August 12, 2025 • 32 mins
Episode 181. Sake Day, celebrated every year on October 1st, will be here before you know it, and Sake Revolution is here to be your guide! In this special episode, John and Timothy map out the most exciting Sake Day celebrations happening across the country in 2025, from San Francisco’s legendary 20th anniversary Sake Day to exciting events in Boston, Denver, D.C., San Diego, and New York. For devoted sake fans, Sake Day feels like all our favorite holidays rolled up into one, and we can't wait to celebrate it. Wherever you are on your sake journey, let us help you plan the perfect place to have your own Kanpai on Sake Day! #SakeRevolution
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Episode Transcript
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John Puma (00:15):
Hmm.
Okay.
Hello everybody and welcome toSake Revolution.
This is America's First Sakepodcast, and I am your host,
John Puma.
I run the internet sake discordand also Reddit's r slash sake
community.
Timothy Sullivan (00:36):
And I am your host, Timothy Sullivan.
I'm a Sake Samurai.
I'm the Director of Education atthe Sake Studies Center, as well
as the founder.
Of the Urban Sake website, andevery week John and I will be
here tasting and chatting aboutall things sake and doing our
best to make it fun and easy tounderstand.
John Puma (00:54):
Hey, Tim.
How you doing?
Timothy Sullivan (00:55):
I am good.
How are you, John?
John Puma (00:58):
Great, great.
So, uh, my understanding is thattoday we've got something a
little bit different.
We're gonna, we're gonna flipthe script slightly, is that
right?
Timothy Sullivan (01:06):
That's right.
We are going to start with somedrinking.
And then get to some thinking.
John Puma (01:12):
Alright, starting with drinking.
Excellent.
That sounds fantastic.
It's my, the best way for me,uh, to start a podcast, I think
is to start with the drinking.
So, we're not gonna be tastingthe same thing today, but we
will be tasting things from thesame brewery.
Is that, is that, do I have thisright in my head?
Timothy Sullivan (01:27):
Yes.
We need a little something tosip on while we talk about
today's episode.
So let's.
Flip the script as you said, andstart with our Kanpai John, why
don't you let us know what brandwe're featuring and which sake
you are tasting.
John Puma (01:41):
So, we're gonna be tasting some Brooklyn Kura.
It's a, you know, local sakethat we're both very familiar
with, and I am gonna be havinga, a newer product from them.
Uh, I'm a fan of this one.
Um, see Ashokan, Junmai Ginjouh, and Yamada Nishiki Rice, and
they're milling it down to, 60%of its original size.
(02:04):
Sake Meter value is plus three.
And, uh, A BV is, 15%.
When I first heard the name,Ashokan, I thought it was like
some kind of Japanese word Ididn't understand.
And then I was told later onthat it's actually named for the
reservoir.
Uh, upstate where they get wherethey get the water, which I
thought was interesting.
A bit of a, a bit of aanti-climactic finish for that
(02:26):
one for me.
Uh, Tim, what about you?
What are you drinking?
Timothy Sullivan (02:29):
I am gonna be drinking a sake.
We've featured a few times onthe podcast before.
It's the Brooklyn Kura ClassicBlue Door.
John Puma (02:36):
Hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (02:36):
This is one of their foundational sakes that
they've had for years, and it isa junmai sake that's made with
Calrose and yamadanishiki rice.
Rice milled to 70%.
The sake meter value is plustwo.
We have an acidity of 1.8 and alittle bit higher alcohol
(02:58):
percentage of 17%.
And this is also a NAMA orunpasteurized sake.
John Puma (03:03):
Yeah.
Why don't we, have a couple ofsips and, uh, then we'll get
started talking about our topictoday, which Tim, why don't you,
um, begin opening up your, yoursake and I'll quickly mention
what our topic is.
Sake Day is coming up and everyyear it feels like there's more
sake events for Sake Day.
And we think that, it's kind ofcool to do a little primer and
(03:26):
kind of get everybody.
Up to speed on what's comingand, uh, you know, if they're
local to any of the areas or ifyou like traveling, you know,
what, what's in store for themif they decide to go to one of
these sake day events.
In some cases, Tim or I havebeen to some of these events and
we have some, some hands-on thatwe can talk about, about our
experiences.
So Tim, do you have that bluedoor opened up?
