Sugidama Sake Podcast
This is a podcast to chronicle my journey into the world of sake and other Japanese drinks, food, culture and history. While I have a sake qualification (International Kikisake-shi), I still consider myself as a novice in the sake world. I have plenty to learn about the drink and I want to share this experience with my listeners through personal accounts, interesting facts about sake and interviews with sake experts.
Episodes
49 episodes
Ep. 49: How to Enjoy Sake: Easy Buying Guide
The new season of Sugidama Sake Podcast is out and I am releasing the first episode on Saturday! This is the start of a mini-series "How to Enjoy Sake". After talking to a lot of people who don't drink sake I have realised that very often...
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Season 5
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Episode 49
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28:24
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Ep. 48: Shochu Advisor Course Overview
The final episode of Season 4 is about a new Shochu Advisor Course, run by the Intentional Sake School. I have recently taken it and decided to share my experience. The course was taught by amazing Toshio Ueno, a Co-Founder of the
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Season 4
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Episode 48
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31:28
Ep 47: Sake Around the World. Sake in Manchester with Jamie Ryder (Yamato Magazine)
It's the conclusion of the Sake Around the World miniseries. We started it in Birmingham with Simon Boulton, then flew to Hong Kong to talk to Eric and Will, after that we chatted with Timothy and John from the Sake Revolution podcast in New Yo...
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Season 4
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Episode 47
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36:14
Ep. 46: Brewery Focus. Kuheiji Honten with Japan Centre
Kuheiji Kuno is a maverick. He's a trailblazer of the sake world taking his inspiration from hundreds of years of sake brewing tradition, Japanese culture and philosophy of living with nature, and French winemaking. He believes in terroir...
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Season 4
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Episode 46
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1:06:03
Ep 45: Sake Around the World. Sake in France with Tony Yip
We continue our journey around the world to find out how sake fares in different countries. And today I am talking to Tony Yip from VSF Wine Education about France. How does sake coexist with wine in one of t...
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Season 4
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Episode 45
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57:32
Ep 44: Discovering Yamaguchi Sake with Jim Rion
A new English-language book about sake is always big news. They do not come that often. It's passed almost a year since Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake by Nancy Matsumoto and Michael Tremblay (see
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Season 4
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Episode 44
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1:17:27
Ep 43: Sake Around the World. New York with Sake Revolution, Timothy Sullivan and John Puma
The United States is the largest export market for Japanese sake. And for the last few decades, New York has been the key destination for sake outside Asia. Many sake brands first came there and only after that to Europe. A dedicate...
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Season 4
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Episode 43
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54:05
Ep. 42: Brewery Focus. Niida Honke with Sake Collective
Founded in 1711, Niida Honke has been brewing sake in the same location in Kōriyama, Fukushima Prefecture for more than 300 years. The brewery is known for the combination of traditional brewing techniques with its strong commitment to natural ...
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Season 4
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Episode 42
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1:06:58
Ep. 41 Sake Around the World: Sake in Hong Kong with Eric Fung and Will Jarvis
From Birmingham to Hong Kong following sake around the world! I am talking to Eric Fung and Will Jarvis about the sake scene in Hong Kong.Hong Kong is one of the largest export markets for sake just behind the US and Mainland Chin...
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Season 4
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Episode 41
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1:03:42
Ep. 40: Brewery Focus. Tedorigawa Sake with World Sake Imports UK
Yoshida Sake Brewery, the maker of Tedorigawa sake, is famous not only for its amazing and delicious sake but also for the documentary, The Birth of Sake, which follows the process of traditional, craf...
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Season 4
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Episode 40
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1:06:17
Ep. 39 Sake Around the World: Sake in Birmingham with Sam Boulton
This is the first episode in the Sake Around the World series. Today I am talking with Samuel Boulton about sake in Birmingham. With almost 15 years in the industry, Sam boasts many accolades such as CLASS Awards 2022, Bar Employer of the year,...
