Sake is an amazing beverage you have to try. My twitter friend Richard Auffrey will likely forget more about sake than most people will ever experience in a lifetime. I’ve always been impressed with his knowledge and understanding of the drink and the region that provides it to us, Japan. When Richard decided to use Wine Blogging Wednesday 72 to not only explore sake, but help Japan in the wake of the natural disasters affecting the region, I couldn’t help but hop on board.
I was very fortunate to be a guest at the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America conference in Orlando this week. I was able to experience dozens of wines and spirits from across the globe, and am very energized about the information. One of the most exciting parts of the conference was meeting the folks at Team Ty Ku, and learning about their company and sake. I interviewed Tara Fougner from Ty Ku, and we covered everything from the process of making sake, to the different levels of sake, why sake should be served cold, and what to pair sake with. The video is informative and exciting, and will open your eyes to the wonderful world of Sake.
In addition to the Ty Ku, I did have the opportunity to try sake from other producers at the WSWA conference, including Tenryo Koshu, Imperial Landing “vintage sake” as well as Junmai Sparkling Sake Ai No Hime Beno – “The Princess of Love”, which was a beautiful pink sparkling sake. Both of these excellent sake won silver medals at the WSWA.
Speaking of winning, the newest of the Ty Ku Sake line, Ty Ku Silver, won the Hot New Now Award for 2011 at the WSWA. They can now add that to the awards their Ty Ku White Junmai Dai-Ginjyo sake has earned.
I will have other videos regarding Ty Ku Sake, including mixologist Paul Sevigny creating to fantastic sake based cocktails. In the mean time, you can join Team Ty Ku on Facebook, and follow Team Ty Ku on Twitter!
Now that you are excited to try Ty Ku Sake, and other sake as well, I would like you to be equally as excited in helping Japan and donating via the American Red Cross. As you can see from the link, there is a specific way to donate to support the disaster relief in Japan. Please do what you can, and remember, as Tara mentioned in the video, each bottle of Ty Ku Sake purchased in April and May 2011 sends $1 to Japanese Relief efforts.
KAMPAI!