Timothy Sullivan (03:47):
I got it poured.
And John, I just want to tagonto what you just said.
Sake day is our Christmas.
Thanksgiving and 4th of July allrolled into one.
For sake, people like you andme, this is the highlight of our
year.
So we got a plan, our strategyfor getting to as many of these
(04:08):
events as we can.
So I'm so excited to go over thecalendar with you from, it's
literally from coast to coast.
We have sake events coming up,
John Puma (04:16):
Literally, quite literally, yes.
Timothy Sullivan (04:18):
So I've got my blue door poured.
How about you, John?
John Puma (04:22):
Um, yeah.
So I'm going to grab thisAshokan.
And I've got that in the glassnow.
Uh, Tim, I also think, if I'mnot mistaken, this ashokan is
also a blend, which I find avery interesting thing that
we'll probably need to go indepth on this in the future.
Timothy Sullivan (04:38):
Yeah.
John Puma (04:39):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (04:40):
All right.
Well, John, here's Sake Day inadvance.
John Puma (04:44):
Here's to Sake day Tim, and it's weird to do this
so early in a show, but
Timothy Sullivan (04:48):
Here we go.
John Puma (04:49):
Kanpai,
Timothy Sullivan (04:52):
Mm.
Now my Blue Door from BrooklynKura is one of their sakes.
They've made for a long time.
It's a little more rice forward.
But you get that richness fromthe unpasteurized side of it,
really food friendly and uh,just a great foundational sake
(05:14):
for pairing with food.
You can open it and pair it withjust about anything.
It's really great.
Always a winner.
John Puma (05:21):
Nice.
And this is Ashokan despitebeing newer to their line of
sake is, It's very light, verycrisp and there is a really
nice, pleasant acidity acrossthe whole taste, which I really
enjoy.
So, yeah, this is, this is somegood stuff.
Timothy Sullivan (05:38):
Hmm.
Can't go wrong.
We're gonna start out, and Iwanna say that, this calendar
from.
Mid September to just after Sakeday, is going to be available in
our show notes.
So if, if any of the events arenear you or you want to travel
to them, if you want details onwhere to buy tickets, that will
(06:01):
all be in our show notes.
So please visitSakeRevolution.com.
Check out the show notes forthis episode, and we will have a
full calendar of all the eventswe're highlighting today.
John Puma (06:12):
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Cool.
So, so Tim, where do you wannastart?
Timothy Sullivan (06:16):
Well, first I think we should take just one
minute and talk about what SakeDay is, when is it,
John Puma (06:23):
we have an episode about that, but I will, I'll
let, I'll let this, I'll let thereminder happen in this case.
Timothy Sullivan (06:28):
Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
So Sake Day is October 1st,right?
John Puma (06:34):
Yep.
Timothy Sullivan (06:34):
And what's the deal?
What's it all about?
John Puma (06:37):
Uh uh, it is, uh, the day is the day the brewing
season starts.
Timothy Sullivan (06:43):
That's right.
So it's a, it's a day that isset aside to kind of celebrate
the kickoff of the brewingseason.
And it's a day to stop andcelebrate all things sake and
focus the world's attention onthe beverage that we love so
much.
And I think it's a great day tocelebrate.
And, you know, beer has St.
Patrick's Day.
(07:04):
Tequila has Cinco de
John Puma (07:05):
that, is that what has St.
Patrick's Day?
I don't know if, I don't knowif, if the Irish agree with beer
having St.
Patrick's Day necessarily, but,we'll, you know, we'll let them
write in and tell us what theythink about that.
Timothy Sullivan (07:22):
Well, I'm just, I am just glad sake
John Puma (07:24):
does tequila have you say
Timothy Sullivan (07:25):
Cinco de Mayo.
John Puma (07:26):
Mayo.
We're
Timothy Sullivan (07:29):
No.
Am I wrong?
Am I way off base?
John Puma (07:31):
I don't know.
now.
All right.
But, but we, but we have SakeDay.
We do
Timothy Sullivan (07:37):
We have Sake Day, and there's, there's no,
there's no ambiguity about it.
Sake day is dedicated to sake,and it is October 1st.
So the, the events starthappening in like late.
September through early October,so all cluster around October
(07:58):
1st.
And I thought it, it would begreat to do a little overview
for all of our listeners allaround the country to see which
sake day events they might wantto go to.