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Season 4
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Episode 39
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50:20
Ep. 38: Brewery Focus. Noguchi Sake Institute with Tengu Sake
Noguchi Naohiko is a legend in the world of sake. He has been making sake since 1949 and is widely known as the God of Sake Brewing. After working at a number of breweries as a toji (master brewer) he now heads
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Season 4
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Episode 38
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1:11:14
Ep. 37: The start of Season 4 and BSA Grand Tasting
The wait is over and Season 4 is on with a lot of interesting interviews, breweries overviews, tastings, special episodes and even a competition together with London Sake, which will be announced later.In this episode, I am talking to a...
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Season 4
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Episode 37
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45:40
Ep. 36: IWC Sake 2022
Yay, it's been two years and three seasons of Sugidama Podcast! And this is the last episode of Season 3, where I share some observations from the IWC Sake judging this year and the Award Winning Sake Tasting at the Embassy of Japan followed af...
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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42:55
Ep. 35: Deep Dive into Sake Trends: an interview with Jim Rion and Andrew Russell, Sake Deep Dive
This is the second interview, which concludes the Emergence of Sake series and highlights the modern sake trends. This time with Jim Rion and Andrew Russell from the super interesting and informative
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Season 3
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Episode 35
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1:08:43
Ep. 34: Kanpai, London! Interview with Tom Wilson, a master brewer and owner of Kanpai Brewery in London
After concluding The Emergence of Sake series tracing the history of sake brewing from ancient times until the modern times, I decided to follow it with two interviews highlighting the modern trends in sake making.And in this epis...
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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1:11:56
Ep. 33: Emergence of Sake Series: Sake in Modern Times
Last time we were talking about the Edo period, which brought many techniques and innovations into sake brewing resulting in better and more stable sake. But the real revolution in sake-making happened after the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate: ...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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25:58
Ep. 32: Where to Learn about Sake and Enjoy It: an interview with Marie Cheong-Thong
Sake is not a very easy topic. If you want to understand it well, you need to do some studying. You can buy a book or two about sake (see Episode 12 Essential Books about Sake) a...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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1:04:40
Ep. 31: Emergence of Sake Series: The Age of Prosperity: Sake in the Edo Period
The Edo period for sake brewing was like the Victorian era for the industrial revolution. So many things that happened then still influence the drink now: from technological advances and new brewing techniques to the geography and taste. In...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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30:56
Ep. 30: Exploring the World of Japanese Craft Sake (Interview with Nancy Matsumoto and Michael Tremblay)
It's always exciting to read a new book about sake. There are not that many of them published outside Japan. But the fact that this new book is written by two amazing authors and sake specialists Nancy Matsumoto, a renowned sake and food ...
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Season 3
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Episode 30
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1:15:34
Ep 29: Emergence of Sake Series: Bodaimoto and How Oda Nobunaga Ended Soboshu
Soboshu, the sake brewed by monks played a very important role in the development of sake brewing techniques in medieval Japan. The monasteries possessed many key components necessary for successful sake-making: economic power, skilled labour f...
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Season 3
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Episode 29
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29:37
Ep 28: The beauty of nature: The Sparkling Sake Brewery
The new interview with Naoki Toyota and Tracey Delaney from The Sparkling Sake Brewery based in Cambridgeshire. Inspired by nature, Naoki went to study sake brewing in Nara, the birthplace of Japanese sake. After returning to the UK, he went on...
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Season 3
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Episode 28
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1:01:46
Ep 27: Emergence of Sake Series: Enters Koji, Imperial Court and Soboshu
I continue the mini-series about the emergence of sake with an episode about probably the major technological breakthrough in sake making: the use of koji, this amazing friendly microorganism, I was talking with Akemi Yokoyama about in
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Season 3
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Episode 27
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24:21
Ep 26: How a Travel Company Opened a Sake Store in London: Interview HIS Japan Premium
The first interview of Season 3: a conversation about a new Japanese sake and grocery store, HIS Japan Premium, with John Opondo, who is Managing Director of HIS Europe and Masahiro Tsuji, HIS Business Development Manager.John and Masah...
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Season 3
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Episode 26
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49:42
Ep 25: The Emergence of Sake: Roots of Nihonshu
After a break Sugidama Podcast is back with a short series talking about the emergence of sake brewing methods from ancient times to our days. In this episode, we are talking about the roots of sake from how people discovered alcohol in the fir...
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Season 3
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Episode 25
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28:53