Tokyo Jizake Strolling (the very hectic month of December)
By Ryuji Takahashi
I continue to push myself despite feeling exhausted during the month of December, a busy and hectic month with no chance to rest until the new year. First on the schedule is the in-store sales event for Kondo Brewery (Kondo Shuzo Co., Ltd.) in Gunma prefecture. I happened to have new freshly squeezed sake, so I held the in-store sales event to sell the new sake and Junmai Ginjo “Kurobi” brewed using a centrifugal separator, winner of the Gold prize during the New York World Wine & Spirits Convention, over two days in the bitter cold weather.
Kondo Brewery is the producer of the sake brand “Akagiyama.” Their flagship product is the Honjozo “Akagiyama Dry,” seemingly available in convenience stores, drug stores, and many stores that sell daily necessities. Seventy to eighty percent of this sake is consumed locally in Gunma prefecture, while seasonal and special sake are often not released in other prefectures. In Tokyo, only two stores including my own store deal directly with the brewery. At our store, customers from Gunma prefecture buy this sake product in bulk.
The first day of the sales event concluded with an evening banquet at the brewery with lively discussions about sake, audio, and vehicles. The following week, I attended “An evening of Italian cuisine with sake” at the Italian restaurant “Karibe-tei.” Surprisingly, the event was attended by a record number of guests who feasted on luxury food ingredients such as lobster, shirako (soft roe), calf, and fresh oysters with eighteen sake bottles - nine different sake brands of two bottles each - the highest number of bottles consumed to date. The concluding dish was the bubbling Champagne Risotto. Guests took photos and videos of the bubbling Champagne Risotto.
The last collaborative event of the year featuring Italian cuisine ended successfully. I hosted the year-end hot pot dinner event with unrestricted time and appetizers brought by guests the following week. The final week consisted of three in-store sales events at Kanemasu Brewery in Niigata prefecture on the 28th, Hakuro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. in Niigata prefecture on the 29th, and Nihonsakari Co., Ltd. in Hyogo prefecture on the 30th, leading into the New Year’s Eve sales event, the busiest event of the year.
I was writing this article mid-December without encountering any major issue. I felt rushed to finish all my work before the end of the year, as I have many events and business trips scheduled in 2024. I feel deeply grateful for this past year that ended without any major injury or illness affecting my business, and for all the many customers who supported my business this year. I look forward to another year of sake fans consuming a lot of sake in 2024.
I continue to push myself despite feeling exhausted during the month of December, a busy and hectic month with no chance to rest until the new year. First on the schedule is the in-store sales event for Kondo Brewery (Kondo Shuzo Co., Ltd.) in Gunma prefecture. I happened to have new freshly squeezed sake, so I held the in-store sales event to sell the new sake and Junmai Ginjo “Kurobi” brewed using a centrifugal separator, winner of the Gold prize during the New York World Wine & Spirits Convention, over two days in the bitter cold weather.
Kondo Brewery is the producer of the sake brand “Akagiyama.” Their flagship product is the Honjozo “Akagiyama Dry,” seemingly available in convenience stores, drug stores, and many stores that sell daily necessities. Seventy to eighty percent of this sake is consumed locally in Gunma prefecture, while seasonal and special sake are often not released in other prefectures. In Tokyo, only two stores including my own store deal directly with the brewery. At our store, customers from Gunma prefecture buy this sake product in bulk.
The first day of the sales event concluded with an evening banquet at the brewery with lively discussions about sake, audio, and vehicles. The following week, I attended “An evening of Italian cuisine with sake” at the Italian restaurant “Karibe-tei.” Surprisingly, the event was attended by a record number of guests who feasted on luxury food ingredients such as lobster, shirako (soft roe), calf, and fresh oysters with eighteen sake bottles - nine different sake brands of two bottles each - the highest number of bottles consumed to date. The concluding dish was the bubbling Champagne Risotto. Guests took photos and videos of the bubbling Champagne Risotto.
The last collaborative event of the year featuring Italian cuisine ended successfully. I hosted the year-end hot pot dinner event with unrestricted time and appetizers brought by guests the following week. The final week consisted of three in-store sales events at Kanemasu Brewery in Niigata prefecture on the 28th, Hakuro Sake Brewery Co., Ltd. in Niigata prefecture on the 29th, and Nihonsakari Co., Ltd. in Hyogo prefecture on the 30th, leading into the New Year’s Eve sales event, the busiest event of the year.
I was writing this article mid-December without encountering any major issue. I felt rushed to finish all my work before the end of the year, as I have many events and business trips scheduled in 2024. I feel deeply grateful for this past year that ended without any major injury or illness affecting my business, and for all the many customers who supported my business this year. I look forward to another year of sake fans consuming a lot of sake in 2024.
東京地酒散歩（目まぐるしい師走）
忙しい日々に疲弊している師走だが、休んでいる場合ではなく正月まで突っ走るしかないと身体に鞭を打ち続けている。そんな中、まずは、群馬県近藤酒造の店頭販売会。ちょうど、搾りたての新酒がでたタイミングだったので、新酒とニューヨーク・ワールド・ワイン＆スピリッツ・コンペティションで金賞を受賞した遠心分離機を使用した純米大吟醸の「黒檜（くろび）」を中心に2日間、寒空の中で店頭販売を行った。この近藤酒造、「赤城山」という銘柄を醸しており、フラッグシップとなる商品は「赤城山・男の酒辛口」という本醸造酒で、群馬では何処でも買えるといった印象の酒である。コンビニやドラッグストアなど生活に密着した場所で気軽に買えるので、群馬での地元消費が七～八割くらいとのこと。その為、他県に季節商品や特別酒があまり出てこない。東京でも酒蔵と直接取引を行っているのは、当店を含め2か所くらいしかないらしい。当店では群馬出身のお客様がまとめ買いをするくらいである。１日目は販売会からの夜は酒蔵を囲んでの宴会も開催し、日本酒、オーディオ、車の話で大いに盛り上がった。翌週は、以前も何度か記事に書いた「イタリアンと日本酒の夕べ」というイベントを下北沢のイタリア料理店「かりべ亭」にて開催。なんと、参加者が過去最高人数で、食材もオマール海老、白子、仔牛、生牡蠣など豪華食材の料理が並んだ。日本酒も過去最高9種類を2本ずつ計1８本が空になった。締めは吹き出すシャンパンとリゾットが映えるシャンパンリゾット。皆がカメラを手に吹き出すシャンパンを動画や写真に収めていた。結果、過去最高に大盛り上がりの今年最後のイタリア料理とのコラボイベントとなった。その翌週は持ち寄りのおつまみと当店が用意する鍋の時間無制限忘年会イベントを行い、最終週の2８日は新潟県金升酒造、２９日は新潟県柏露酒造、３０日は兵庫県日本盛の店頭販売会と続く。そして一年で一番忙しい大晦日の大販売会と繋がっていく。この記事を書いている時はまだ１２月の中盤なので、まだ大きいトラブルも無いが、無事に年内業務を終わらせたい気持ちでいっぱいだ。既に２０２４年のイベントや地方出張予定も決まり始めていている。とにかく大きなケガや病気も無く無事に1年商売が出来たことと、沢山のお客様に支えられて1年が過ごせたことに心から感謝したい。２０２４年も日本酒が多くの人に好まれ飲まれる事に期待したい。