Following on from the IWC Awards Ceremony, on Thursday September 8th, the Embassy of Japan welcomed eight representatives from sake breweries throughout Japan to showcase their IWC 2011 winning sakes. Sake from the Tohoku region was also available for tasting, with Natsuki Kikuya on hand to educate and enlighten. President of the Japan Sake Brewers Association Junior Council, Koichi Saura, spoke about the heavy damage suffered by as many as thirty breweries in the March earthquake and tsunami, including his own Urakasumi Sake Brewery in Miyagi. Everybody attending the fully booked event was made aware of the importance of raising the profile of sake here in the UK. Indeed, as Ambassador Hayashi noted in his welcome speech, drinking sake is one of the best ways to contribute to the restructuring of Japan. Thanks to this sake tasting event, many more people will aid the effort.

The sake tasting event at the Embassy of Japan saw a flurry of visitors eager to taste a selection of the twenty-seven sakes on offer. Nearly three hundred people came to sample and learn more about the drink which is striving to gain ground in the UK market. Ryosuke Mashio, Head Sommelier at Umu, who was busy serving the IWC2011 Champion Sake, Nabeshima Daiginjo by Fukuchiyo Shuzo, has seen a change in the appetite for sake in recent years, “Customers are getting more specific about what they want. It used to be really difficult to sell sake, as people didn't really know anything about it, but now, thanks to events like this, people are learning more.” At 17.4%, Nabeshima Daiginjo had one of the higher alcohol contents at the tasting but this clear sake's soft fruit flavours came to the fore, with no strong or stringent alcoholic taste. “The most stunning thing is balance, if sake is unbalanced, you feel the alcohol” Mr Mashio added.

The sakes ranged in gradation of colour from clear to yellow. Citrus, honey, earthy, warm and fruity were just some of the adjectives to fill the room. But what exactly makes for an award winning sake? Koichi Saura explained that “the quality of the ingredients, the rice and water, as well as the skill of the Master Brewer to control the complicated process of sake brewing, is really important”. Winner of the Junmai Daiginjo Gold Medal with their Kuranohana Junmai Daiginjo sake, the Urakasumi Brewery produced a light yellow, slightly floral tasting sake with a marked finish. Mr Saura highlighted the stringent checks produce from the Tohoku region was undergoing in light of radiation leaks from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, with rice so far continuing to be safe for consumption. He was also keen that younger people become more involved with sake, with the farming population steadily decreasing in Japan, “We have to be succeeded by the next generation so we have to try our best.”

As part of this next generation, the knowledgeable Natsuki Kikuya, winner of the Sake Communicator Award, served sakes from the Tohoku region. Atagonomatsu Honjozo, an aromatic, fruity offering from Miyagi prefecture, came from the Niizawa Brewery, badly damaged by the tsunami, but Natsuki tells us that this brewery has moved to new grounds, having found an old brewery to take over with an even “better water source”. This bodes well for the future of sake production in the area. The popularity and success of this sake tasting event may also reflect a growing demand for sake in the UK.