Sake in New York: The 21st New York Mutual Trading Japanese Food and Restaurant Expo

New York is Abuzz with Sake

I wrote awhile ago how I left New York five years back and came back to find the city had evolved by leaps and bounds with respect to the choice of Japanese eateries available. It seems like NYC is really right on the edge of  a wave that is spreading slowly to the rest of the country.

It is evident now to me that this still holds true, having visited the city again this past weekend for the Mutual Trading Annual Japanese Food and Restaurant Expo. The Expo was separated into the two floors, and so it was easy for me to head straight to the action upstairs: the sake!

One of the things that really impressed me at the show, other than the healthy turnout, was the level of interest shown by first the brewery representatives and also just the random people I met at the expo who were "guests," not industry people. It seemed like this was the place to be.

So Many Breweries, So Little Time

A few things impressed me at the show. First was the variety of sake on hand; Not only were there so many breweries, but each had brought at least three or so brews and some had 6 or 7. If I was going to remain standing, I had to choose wisely. I couldn't taste them all, surely.

Representing Hokkaido was Takasago Shuzo with Taisetsu Junmai Ginjo, a sake I last tried in Taiwan- one the first premium sake ever, for me. Their president, Tetsuyasu Sato was there, pouring their smooth and mellow ice-aged "Big Snow" junmai ginjo with much charisma.

And also, since it's that time of year, Sato-san also poured me some Kokushi Musho Honjozo Hiya Oroshi. Very nice indeed at room temperature. My first hiya oroshi this year!

Many brewers were from Hyogo prefecture, and of course, they were quick to preach the virtues of their vaunted Yamada nishiki rice. Tatsuriki was among them. I asked the gentleman at the table if this year was a good harvest, and was told that indeed it was a good year for Hyogo rice.

Komachi Shuzo, from Gifu, was in attendance as well, pouring Nagaragawa, the "symphony" sake- so called because the fermenting tanks get a steady supply of classical music. Sounds like a relaxing place to work. Their pleasant staff were very proud of their sake, made from locally-grown Hida homare.

Famous Fushimi brewers Tamano hikari were also there. Unfortunately I waited until closing time to go see them, and they were told by facilities staff not to pour anymore sake. I had been excited to try their Yamahai style, but, alas, it was to late. As a consolation, they gave me a lovely little can of Junmai Ginjo to take home.

I was happy to try some Kubota sake from Niigata. Asahi Shuzo's Kubota Manju Junmai Daiginjo is usually out of my price range. This is a really pristine sake clean and balanced and breezy. It sometimes seems obscene to taste such a delicate sake like this in a little .5 oz cup, but, I was glad to have any at all.

Having not seen Kamotsuru in the U.S. before, I jumped at the chance to try some of this sake from Saijo, near Hiroshima. Sake from this region is  said to be subdued, but have sweetness overall. When I asked if their sake was typical for Hiroshima's style, I was told, "Not, really." Indeed their sake was consistently dry.  I was poured a glass of their Gold Daiginjo, but I was truly unlucky- No gold flakes in my little cup.

This sake was served to president Obama by Japanese prime minister Shizo Abe earlier this year. I bet Abe made sure Obama had some gold flakes in his cup.

I actually preferred their Tokubetsu Junmai to the Daiginjo. It was more balanced and, though it was hard to say from just a small sip, very drinkable. For other sake from the Saijo area, click here.

Just next door were the friendly folks from Ryujin Shuzo pouring Oze No Yukidoke. They had thier line of beer as well, including a Brown Weizen, a White Weizen, and an IPA. I really wanted to try some, but because I live in beer city, USA,  I passed and asked for some of their "Oh Karakuchi" instead. It was indeed dry. So much so that, when I had a sip of their Omachi Junmai Ginjo behind it, it tasted overly sweet. The toji himself , Horikoshi-san poured me a glass. It's not every day the toji pours you a glass. This was worth the drive from North Carolina.

I also visited the folks from Suigei, who shared some delicious sake. They were one of my favorites that I tried, and super friendly. They told me all about the rice varieties they use. I was really starting to get a bit tipsy at that point, but their sake, so light and with such savory notes, sticks in my mind. All three styles. This is the second sake I have tried from Kochi prefecture that I really, really like. (The other being Mutemuka).


Another new (for me) brewery was Nihon Sakari, from Hyogo. I decided to pace myself a bit and just try one style, their Junmai.  Everything from Hyogo- the Miyamizu water, the Yamadanishiki, all local. Solid sake in the Nada style. Might be very nice warmed.

Having tried all of their sake before, and seeing that they were consistently busy with only one rep there, I decided pass over the Dassai table to move on to Takenotsuyu.

