Sakaya…what’s in a name?
Simply put, Sakaya means “liquor shop” in Japanese or even more literally, “place that sells alcoholic beverages.” The word sake in Japanese, is actually the broad term referring to all alcoholic beverages. Nihonshu is the term used to differentiate the beverage that is brewed from rice, water, koji, and yeast. Does it really matter which term you use? Nope. If you go to Japan or when you come to see us, either will get the job done.
As NYC’s first shop specializing in sake, we chose our name for its no-nonsense, straightforward expression of what we envisioned the store to be…a place where you’ll find only carefully selected sake (and a couple of other Japanese tipples), have the opportunity to taste many of them, and get answers to your questions.
There is much to enjoy and learn about sake (if you so desire). We want to make it as easy and as simple as possible… starting with our name.
Kanpai!
