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Alcademics Giveaway: The Joy of Sake in San Francisco

I've attended San Francisco's Joy of Sake event for the past several years and have always been impressed. If you've gone in the past you'll remember it was hundred of sakes in a ballroom with food around the outside. This year they've changed it up quite a bit.

It will be held at Yoshi's on Fillmore in San Francisco, there will be 100 sakes instead of 200+, and the event is less expensive at $50 in advance.

If I'm reading the press release correctly, this year the sakes are just the award winners from the US Sake Appraisal. In the past it has been award winners and losers together, so I guess we'll be getting only the cream of the crop. Nearly half the sakes offered are unavailable in the US outside of this tasting. The ticket price also includes appetizers by Yoshi's chef Shotaro “Sho” Kamio. In the past there has been a ton of food so let's hope they keep it coming- though I say it's always a good idea to come to any tasting event with a full stomach.

The Joy of Sake

7:30 - 10:30, with food from 8-10

Yoshi's Fillmore, 1330 Fillmore Street, San Francisco

$50 advance, $60 at the door

Buy tickets here. 

Oh, and about that giveaway: I'll be giving out a pair of tickets to The Joy of Sake in San Francisco. The only thing you have to do is be on the Alcademics A-Plus email list and respond when I send out the announcement. Good luck!

Reading Material, Now with More Vinegar!

Gin and Tonic cupcakes.

An LA bar goes with big ice.

This AP story on sake does a great job of explaining the surge in sake sales over the past decade. Here's the meat:

"Distribution of sake was limited to Japanese trading companies. They sell you the food, the plates, the sake. It's one-stop shopping for sushi restaurants. In that environment, sake wasn't getting its due. And the majority of the sake exported was table sake, which isn't very good."

But about 10 years ago, two things changed that.

In the U.S., Asian food trends boomed. Asian and Asian-fusion restaurants flourished, non-Asian restaurants served dishes with ingredients such as miso, wasabi and edamame, and grocers offered more ethnic fare.

At the same time, the Japanese began turning their noses up at sake. In Japan, young drinkers view sake as old fashioned, favoring beer and wine instead. As a result, sake consumption has fallen sharply since 1995.

To survive, premium sake (pronounced SAH-kay) brewers in Japan turned to Americans and began working with importers, who introduced sake to the fine wine market.

Cheryl Charming lists all the drinks mentioned by name in the horrid movie Cocktail.

Combing through my old links, I found this one I don't think I linked to before: Toby Cecchini wrote one of the best and most practical stories about shrubs (VINEGARWATCH CONTINUES) and includes a recipe.

You Light Up My Glass

I was familiar with Ty Ku liqueur, the... uniquely-flavored beverage in a bottle that lights up when you lift it. But thanks to an ad in Cheers magazine I noticed that it now comes in four variations.

I was expecting the worst but luckily didn't find it. The new products are soju (blue), junmai ginjo sake (black), and junmai daiginjo sake (white). I haven't tried any of them, but I sort of like the black and white bottles.