So coming up first is the ninthAnnual San Diego Sake Festival
in celebration of Sake Day, andthat's gonna be on Saturday,
September 20th.
(08:19):
So this is San Diego,California's largest sake
celebration.
John Puma (08:25):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (08:26):
have you ever been to this one?
John Puma (08:27):
Uh, San Diego you say.
Timothy Sullivan (08:29):
San Diego?
John Puma (08:30):
No, I've been to a different San based,
Timothy Sullivan (08:35):
We'll get there soon.
We'll get
John Puma (08:36):
get there soon, but no, I've not, I have not been to
San Diego in,, since I was ateenager, so it's been a while.
Timothy Sullivan (08:41):
Alright, well.
This is a Sake Festival that'sbeen going for nine years, so
that's a pretty long time forcelebrating Sake Day in San
Diego.
Uh, this is going to be, again,Saturday, September 20th.
They have a VIP entry at 2:30.
General admission at 3:30 andthe tickets are on sale already.
(09:03):
So if you are in the San Diegoarea, this is one not to be
missed.
The tickets are on Eventbrite,but again, just visit
SakeRevolution.com.
We have a YouTube video from apast year, so you can kind of
get the vibe for this event.
And then, tickets, will have alink for that.
John Puma (09:19):
So Tim, have you ever been to this one?
Timothy Sullivan (09:21):
No, I've never been to the San Diego Sake
Festival, but it has been aroundfor a while.
And, uh, definitely the early,early side of Sake Day
celebrations.
John Puma (09:32):
of course.
Yes.
Uh, okay.
So what's next?
Timothy Sullivan (09:36):
We're gonna stay on the West coast for what
I would call, you know, myfavorite phrase, the big kahuna
right here.
John Puma (09:42):
Mm,
Timothy Sullivan (09:44):
Sake Day San Francisco
John Puma (09:48):
Now this one?
Timothy Sullivan (09:49):
Oh my gosh.
We've both been
John Puma (09:51):
Yeah.
This one I've been to
Timothy Sullivan (09:53):
when?
Is this year's happening?
John Puma (09:55):
This year it's, Saturday, September the 27th.
So they're, they're getting inthere ahead of time.
Timothy Sullivan (10:01):
Yeah, that's good.
It's on a weekend, which isalways appreciated.
John Puma (10:04):
I think it's important for, to do a weekend.
Timothy Sullivan (10:07):
It's gonna be from four to 8:00 PM at the
Hotel Kabuki, and there aretickets online at Eventbrite,
but last time I checked, thisevent is already sold out.
John Puma (10:19):
Yeah, this one sells out fast, and I don't even think
it matters how soon we would'vedone this episode.
This would've sold outbeforehand.
It's a very, very, um, popularevent.
There's a lot of people there.
It's probably the biggest of theevents we're gonna talk about,
but.
Man, is it, it's a lot ofpeople.
It sells out real fast.
It's a great time though.
Timothy Sullivan (10:39):
Yeah, and this is the 20th anniversary for Sake
Day San Francisco.
So this is the first Sake Dayevent that.
Was held in the States.
This is the a big granddaddyevent, and uh, it is very
popular, very successful.
You and I have both been, solet's hear about your experience
(10:59):
at Sake Day, San Francisco.
John Puma (11:01):
Um, so for me it was a.
It was a very special eventbecause not only was it my first
trip to Sake Day, San Francisco,but it was coming outta the
pandemic.
It was the first one they'vedone since then.
And it was for me and Myshell,like the first time we went to a
big social event.
You know, outside of like NewYork.
And so going over there, gettingto the West Coast and, you know,
(11:23):
during the pandemic we met allof these really wonderful
people, um, on the discord andon different sake tasting events
on virtual, like onnomis andstuff like that.
And so it was great to finallysee and meet and drink with so
many of these people that I had,I, I had.
Known, quote unquote, but hadnever actually sat and, and, and
broke bread with, or, orkanpai'd with.
(11:43):
And it was a really wonderfulexperience.
And on top of that, just theevent itself is just so big and
it's just, you know, so muchwonderful sake.
And if you are an East coastperson.
There's something you shouldknow, and that is the West
Coast.
Even from the same importersgets different sake.
You can try just stuff that youcan't get in New York.
