Starting today, I invite you to join me for 31 days of sushi. Every day this month, I’ll be releasing a new piece of sushi-based content. Posts will focus primarily on types of nigiri, sashimi, and maki sushi.
It’s like an omakase of knowledge!
And to be frank, committing to a new post every day for a month terrifies me. Buy my lofty goal is to make this website the top resource for Japanese food and beverage enthusiasts and professionals. This will take me 31 steps closer.
But of course, this newsletter wouldn’t be complete without some red-hot news and articles.
This week two iconic Japanese alcohol producers introduced new products. And a couple of interesting articles about sake were also published.
31 Days of Sushi
I created a hub for all of this month’s sushi posts. Every day I’ll update it with the latest post, so check back to see what’s new.
Links to all of this sushi-centric content will also be placed on my sushi and sashimi guide.
The Kappa Maki
Spoiler alert! The first post is about kappa maki. It’s not glamorous, but it is a classic.
I discuss what’s up with kappa, this cucumber roll’s nutritional info, and more.
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A New Yamazaki 25 Year
This week, Suntory announced a reformulated Yamazaki 25 Year single malt. The news was so seismic that it may have caused an earthquake across the Pacific.
The previous 25-year’s focus on sherry cask aging has been replaced by more mizunara. Overall, the whisky blends this legendary Japanese oak with American and Spanish oak.
And certainly one of the most shocking aspects of this release is the $2,000 USD suggested retail price. Sure, many retailers will jack the price up significantly. But, as George Koutsakis explains in Forbes, there are exciting reasons why Suntory whisky fans shouldn’t overpay.
There’s been a lot of coverage about this whisky. But as usual, Koutsaki’s thoughts on Yamazaki 25 are the most in-depth I could find.
America’s Growing Sake Brewing Industry
US sake breweries are not a new concept. There were successful breweries established in California and Hawaii as early as 1901.
But for the most part, only a few huge breweries operated by Japanese companies have flourished. That’s been slowly changing, however, as a promising wave of tiny US kura have found success.
Wine Enthusiast has done a commendable job highlighting a few of them. Join them for a digital trip across the US to some of America’s upstart sake breweries.
A Nigori Slushy to Cool Off
In my youth, as a sake professional, I was a purist. And I hated sake slushies. Why would you freeze something so painstakingly hand-crafted other than as a novelty? The whole concept made me sick.
Tamanohikari, one of my favorite breweries, made a sake just for slushies. And even they couldn’t sway me.
But I guess I’m getting older and softer. Because today I came across a post that suggested freezing sake to make a slushy, and it didn’t piss me off. Instead, I think I might try this out.
Maybe it’s the heat. Or maybe I’m becoming a nihilist. Either way, I suggest you consider checking out this post about making Tozai “Snow Maiden” slushies.
Sapporo’s New Low ABV Beer-Like Brew
Sapporo just launched Drafty, a new beer-like beverage with an ABV of 0.7%. The release is on the heels of a similar beer from Asahi.
Drafty may not make it to the US, but I hope that someday it does. I think there’s a market for malty and hopped beverages with low alcohol content.
Just Drinks has more info on the release of Sapporo Drafty.