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How ‘The Birth of Saké’ Introduced Sake to the World: The 10th Anniversary Interview
Taylor Markarian
How did you fall in love with sake? Most people say that it was love at first sip, but for me, it was love at first sight. My first encounter with auth...
Tsuki Sake Brews Up Counterculture in Salt Lake City
Taylor Markarian
Utah, home of the Mormons, is the last place one would expect to find a norm-shattering sake brewery. The dominant religious group is famously opposed ...
WAKAZE: A Sake Revolutionary
Rikuo Kanda
WAKAZE France is a brewery known for its experimental approach to sake making. They take inspiration from French winemaking traditions and methods, suc...
Dassai Blue Sake Brewery Arrives in New York
Taylor Markarian
Asahi Shuzo Co., Ltd. (Dassai), based in Yamaguchi prefecture, is famous for their Dassai sake brand, which is committed to making only the best qualit...
Chasing Unicorns at EUREKA! Sake Bar in Tokyo
Taylor Markarian
Where: Second floor, 4 Chome−11−28, Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo, Japan Hours: 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. (Tues-Fri); 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Sat, Sun, holidays) “I...
Sake Rice Farmers Growing the American Craft Sake Scene
Domenic Alonge
The American craft sake scene has grown steadily in the last 10 years, with the number of breweries increasing from roughly a dozen in 2013 to nearly 3...
Otokoyama: Preserving Traditions With Hokkaido’s Frontier Spirit
Rikuo Kanda
With a rich history spanning over 350 years, Otokoyama treasures its traditions and historical significance — but it also embraces the frontier spirit,...
‘Unpredictable’ Cafe Mutton Chef Sees ‘A Lot of Possibility’ in Sake
Taylor Markarian
Nowadays when you see a respected food publication like Bon Appetit recommend a new restaurant, you’re inclined to think that you’ll be immediately sma...
‘Doesn’t Get More New York’ Than Sake With Unregular Pizza
Taylor Markarian
Unregular Pizza lives by the slogan, “Pizza for irregular times.” Perhaps that explains why husband-and-wife team Gabriele Lamonaca and Paola Sinisga...
Connecting Chinese-Latino Cuisine and Sake at Chino Grande
Taylor Markarian
The way Chef Christine Lau’s fingers nimbly fold the wontons as she carries on in conversation is clearly muscle memory. But it’s more than just practi...
The Koji Club: Boston’s First Sake Bar
Taylor Markarian
Where: 525 Western Ave Brighton, MA 02135 Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Wed, Sun); 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Thurs-Sat) From its NBA team to its pubs, Boston i...
Farthest Star Sake: Brewed for New England
Taylor Markarian
Where: 120 N. Meadows Road, Medfield, Massachusetts 02052 Hours: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Thurs, Fri); 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Sat); 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (Sun) Todd Be...
Tokyo Record Bar: House Party on MacDougal
Taylor Markarian
Where: 127 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012 Hours: 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (Mon-Wed); 6:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. (Thu-Sat) I love any place t...
Juban NYC: A Sake Lover’s Journey Comes to Life
Taylor Markarian
Where: 207 10th Ave, New York, NY, 10011 Hours: 4:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Sun, Tues-Thurs), 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Fri and Sat) New York City’s Juban is...
NYC’s Accidental Bar Brings Local Flavor to Japanese Sake
Taylor Markarian
Where: 98 Avenue C, New York, NY 10009 Hours: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Sun-Wed), 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Thurs-Sat) People often seek an authentic Japanese exper...
Sake Bar Decibel: NYC’s Favorite Japanese Dive Bar
Taylor Markarian
Where: 240 E. 9th St. New York, NY 10003 Hours: 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Tue, Wed, Thur, Sun), 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Fri and Sat) There is a reason Sake Bar Dec...
East Meets West at Rabbit House Omakase & Sake Bar NYC
Taylor Markarian
Where: 41 Essex Street, New York, NY 10002 Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Tues-Wed), 5:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Thu), 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Fri and Sat), 5:30 ...
SakaMai NYC: Haute Cuisine Meets Sake Expertise
Taylor Markarian
Where: 157 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002 Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. (Sun-Thu), 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. (Fri and Sat) Walk into SakaMai and you’ll immediat...
Yakitoriguy: Yakitori, Sake and the Art of Japanese Craftsmanship
Taylor Markarian
Editor’s note: This interview has been condensed for clarity. Yakitoriguy doesn’t tell anyone his real name. He doesn’t want people to get distracted ...
Why French Master Blenders Are Making Sake
Taylor Markarian
Editor’s note: Some quotes in this article have been translated from their original French. At Tippsy, we’ve long believed it, but two former chefs de...
Building the Aizu’s Terroir with Renewable Energy-Yamatogawa
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
While there are many sake breweries that aim to be sustainable and eco-friendly, Yamatogawa Brewing Company takes the extra mile by generating renewabl...