Timothy Sullivan (12:04):
Yeah, I went last year for the first time and
I was pouring Hakkaisan Sake asa vendor and I got, got to break
away for a little amount of timeand walk around, but it's on two
floors.
There are dozens and dozens oftables, representing different
brands, distributors, importers,and it was so full of sake.
(12:30):
Goodness, you could not believeit.
So.
John Puma (12:33):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (12:33):
Really highly recommended.
Um, and for this year there'sactually going to be, I'm privy
to a little bit of insiderinformation.
There's going to be, yes,there's going to be a sake
Samurai reunion and sake samuraitable at this year's Sake Day,
San Francisco.
John Puma (12:51):
how are you gonna do this?
You gotta split your time, likewhat's going on?
Timothy Sullivan (12:55):
Yeah, so there's one table dedicated to
Sake Samurai and they will bepouring, I think every 45
minutes.
It's gonna change.
A couple samurai's are gonnacome in and pour certain sakes
and throughout the night you canmeet all the different Sake
samurai's from the years.
And uh, I'll be on one of thoseshifts when I'm not at the
(13:15):
Hakkaisan table.
John Puma (13:16):
Wonderful.
So yeah, if you can, if you arethere, you can meet Tim twice.
You meet him at two different,completely different tables.
Timothy Sullivan (13:26):
Yes.
And if you say you are a fan ofSake Revolution, you will get a
sticker.
John Puma (13:32):
Oh, is that it?
Timothy Sullivan (13:34):
so John, the next event is hitting very close
to home
John Puma (13:38):
Yeah.
Um, yeah, so the next event isOctober the first on Sake Day
itself on a Wednesday.
Um, and it is, uh, pardon,pardon the.
Strong self-promotion.
Here
Timothy Sullivan (13:55):
Shameless,
John Puma (13:56):
shameless self-promotion here, the
shameless self-promotion.
Here it is.
Sake Day.
Sake Revolution live.
And so it's gonna be me and it'sgonna be you, Tim.
And we're gonna be at BrooklynKura and we're gonna do, uh, a
live episode of the show.
On stage.
There's gonna be sake to drink.
There's gonna be.
(14:17):
Uh, you know, other, I'm surethere'll be other fun people to
hang out with there as well.
There always are.
And yeah, we're gonna do aspecial episode.
We're gonna have a guest, whichis gonna be a lot of fun.
So, uh, Tim, who's going to beour special guest
Timothy Sullivan (14:32):
We are going to have Byron Stithem, the owner
and Brewer from proper sake inNashville, Tennessee.
Byron is gonna fly up and joinus as our special guest, and
we're gonna be including, uh,two sakes from his brewery as
the tasting flight that everyattendee who comes to our live
(14:53):
recording is gonna be able totaste along with us at the
Brooklyn Kura tap room.
So it's gonna be fantastic.
Now we have to mention we didthis last year with, Shinobu
Kato and Brandon Doughan fromKato Sake Works and Brooklyn
Kura.
So we're continuing on with thetheme of having a US brewer in
the house with us.
(15:14):
And I don't know about you,John, but when we did our live
recording last year for SakeDay, I had an absolute blast.
Like it was so much fun.
It was so much fun.
John Puma (15:24):
it was, I had a great time also.
It was just, Such a, you know,just blast is the right word.
Yeah, it was such a fun time andI was, I think I had to like get
on a flight the next day too.
So I was very nervous aboutmaking sure that everything was
in order and all that.
So I'm really looking forward tobeing able to enjoy it a little
bit more and have a little bit,you know, a little more
relaxation on it.
(15:44):
Very excited though.
It's gonna be such a, a great,uh, event.
Timothy Sullivan (15:48):
So if you are in the New York City area, and
we are the only event I foundthat's actually happening on
sake day, proper sake, October1st.
If you're in the New York Cityarea, please join us at the
Brooklyn Kura Tap room.
Tickets are available atbrooklynkura.com and also on
Eventbrite.
And as always, for all theseevents, just visit our show
notes to get the link directlyto tickets and.
(16:12):
This is an affordable event too.
It's only$15.
That includes, uh, entrance tothe live recording, uh, tasting
flight of two sakes.
There will be other sakesavailable for purchase along
with snacks, but it's a greataffordable price to come in and
be with some fellow sake nerdsfor sake day.