Takenotsuyu even brought bottles of the well water they use in brewing, which is notable for its high silica content. Many brewers in Yamagata prefecture use Dewasansan rice in their sake, and Takenotsuyu do as well, but not exclusively.  Their Junmai Dewasansan 60 was memorable, and their staff very friendly and informative.

I dropped by the Akita Seishu table because I recognized their president, Yohei Ito, from an interview on urbansake.com. I told him how his kimoto junmai is one of my favorite sakes to drink warm. He agreed nurukan is the best temperature. When I asked him what is special about his sake, he had three words: "Local, Local, Local." All of the rice comes from within 10km of the brewery.
Their junmai ginjo, made from Misatonishiki was my favorite- a mellow, full bodied sake, even for the seimaibuai- 50%. Their toji grows this rice!

Tengumai, from Shata Shuzo, had a whopping 7 sake being poured, including some stylish bottles of koshu, or aged sake, blended with fresh sake.

All were very nice and very unique in that they had varying echoes of that sherry note that you find in koshu but it was subtle and balanced, and not persistent. Of their non-aged sake, Their uma-gin, with the blue label was my favorite otherwise. This would go so great, with so many foods!

I really looked forward to the Amabuki table. Their sake is hard to find outside of restaurants and is one of a small number of sake fermented using hana kobo, or yeast from flowers. Their website is quite informative, which I thanked them for, and their sake was so unique, especially their Omachi-rice yamahai junmai and their sunflower and strawberry junmai ginjos.

Look for their sake in glass cups soon.

Another Niigata brewery, Kaetsu Shuzo, was in attendance, pouring some really amazing sake,
which was again a special treat for me, because 5 year-aged Daiginjo, like their Hizoshu doesn't come cheap. But all that time in the tobin really rounds out the flavor. I could detect none of the typical koshu but just a real full, quiet, settled body to this sake.

Muromachi Shuzo I had never heard of, but from my short conversation with them, I was interested to learn that they only use Omachi rice for their sake and that their company goes back to 1688. To think that they had been at it for almost two hundred years when Omachi rice first started going into tanks in the late 1800's. That's a heritage. Again, hard for me to get the subtleties in from my tiny little glass, but there was some herbiness there, and very elegant stuff.

I was really delighted also to taste Sumiyoshi sake from Yamagata prefecture. I was surprised as well to see that they had a little display showing where their sake was included in the book Oishinbo. The cell from the comic was actually the same one I used in promoting my last sake workshop. Cool!

Sumiyoshi sake was all on the karakuchi side of the spectrum, but so neat, with a gentle, but savory acidity.It was complex. It really blew my my mind.

The sole brewery from Chiba, Iinuma Honke, was over in the corner, and seemed like they weren't getting many visitors, so I chatted them up for a bit and tried some of their Kinoene Masamune junmai ginjo. Nice soft round flavors, with some fruit and sweet finish.

Katoukichibee Shouten's Born was also pouring samples and was a very popular spot- Not only because of its charismatic owner, Atsuhide Kato, but because their sake is popular and memorable for its english name: Born.

And they were sampling Yume Wa Masayume.

Hyozan, "Gold" Junmai Daiginjo, Muroka Nama Genshu, and Yume Wa Masayume made for quite a lineup.

Really exquisite sake, especially that Yume Wa Masayume. So nice chilled.  This is one of those situations when I marvel at the variety and complexity of flavors sake offers- and this just from one brewery.  A shame to have only that tiny tiny cup.

Of course, I had to drop in and chat a bit with Mr. Timothy Sullivan, of urbansake.com, and Hakkaisan, who was pouring over at the Hakkaisan table. There was a solid crowd at his table almost the entire time. He must've had a busy day. Timothy was nice enough to chat a bit, and I shared with him my thanks at the opportunity to try some special products from Hakkaisan, especially their 2 year aged kijoshu.

Kijoshu is brewed just like sake, though in the third addition of ingredients, instead of adding water, junmai sake is added. The fermentation stops earlier and there is more residual sugar in the tank, giving the Hakkaisan Kijoshu a SMV of -34! The product is then tank stored for two years. 

Truly delicious product. wonderful little dessert drink.


So while I didn't visit every single table, I got to quite a few. Kikusui were there, too, and Dassai, as well as Tateno gawa, but I just didn't make it to their tables, which seemed consistently crowded.

Final Thoughts

I think that overall, the exposition was a success for the breweries, industry folks,  as well as for the seemingly numerous people that just showed up and got to try some really great sake.

It was really an honor to meet the makers of such great sake and an inspiration for me. Meeting toji's and brewery owners was really neat.

Aside from that, I was also  happy to have met face-to-face with Sara Guterbock, who works for Mutual of North Carolina, and whom I interviewed a few months ago. Sara is a newly minted SSI Sake Sommelier, and it was great to meet her to congratulate her in person.

Way to go Sara!

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for notes from a sake pairing at Sakamai and my take on the sake tasting session at the expo!