Fair opens minds and palettes to Japanese alcoholic
[2008-7-21]
Tag : japanese sweet potato
When I first moved to Japan, I ran across a sake tasting class thatoffered several glassfuls and English-language explanations on thecountry's national brew.
The lesson, as I remember it, cost 7,000 yen, or about $60 at thetime. "It's a really good investment," I told my friends. Theyeagerly agreed. Then we discovered the class was canceled.
That was more than a year ago, and since then Ive had amplelessons in Japanese eating and drinking, from local beers to localsoba shops. But my quest to learn more about sake fermentedalcohol made mostly of rice had somehow fallen by the wayside.Fallen, that is, until I learned about the 2008 Japanese Sake Fair.
For about $30, the one-day event in Ikebukuro allowed fans tosample from thousands of sakes that competed for awards in theprevious year. The price included entry into a second room, wherethe actual makers and distributors poured more generous tastes andsold bottles singly or by the set.
As an added bonus, the event required leaving work early because itstarted at 4 p.m. It's a tough job, tasting a warehouse-sized roomfull of sake, but somebody has to do it.
Somebody, in retrospect, should have done a little more homework. Afriend, who is Japanese, accompanied me to help with translationand any unforeseen stumbling. But, as a self-described shochuexpert, she made it clear she could offer few insights on sake.
So there we were, two sake neophytes, facing a room that lookedmore like a laboratory libation than a cheery celebration. Men andwomen in dark suits moved without speaking sniffing, slurping andspitting under the glare of humming florescent lights. There wasn't a friendly face in sight.
"We should have a strategy," I whispered. My friend agreed. "Let's go north to south. At least that way well have a better chance ofremembering where weve been."
When I first moved to Japan, I ran across a sake tasting class thatoffered several glassfuls and English-language explanations on thecountry's national brew.
The lesson, as I remember it, cost 7,000 yen, or about $60 at thetime. "It's a really good investment," I told my friends. Theyeagerly agreed. Then we discovered the class was canceled.
That was more than a year ago, and since then Ive had amplelessons in Japanese eating and drinking, from local beers to localsoba shops. But my quest to learn more about sake fermentedalcohol made mostly of rice had somehow fallen by the wayside.Fallen, that is, until I learned about the 2008 Japanese Sake Fair.
For about $30, the one-day event in Ikebukuro allowed fans tosample from thousands of sakes that competed for awards in theprevious year. The price included entry into a second room, wherethe actual makers and distributors poured more generous tastes andsold bottles singly or by the set.
As an added bonus, the event required leaving work early because itstarted at 4 p.m. It's a tough job, tasting a warehouse-sized roomfull of sake, but somebody has to do it.
Somebody, in retrospect, should have done a little more homework. Afriend, who is Japanese, accompanied me to help with translationand any unforeseen stumbling. But, as a self-described shochuexpert, she made it clear she could offer few insights on sake.
So there we were, two sake neophytes, facing a room that lookedmore like a laboratory libation than a cheery celebration. Men andwomen in dark suits moved without speaking sniffing, slurping andspitting under the glare of humming florescent lights. There wasn't a friendly face in sight.
"We should have a strategy," I whispered. My friend agreed. "Let's go north to south. At least that way well have a better chance ofremembering where weve been."
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