John Puma (16:31):
Yeah, I hope to, uh, you can get over there and join
us.
I be a lot of fun.
So Tim, what's after that?
Timothy Sullivan (16:38):
Okay.
After that, we have another.
New York City Sake event.
This is World Sake Day, New YorkCity 2025, and it is on Friday,
October 3rd from five to 9:00 PMat the W Loft Rooftop in
Brooklyn.
Now, have you been to this eventbefore?
They've had it for a few yearsnow.
John Puma (16:56):
No.
So last year, as mentioned, Iwas going outta the country
right after our event.
So I missed everything else thatwent on that weekend, which, uh,
very sad about.
It was nice to go on vacation,so I'm not complaining too
loudly.
This does look like a lot offun, though.
I've never, have you ever beento the W Loft?
In Brooklyn.
Timothy Sullivan (17:13):
No, I have not.
But I do have some details aboutthis event.
Uh, the admission is$65 and thatwill get you 15 tasting tickets.
And then, uh, they say they'regoing to have 35 Japanese and US
sake breweries represented.
John Puma (17:33):
Okay.
Timothy Sullivan (17:34):
Um.
And the tickets will beavailable on Eventbrite.
And again, see our show notesfor more details.
so moving on.
That's October.
which is the Friday, and movingto the Saturdays.
So this is that, valuableweekend, right after
John Puma (17:51):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (17:52):
day when a lot of events happen.
John Puma (17:54):
Yes, yes.
Saturday we've got, Denver'sQueen City Sake Festival for
those in the, uh, in the Denverarea or would, or those who
would like to be in the Denver,Colorado area, uh, this is an
event for you.
Timothy Sullivan (18:07):
And this is gonna be Saturday, October 4th
from one to 4:00 PM MountainTime.
John Puma (18:12):
Ooh.
Afternoon.
It's a little day drinking goingon.
Alright.
Timothy Sullivan (18:17):
Now, did you know Denver was known as Queen
City?
John Puma (18:20):
No, I thought that was like Charlotte.
Timothy Sullivan (18:23):
I don't know.
They say, they say it's QueenCity, so I did not know that.
Um, this is an event thatfeatures over 100 sakes
John Puma (18:33):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (18:33):
and they have a few different tiers.
They have a VIP early accessticket and they also have a
general admission ticket.
And it looks like it comes witha free, locally handmade.
Sake cup as part of youradmission and I have a video of
this event as well you can checkout on our show notes and it
(18:54):
looks like a whole lot of fun.
This is held at a place calledFinn's Manor in Denver, and it
is gonna be a fun afternoon ofhashtag day drinking.
John Puma (19:06):
Uh, yeah, I, I've actually never been, not only
have I not been to, uh, thisevent, I've actually never been
to Denver.
Don't, uh, don't get out much.
Go to Japan a lot.
That's about it.
Timothy Sullivan (19:16):
Yeah, well on Saturday, October 4th, there's
this event in Denver, but thereis competition on the East
coast.
Uh,
John Puma (19:25):
what else is there?
Timothy Sullivan (19:26):
the other event happening on Saturday,
October 4th is Sake Day East.
John Puma (19:32):
Ooh, I've heard of this one.
Timothy Sullivan (19:34):
Yes.
So it's called Sake Day East.
This is New England's largestSake Day celebration.
Uh, they've been doing this forseveral years.
Have you been to Sake Day East,John Puma?
John Puma (19:45):
no.
I, like I said, I don't get outmuch.
Timothy Sullivan (19:50):
Well, I've been to Sake Day East several
years, and it is very fun.
John Puma (19:56):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (19:57):
this is an interesting event.
They do the tasting event, whichis your standard walk around
tasting.
Uh, but they have a pre-eventguided seminars.
So they're doing a littleeducation piece that starts at
like three to 5:00 PM
John Puma (20:14):
Oh, okay.,
Timothy Sullivan (20:15):
for an additional fee, you can come
early and do a guided tastingwith several sake experts that
will be there.
We have Todd Bellamy doing one.
There's a representative fromHeiwa Shuzo is gonna be there.
Our friend Josh from Joto Sakeis gonna be there.
(20:35):
And so they have these,pre-event seminars that they do,
which is really fun.
And then the main event kicksoff, either at five or six
o'clock if you want, earlyadmission or not.
