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...
Happy Shochu'sday!This is a very special shochu by Kagoshima's Komaki Jozo that just hit our shelves. Beni Ikko Sweet Potato Shochu uses 100% imo! This means they inoculated the koji onto the imo, not rice, as they usually do for imo shochus. This creates...
Happy Shochu’sday!Today let’s talk kokuto. Made with black cane sugar, this shochu must be made on the Amami Islands for it to be considered kokuto shochu.We just got this bottle in: Taiko No Kuro Usagi Kokuto Shochu. Made by Yayoi Jozo on Amami Island,...
Happy Shochu'sday! Today I've brought out my Yuki Otoko Rice Shochu.You may have seen this cute snow yeti on a sake bottle label before – it's one of our favorite sakes in the shop! Niigata's Aoki Shuzo, maker of Yuki Otoko sake, collaborated with Nishi...
For every batch that Den Sake Brewery releases, we always try to secure all of the Ori that comes along with the release. Ori, in Japanese, means sediment. In the context of sake, ori sake (also known as orizake) is a style...
Happy Shochu'sday! Kayoko here, Co-Founder and Shochu Director of Umami Mart. Every Tuesday, I'll be posting something here about shochu. It may be about a shochu I'm into at the moment, or a distillery I want to highlight, or a new shochu we've just brought to our...
I love salads, but I don't love how they don't keep very well as leftovers. As the weather warms up, I wanted to make something cooling that would last over several days. That's where I got the idea to make...
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...
With warm weather ahead, and the pandemic nearly behind us (ain't it though?!?!), we are excited for the prospect of barbecues in the sun with our friends and family. After a year of being cooped up at home with no end in sight, I'd say...
My baba-chan in Tokyo always has a package of Mitarashi Dango on her dining table by her Zojirushi. I look back fondly on those afternoons when I'd sit around and eat dango with her while Richard Clayderman streamed out of her tape player. Mitarashi Dango are rice dumplings draped in...
PREFACE Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (Part 1 & 2) Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (The Battle Continues) Yamahomo vs. Ladurée (Trial 4, 5 & 6) Since winning my Ladurée Battle at Trial #6 two years ago, I haven't made macaron for a while....
This month we're featuring women makers, an annual series we affectionately call Female Frontrunners. We feature sake breweries run by women for Sake Gumi, and we also feature women artisans and makers at the shop. Both Yoko and...
This month we're featuring women makers, an annual series we affectionately call Female Frontrunners. We feature sake breweries run by women for Sake Gumi, and we also feature women artisans and makers at the shop. Both Yoko and I are from the Bay Area –...
This year, we are celebrating Female Frontrunners in March to coincide with Girl's Day on March 3, and International Women's Day on March 8. Every year (when we are open), Kayoko, my mom, and I set up the traditional hinamatsuri doll display at the shop and invite the public...
This year, we are celebrating Female Frontrunners in March to coincide with Girl's Day on March 3, and International Women's Day on March 8. Every year (when we are open), Kayoko, my mom, and I set up the traditional hinamatsuri doll display...
This year, we are celebrating Female Frontrunners in March to coincide with Girl's Day on March 3, and International Women's Day on March 8. Every year (when we are open), Kayoko, my mom, and I set up the traditional hinamatsuri doll display at the shop and invite the public...
This year, we are celebrating Female Frontrunners in March to coincide with Girl's Day on March 3, and International Women's Day on March 8. Every year (when we are open), Kayoko, my mom, and I set up the traditional hinamatsuri doll display at the shop...
Sake Gumi is our monthly sake subscription service with 250 members throughout California. Join today! This year, we are celebrating Female Frontrunners in March to coincide with Girl's Day on March 3, and International Women's Day on March 8. Every year (when we...
Shochu Gumi is our quarterly shochu subscription service with members throughout the US. Join today! We are thrilled to spotlight Saga prefecture this month, with extra special bottles from this region in southern Japan. Located in Kyushu, Saga is...
I eat a lot of instant ramen. I've cut down a lot – I used to eat it once a week, living in NYC in my 20s on a non-profit museum paycheck. But even now, as I begin my 40s, I'd say I make myself a bowl...
