Event Recap: Sake 101 @ 18 Reasons

We've been event-crazy here at Umami Mart. We've put on one event every week in June and we are not slowing down! We've hosted sake events several times at Umami Mart HQ (in Oakland), but on June 10th we took the show on the road to 18 Reasons, a food education space, in San Francisco.



For our sake 101 class we went through its history and culture...



Geography...



... and production of sake.



And then we went into the tasting portion of the class, where we went through four types of sake: daiginjo, ginjo, junmai and nigori. My favorite Umami Mart events include drinking, and this one turned very lively as we started the tasting portion of the class. We tried the following sakes:

Shimizu no Mai (Akita prefecture)
Pure Dusk Junmai DAIGINJO
Paired with cheese





Gekkeikan (Kyoto)
Suzaku Junmai GINJO
Paired with green bean pickles



Yoshinogawa (Niigata prefecture)
Echigo JUNMAI
Paired with olives







Momokawa (Oregon, US)
Organic NIGORI
Paired with liver pate



And a party is only complete when Kayoko busts out her gold cocktail shaker and jiggers!



The Samuraimu (Samurai Lime) Sake Cocktail



We drank and talked into the night!

Here's an attendee who works next door at the Bi-Rite Creamery. We were discussing the possibility of an amazake ice cream!



What could be better than spending a Tuesday night with other sake enthusiasts?



Thanks to everyone who attended, and our wonderful voluteers! The Umami Mart think-tank is in full swing as we are constantly drafting up new ideas for events and classes. Please sign up for our e-newsletter if you are interested in alerts for our upcoming events.

Thank you to 18 Reasons and Southern Wine and Spirits of Northern California for a great night.

*Photos by Chris Cabrera