Sake 101 2.0 – Take Sake 101 Kits Home & To Parties

Who needs a refresher course? Come on, you know you do! You need that reminder of what’s what in the sake world. Why? It’s simple. You are in a rut! It’s probably a Daiginjo rut! “I only drink Junmai Daiginjos now,” or something like that. Sound familiar? Yes! You are pigeon holed in your likes, and you have totally forgotten the rest of the sake universe. Is this a step down? Is this drinking lesser grade sakes? Hells no! This is reminding your palate that you are alive and you need some diversity in your rice and water consumption. So how best to achieve waking up your sake senses to new brews and new sake pairings? Take a Sake 101 kit home and get to work, you slacker! (sorry for the “you slacker” comment... I got carried away and now realize that I should not name call my customers).

So what is a “Take home Sake 101 kit”? Basically it is a collection of sakes that distinguishes common characteristics commonly found in category generalizations. What the what? Is that even English? Okay let me try again. In the sake world, seeing that no two sakes are the same, each brew has a style that is somewhat influenced by its specific milling category and sub-categories. Better? No? Okay, let's do this one more time. When you think of a category of sake you have a general idea of what that sake will taste like under the assumption that milling rates and brewing styles generally fit within a certain framework of – Oh just forget it!

It’s not lost on you that many sakes of different categories and styles can indeed taste similar. And today especially when most sakes are milled up and beyond their categorical stipulations then the line between categories is blurred more than ever. Some Junmais simply drink like Ginjos and some Ginjos drink like Daiginjos etc. It’s a mess out there and that is why we need a grounding reminder of what should taste like what in the old “Sake Categories” format.

But isn’t that counter-intuitive to drink past reminders in a day of new sake expressions? Exactly! I mean No! You can ignore sake’s illustrious near past but your palate should not! Just like a stalk of brewing rice the premium sake industry is very top heavy. These tall and heavily laden stalks need help from collapsing in strong winds etc, and so too does the sake industry in terms of appreciating and consuming the foundation sakes that prop up the high-end sakes. So in a sense Sake 101 kits help you with your sake appreciation foundation.

And what about your “lesser” friends, who know not a thing about sake? Don’t you think springing a Sake 101 kit on them at the next party or get-together would be amazing? You too are a teacher and a guide! So get to work! Do your part to preach the sake word. Why? Because first and foremost you will look like a professional and your friends will swoon at your feet, and secondly if they go on to buy more sake then we have created more demand which in the long run creates more supply of new and amazing sakes. So by default you will be stocking your own fridge down the line with new and exciting sakes. See how this works?

This month we have identified several good Sake 101 packs that help you ground your palate in the strengths found within each category and style. Come into the store or call us and we can walk your through a few Sake 101’s that will do the trick for your own palate and for your newfound calling of creating more sake drinkers!

And please check out this month’s Top 10 list for two cool Sake 101’s that could very well do the trick.