begrudgingly. Sometimes, it comes too late. Sake breweries have traditionally been family-owned and passed down from father to son. If there were no sons, the first…
In the waning days of the Edo period (1603~1868) Shitara was a thriving post station and lodging town along the major route from coastal Aichi to landlocked Nagano Prefecture. Salt harvested from the sea moved inland as lumber logged from the forestland surrounding the town was transported to oceanside communities. After a long day on…
(Kazuhiro Sakurai, holding a bottle of Dassai 23) Successful companies rise to greatness through leadership. Without it, talent too readily loses focus. Company culture struggles to find identity. Work becomes mere motion, not a source of inspiration that fuels itself in a virtuous circle, leading to meaningful products and services. Dassai is quite possibly…
Daishichi’s increasingly global fame owes to its ability to accommodate opposites: new technology with traditional techniques, modern marketing with older industry practices, and contemporary flavor trends with ancient styles. The brewery’s success is also tied to its 10th generation owner, Ohta Hideharu, a man who brings to social interactions all the refined formalities you’d expect…
Countryside towns in Japan, while short on residents, never seem to be lacking in folklore or legends. Some are so outlandish, one wonders if sake may have been a major influence in their creation. The small town of Agamachi in Niigata, home to some 11,000 or so residents, has one of the more interesting legends…
Imagine for a moment running a family-owned business founded in 1550. What would you feel? Excitement? Honor? Nervousness? Now consider that this business suddenly has to operate in a global market–the alcohol beverage industry–and that this space is fiercely competitive. What then? Pressure? “No, no pressure at all,” says Shintarô Konishi, 15th-generation president of Konishi…
Not every kura can be a rustic reminder of the past. As technology advanced it became more efficient to house a brewery in a modern building that eschews traditional architecture. Surely the romantics among us love that old wooden kura with its elegant, aged beams and signature chimney. But let’s be honest–when it comes down…