So there's a lot of options, alot of education, a lot of
tasting you can do.
Uh, this is a really rich event.
(20:56):
Lots to, lots to check out here.
John Puma (20:58):
Nice, nice.
Being, uh, being on the EastCoast is something that maybe I
should consider.
It's only an Amtrak away.
Timothy Sullivan (21:04):
That's right.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
So it's a great event.
I've really enjoyed it, uh, thepast years that, that I've been
able to go there.
And I know that, Brooklyn Kurawill be represented along with a
whole bunch of otherdistributors.
I, the one year that I went,they had a, a cheese purveyor
there who did these little bentoboxes of cheese and you could
(21:25):
buy those with your sake andlike nibble on the cheese and
walk around.
It was great.
I loved it.
John Puma (21:31):
Nice.
Well, if, um, you're on the EastCoast and going up to Boston is
a little out of the way for you,perhaps you'll enjoy going down
to DC because on Sunday, October5th there is the DC Sake Co
Kanpai to Sake Day in DC That's
Timothy Sullivan (21:50):
Where, where is it?
John Puma (21:51):
it's, I think it's in dc Uh, and I think that you're
doing Kanpai-ing and you'rehaving sake in dc.
this is uh, run by DC Sake Co'cause their name's right in the
front and we've had Reiko fromthere on the show before.
And, uh, so she's a friend ofthe show
Timothy Sullivan (22:06):
Yeah, so the unique thing about this DC Sake
co event, it's that it's gonnabe held at a restaurant.
They're doing this incollaboration with a restaurant
in DC called Love Makoto, whichis a fabulous restaurant.
So I think they have the abilityto do these seated luncheons as
a, first step, and then they dogeneral admission later in the
(22:28):
day.
So this is, this is anafternoon.
Day drinking event, which again,two thumbs up, we wholeheartedly
approve.
It allows you to go on and enjoythe rest of your night and, uh,
but this, this is justfantastic.
John Puma (22:42):
Yeah.
Let's say you are on the EastCoast, um, but you know, DC's
kind of far and Boston's kind offar, uh, and you happen to be in
New York on Sunday, uh, Octoberthe fifth.
Well, we've got you covered.
There's an event in New York forthat as well.
Uh, Tim, what do we have?
Timothy Sullivan (22:59):
Yeah, so this is another little bit of
shameless self-promotion.
You can't deny us that, uh,Brooklyn Kura is gonna be doing
its own celebration for Sake Dayon Sunday, October 5th, and
that's going to be in theBrooklyn Kura tap room.
Uh, we're gonna be inviting anumber of distributors to come
and, uh, tickets will beavailable on BrooklynKura.com
(23:22):
and also on Eventbrite.
And this will be a really funwalk around tasting.
We're going to have some.
Guest chefs come in and dopop-up food.
We're going to have a DJ playingmusic.
We're going to have a, uh,enhanced interactive brewery
tour we go around the breweryand you're gonna be able to
(23:45):
taste steamed sake rice by thesteamer.
You can drink Moromi in thefermentation room.
You can.
Do a whole lot of tasting ofKoji by the Koji room.
And you can also taste some kasuby our Yabuta sake press.
So as we walk through thebrewery, you get to nibble on
all the stages of the sakebrewing process.
(24:06):
And it's really fun.
We don't do this very often, butfor special events like Sake
Day, we're gonna do theseinteractive brewery tours.
And uh, Brandon is also gonnaget out his Shizuku drip as
well.
John Puma (24:19):
Oh, nice.
Those are always fun.
He like does those for specialoccasions too.
Yeah.
Cool.
Timothy Sullivan (24:25):
Yeah.
So if you can come out toBrooklyn Kura on Sunday, October
5th from uh, five to 9:00 PMwe'd love to see you.
It'll be a great event with, somany types of sake.
All our importer and distributorfriends will be there.
John Puma (24:38):
Nice.
Nice.
Sounds good.
uh, so yeah, we, we've got ournext event here.
So we're moving past, past sakeday, weekend, and moving into
Friday, October the 10th.
And this is, Sake-Con, which Ilove the name sake, Con sake
day, NYC 2025.
(24:58):
And, um, Tim, tell us all aboutsake.
con.
Timothy Sullivan (25:02):
This is gonna be on Friday, October 10th from
five to 10:00 PM Eastern.