One of the Youngest Yet Most Refined Sake Brands, Ninki-Ichi
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
While there are many sake breweries with a long history in Fukushima, Ninki Brewing Company started its brand in 2007. The president, Yujin Yusa, chall...
The Secret of Long-loved Flavor of Naraman Sake
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Yumegokoro Brewing Company is famous for their award-winning Naraman series. The brewery president, Nobuo Shoji, shares his humble work ethic of cheris...
Craftsmanship That Moves People—Homare Brewing Company
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Among Tippsy’s fruity sake fans, Homare is one of the most beloved brands with delightful and unique fruity flavored sake. The fourth-generation brewer...
Making The Best Quality Sake Accessible Worldwide—Okunomatsu
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Anyone who follows major sake competitions have most likely heard of Okunomatsu Brewing Company, as some of their sake brands regularly win gold medals...
The Pride of Aizu Toji and Suehiro Brewing Company
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Suehiro Brewing Company is one of the most fun breweries to visit—located in one of the beautiful tourist destinations in Tohoku, Aizu Wakamatsu, Fukus...
How Heiwa Transformed Their Sake Brewery with a Startup Approach
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Among many innovative sake breweries out there, Heiwa Brewing Company sheds light on a bit of a different angle to change the way they make sake. This ...
Sake without limitation—Daishichi
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
If you are a kimoto sake fan, you might have come across Daishichi Brewing Company at some point. They are known for brewing sake strictly with traditi...
Sake Evangelist, John Gauntner
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
John Gauntner is one of the world’s first few leading non-Japanese sake professionals, and is celebrated as the Sake Evangelist. He has published books...
500 Years of History and Beyond—Shichi Hon Yari and Yasunobu Tomita
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Tomita Brewing Company is one of the most historical sake breweries in Japan. Their world-famous Shichi Hon Yari sake series is carefully brewed all by...
The World of Sake is Where Women Can Shine—Yuho and Miho Fujita
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Although female sake professionals are emerging more than ever today, the majority of brewery presidents in Japan (or any other industry in general) ar...
Sake for Everyone’s Bright Future—Atsuhide Kato and Born
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Atsuhide Kato is an 11th-generation brewery president at Katoukichibee Shouten. With over 160 years of history, the brewery has been making high qualit...
Celebrate the New Year with Taru Sake—Hidekazu Tanisawa and Choryo
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
|You might have seen images of sake in barrels, but have you tried it before? Choryo Brewing Company’s signature Yoshinosugi no Taru Sake is a bottled ...
Expanding The Horizon of Sake—Dassai and Kazuhiro Sakurai
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
A number of Tippsy customers are sure to agree with us that drinking Dassai makes any dining experience magical. Dassai is produced at Asahi Shuzo Comp...
Ever-evolving Flavor—Kubota and Motoyoshi Yamaga
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Many have heard of and tried Kubota sake, brewed by Asahi-shuzo Sake Brewing Company in Niigata prefecture. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Mot...
Organic Sake As a Positive Cause for The Future—Tentaka and Munenori Ozaki
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Munenori Ozaki is the third-generation kuramoto (brewery president) at Tentaka Brewing Company keeping up with the challenge of making sake delicious a...
Revitalizing The Sake Making in Shonan — Tensei and Tetsuro Igarashi
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Tetsuro Igarashi is a toji at Kumazawa Brewing Company. Their famous Tensei series is widely enjoyed as the perfect summer sake. Kumazawa brews both sa...
Flavor of “Never Giving Up” Passion—Fukucho Sake and Miho Imada
Mitsue “Mimi” Islas-Hosokawa
Welcome to our Spotlight series! We hope you enjoy this delightful dialogue with Miho Imada, a female “toji” (brewmaster) at Imada Brewing Company, whi...
Spotlight: Aya Nomoto
Louie Anne Batac-Nguyen
Aya Nomoto is an accomplished and dedicated sake professional, sommelier, and educator with Level 3 WSET certifications and awards. As a business devel...
Spotlight: Jessica Joly (Part 2)
Louie Anne Batac-Nguyen
Jessica Joly is Marketing Director for Sake Discoveries, a New York-based company spreading sake awareness through events, branding, and education. Soo...
Spotlight: Jessica Joly (Part 1)
Louie Anne Batac-Nguyen
Bringing Sake to New Audiences Jessica Joly is bringing sake to new audiences around the country with her passion, energy, and extensive knowledge. Ba...
Spotlight: Bridging Sake & Wine, Tippsy Interviews Alice Hama
Louie Anne Batac-Nguyen
LA: What inspired you to become a wine sommelier? And why did you choose to focus on wine more than sake? ALICE: It was September of 2007. I was in Fr...
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