Aging alcohol in wood is an ancient technique, and in Japan, sugi or Japanese cedar was used to ferment and age sake during the Edo period (1603-1867), as well as to transport it to Tokyo. These vessels made of sugi are called taru. In fact, until the creation of stainless...
Daiji Shimizu Spring in Iwate (photo courtesy of Asabiraki) Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Iwate Prefecture is one of the northernmost prefectures on Honshu, just south of Aomori and east of Akita. It is the...
To celebrate 10 Years of Umami Mart, Kayoko and I have been collaborating with our favorite makers. So far, this year we've launched the Kabamaru x Umami Mart Furoshiki, and the Umami Mart Bitters by Miracle Mile to commemorate this milestone. If you've been reading...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! On August 3, 2012, Kayoko and I opened the...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Ever since March 2020, getting...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Before I dive into this month’s theme...
L to R: Troy Nakamatsu and Russell Wolfe of Sawtelle Sake, James Jin of Nova Brewing Co., Brandon Doughan of Brooklyn Kura Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! I am a...
Co-Founder Emiko Tanabe holding up the peace sign and James Jin (in the mask) with their team. I am a proud ABJ (American Born Japanese). So when I see a new ABS (American Born Sake) on the market, I'm rooting for them. In...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As a beekeeper, I think about female-led organizations often. In particular, I find inspiration in the queen bees of my hives, leading their workers into the seasons. Although she is...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As we celebrate 10 years of Umami Mart, I want to reflect on the notion of 実家 (jikka, or hometown) and pair sakes from my own hometown, with dishes from our...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Organic, biodynamic, slow, and natural – these are buzzwords that are often used when talking about farming or wine. But how do we talk about these methods in sake-making? I've always...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As the bears start getting ready for hibernation, the bees hunker down in their hives to stock up on their stored honey, we start hanging up our hoshigaki and...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This month we bring in exclusive bottles from your favorite brewers! These are sakes from breweries that are consistently best-sellers at Umami Mart since we started selling sake in...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! Who doesn’t love bubbles? For the little ones, there are bubble baths, root beer floats, and gleefully blowing and chasing bubbles in the park. For us adults, bubbles are...
Kurabito (worker) at the Akita Seishu Brewery Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This month, Kayoko and I are collaborating on the theme for Sake and Shochu Gumi, highlighting shuzo (alcohol makers) who make...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! It's the summertime, and I always look forward to having grilled foods this time of year. From St. Louis BBQ to yakitori draped in tare (sweet and...
Sunset in Karatsu, Saga Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! The last time I went to Saga was in 2016. There was a lot happening in my life and it was the perfect place to...
Join us June 24, 2021 at 5:30pm on Zoom! Pairing Sake + Cheese with Kevin Corcoran CCP Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! This is our sixth annual Sakqueso! I look forward to this theme...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout the country. Join today! As a bartender for several years, the most common response when I would ask, “What kind of wine would you like?” would indubitably be, “Something dry.” We get this at our...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout California. Join today! Happy NamaFest! Coming out of the long brewing season that starts when rice is harvested in the fall, brewers typically release namazakes (unpasteurized sakes) in early spring. These...