And this is gonna be at an eventspace in Manhattan.
So if you're in the city's andyou want to go to, evening time
Sake event and you kind of missall the stuff around the first,
uh, this is a great event thatwill follow up a little bit
later.
(25:23):
That there are just like manyother events, there are some
early bird options to get inearly.
A general admission prices rangefrom.
$35 to$45.
John Puma (25:37):
Well that's interesting.
Cool.
Um.
Timothy Sullivan (25:40):
So that, uh, if you want to look up the Sake
con, sake Day, New York City2025, that's on Eventbrite.
Or you can also visit sakerevolution.com.
So John, that is our calendar.
I think that Sake Day 2025 isprobably the most robust
offering of events that I'veever seen.
(26:02):
What do you think?
John Puma (26:03):
Yeah, I think that, and I think that every year we
get a little bit more, which Ilove.
I think it's great to have, tohave options, to have variety,
uh, and, and, you know.
America's a damn big place.
And so having events all overthe country, um, it's good for
people who are just notnecessarily just in New York or
California.
(26:23):
I'm talking to you Denver.
I'm talking to you Boston, andI'm talking to you DC I think
it's really awesome that, thatwe've got these things going on
outside the big city.
so, so where are you gonna be?
Timothy Sullivan (26:33):
Alright, so I'm definitely gonna be at Sake
Day San Francisco and it goeswithout saying that I'm gonna be
at the live recording of SakeRevolution on the first.
Yes, I'll be there and then I'mgonna be at Sake Day, Brooklyn
Kura on the fifth on thatSunday.
(26:54):
And those are the ones I'mguaranteed to be at for sure.
John Puma (26:58):
Cool.
Timothy Sullivan (26:59):
What about you?
John Puma (27:00):
Well, unfortunately, I'll definitely not be in San
Francisco, but I I willabsolutely be at Brooklyn Kura
for our live show.
And I, I honestly haven'tdecided if I'm gonna do part of
me wants to go up to Boston.
I, I, I haven't gone to Bostonin like 15 years and it seems
like it would be a fun thing,um, and.
So maybe that, maybe I'll dothe, you know, sake con thing.
(27:24):
Maybe I'll do the Sake DayBrooklyn Kura if I don't go to
Boston.
'cause I don't think I could doboth, so, you know, I'll figure
it out.
I'm still, for me, my, in mymind is kind of early.
I'm gonna try and suss out whatI, what I'm feeling and, and how
I want to do this.
But, you know, I'm excited toget out there and go to some fun
places and, and sip sake withfolks.
I think it's gonna be a goodtime.
Timothy Sullivan (27:45):
Yeah, and that's why I wanted to do this
episode a little bit in advanceso that we could be like Paul
Revere and get the word outthere and let all the sake
lovers know.
Whe when the events arehappening, if people do wanna
travel, it's in my book.
It's like totally worth it.
Like if you want to go toBoston, it's a great city to
(28:05):
visit for a, a weekend or a longweekend.
And if, if sake Day East is youranchor for, for that visit,
like, that's great.
That's a wonderful thing to dofor a getaway.
And if you see John or myselfout at a Sake Day event, please
say hello as a listener and youtwo can get a free sticker.
John Puma (28:25):
So now I have promising stickers.
Okay, got it.
Timothy Sullivan (28:27):
too.
Yes.
John Puma (28:29):
I'm on it.
Timothy Sullivan (28:30):
All right, so jp, let's check in with our
sakes.
We've had our Brooklyn Kuras inthe glass for a little bit,
John Puma (28:38):
I didn't finish my glass at all, Tim.
That's right.
Timothy Sullivan (28:42):
so you're not repouring right now.
John Puma (28:44):
I am totally not repouring right that, that sound
was, uh, stirring vigorously.
Uh
Timothy Sullivan (28:51):
All right.
John Puma (28:52):
hmm.
Now, now I will have to say thatmy sake, despite having been in
a bottle that's been sitting onmy, desk for the past 40 minutes
or so.
Probably a lot cooler than itusually is because you bought me
a wonderful birthday gift.
Timothy Sullivan (29:06):
Happy birthday
John Puma (29:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you got me this, Husky justhusky, this husky, bottle
cooler.
And I just, it's a metal devicethat you wrap around your bottle
and it keeps it nice and cold,even when you're doing a long
podcast with, with your friendTim.
