Sakaya NYC Blog

We’ve finally completed the last phase of our website construction with the launch of SAKAYANYC.com‘s online ordering capability today!

Now you can peruse the SAKAYA inventory by sake category, use the map of Japan to seek sake from a particular region (and prefectures within), and devour the details on everything that we currently stock. And remember, if there is a sake that you don’t see, please let us know and we’ll do our best to track it down to special order for you.

Thanks for your patience. Hopefully, we’ve made it just a bit easier for you to enjoy the pleasures of premium sake.

Kanpai!

Holy koji-kin! Hard to believe but it’s already been 6 months since we opened our doors in December. In the brief life of SAKAYA, we’ve been honored and excited to have had a steady stream of kuramoto (sake brewers) from some of Japan’s most distinguished breweries visiting the shop to pour their sake for our eager-to-learn customers.

To celebrate SAKAYA’s six month anniversary we wanted to thank them for their friendship and support by sharing this photo gallery commemorating their first visits to our shop.

It’s difficult to find the words that adequately express our gratitude to our friends, customers and new friends from the sake world for the enthusiastic reception and support that SAKAYA has received. We thank you all VERY much and look forward to sharing more sake experiences together with you!

Kanpai!

from left… Mr. Yasutaka Daimon from Daimon Shuzo (12/11/07), Mr. Tsushima Kitahara from Yamanashi Meijo, a.k.a Shichiken brand (1/4/08), Mr. Kosuke Kuji from Nanbu Bijin (1/12/08).

from left… Mr. Takeshi Endo & Mr. Daisuke Takasawa from Kikusui (1/22/08), Ms. Kumiko Kurosawa from Hakkaisan (1/30/08), Kazuhiro Sakurai from Asahi Shuzo, a.k.a. Dassai brand (2/1/08).

from left… Ms. Sachiko Toshioka & Mr. Junichi Yageta from Fukumitsuya a.k.a. Kagatobi brand (2/22/08), Mr. Shunsuke Kohiyama from Takasago Shuzo (3/4/08), Mr. Munenori Ozaki from Tentaka Shuzo (4/5/08)

from left… Sake Handbook author Mr. John Gaunter (4/5/08), Mr. Yoshiyasu Sudo from Sudo Honke (4/5/08), Ms. Miho Imada from Imada Shuzo (4/5/08).

from left… Mr. Niichiro Marumoto from Marumoto Shuzo a.k.a. Chikurin brand (4/7/08), Mr. Hiroyuki Yamazaki from Otokoyama (4/12/08), Mr. Kenzo Mabuchi from Tamano Hikari (4/24/08).

from left… Mr. Manabu Shobayashi from Kamotsuru Shuzo (5/15/08), Mr. Kotaro Saito from Saiya Shuzo a.k.a. Yuki no Bosha brand (5/16/08), Mr. Junichiro Yageta from Fukumitsuya a.k.a. Kagatobi brand (6/4/08).

We are tremendously excited about the “Destination: Sake” feature about SAKAYA in the June 2008 issue of Travel + Leisure. Thanks to the recommendation of our friend Lynn, we were selected by John Hancock Financial Services to be written about as part of their “Pivotal Conversations” campaign recognizing people who have achieved their dreams with the aid of a key advisor (in our case, our friend, sake expert John Gauntner.

If you’d like to read it and don’t have access to the issue, you can check out the piece here…. Travel & Leisure June 2008 Destination Sake.　　 And, if you think that picture in the story was a quick snapshot, below are some pictures of the photo shoot that produced it!

Kanpai!

Weddings, Graduation Day, Father’s Day, and the year’s longest day (marking the official beginning of summer)…in the U.S. the month of June brings with it many sake-celebratory occasions.

In Japan, June marks the start of the rainy season. Known in Japanese as Tsuyu or Baiu (梅雨）, the word which originally came from China, literally means “plum rain.” Why plum? As is often the case in China and Japan, seasonal weather is whimsically linked to a floral or food item that is prominent at that time of year. In this case, it is when plums ripen. Hence the kanji (Chinese) character for plum was adopted to describe this rainy season.

Rain or shine, we believe that every day is an occasion for enjoying sake. So, when planning your June celebrations, looking for that breakthrough idea for a gift to mark a special occasion, or just looking to metaphorically bring a little bit of the Japanese “plum rain” experience into your life, think sake!

This month we’ve lined up some great opportunities to expand your sake experience. We are fortunate to have two brewers from Japan and one key importer scheduled (so far) and we’ve also added a new wrinkle too….

Wednesday, June 4: 6pm to 8pm

Fukumitsuya, the brewer of Kagatobi sake will be represented by Mr. Yageta who will be pouring their flavorful, fruit forward Junmai Daiginjo, Junmai Ginjo, and dry, savory Cho Karacuchi Junmai Yamahai.

Thursday, June 12: 6pm to 8pm

Asahi Brewer Mr. Sakurai is back in NYC with his famous Dassai brand sake and will be leading the tasting of his Dassai 23 Junmai Daiginjo, Dassai 50 Junmai Ginjo and Dassai Junmai Ginjo Nigori.

Saturday, June 21: 3pm to 6pm

Sake expert Paul Tanguay will pour several special sake selections from the portfolio of importer, Vine Connections…check out the schedule on the website for updates on the specific sake to be tasted.

Saturday, June 28: 3pm to 6pm

Sake & Cheese! An unlikely marriage? If you haven’t tried it yet, let us introduce you to a match made in heaven.

Please be sure to check our website regularly for updates to this schedule. We look forward to seeing you at SAKAYA!

Kanpai!