Timothy Sullivan (29:23):
Yeah, it's like a stainless steel
insulating sleeve that kind ofscrews over the bottle and the
neck of the bottle sticks outthe top and it keeps your sake
chilled at the table for up tofour hours.
And I thought, who better?
To have this then my podcastbuddy John Puma.
So happy birthday.
John Puma (29:40):
having just poured and sipped a little bit more,
I'll tell you it keeps it coolfor at least 40 minutes.
Timothy Sullivan (29:44):
Alright, good.
John Puma (29:47):
So far, so good.
Timothy Sullivan (29:49):
40 minutes and counting.
John Puma (29:50):
40 Madison County.
How is your NAMA dealing with
Timothy Sullivan (29:53):
Hmm.
Well I ha I do not have, that,cooler so my sake in the glass
has warmed up just a little bitand.
As you would expect the warmertemperature, just a few degrees
warmer.
It brings out a little more ofthe nuttiness, and rosiness in
this sake, brings out the savorynotes, but still totally
(30:14):
pleasant, really enjoyable, andjust not as, uh, crisp as
before, but a little more savorythat comes through as the sake
gets closer and closer to roomtemp.
And I'm loving it.
I, I just think this is a greatsake.
John Puma (30:29):
Glad.
So Tim, I think it's time for usto wrap up, let's tell the good
people at home what's going on.
Timothy Sullivan (30:38):
Yeah.
Well.
We do hope that all of youlistening enjoyed this episode
and we do hope you can make itout to support Sake Day wherever
you are in the country.
I want to thank you all so muchfor tuning in.
We really do hope that you'reenjoying Sake Revolution.
Now if you'd like to show yoursupport for our show, uh, the
best way to support us is tojoin our Patreon.
(31:01):
You can visitPatreon.com/sakerevolution to
learn about different ways toshow us your support.
I don't wanna forget to send aspecial hello and thank you to
all our existing patrons.
We love to see you all on ourmonthly happy hour that we do
live on Zoom.
And if you'd like to join thehappy hour and chat with us
yourself, uh, join us onPatreon.
(31:22):
We'd love to have you.
John Puma (31:24):
And if you would like to check us out over on social
media, we Are Sake Revolution orSake Revolution Pod on just
about every platform out there.
No TikTok yet.
Still after all these years,Tim, we've talked about that.
It still still hasn't occurred,but maybe one of these days
we'll get there.
And if you want to, uh, reachout to us about mistakes we
(31:44):
might've made, if we missed asake event that's going on for
Sake Day, please reach out to usand you can do that at
feedback@sakerevolution.com orone of those aforementioned
social media outlets.
okay, everybody, please makeyour Sake Day 2025 plans.
Remember to keep drinking sakeand.
(32:08):
Kanpai
Hmm.
Okay.
Hello everybody and welcome toSake Revolution.
This is America's First Sakepodcast, and I am your host,
John Puma.
I run the internet sake discordand also Reddit's r slash sake
community.
Timothy Sullivan (00:36):
And I am your host, Timothy Sullivan.
I'm a Sake Samurai.
I'm the Director of Education atthe Sake Studies Center, as well
as the founder.
Of the Urban Sake website, andevery week John and I will be
here tasting and chatting aboutall things sake and doing our
best to make it fun and easy tounderstand.
John Puma (00:54):
Hey, Tim.
How you doing?
Timothy Sullivan (00:55):
I am good.
How are you, John?
John Puma (00:58):
Great, great.
So, uh, my understanding is thattoday we've got something a
little bit different.
We're gonna, we're gonna flipthe script slightly, is that
right?
Timothy Sullivan (01:06):
That's right.
We are going to start with somedrinking.
And then get to some thinking.
John Puma (01:12):
Alright, starting with drinking.
Excellent.
That sounds fantastic.
It's my, the best way for me,uh, to start a podcast, I think
is to start with the drinking.
So, we're not gonna be tastingthe same thing today, but we
will be tasting things from thesame brewery.
Is that, is that, do I have thisright in my head?
Timothy Sullivan (01:27):
Yes.
We need a little something tosip on while we talk about
today's episode.
So let's.
Flip the script as you said, andstart with our Kanpai John, why
don't you let us know what brandwe're featuring and which sake
you are tasting.
John Puma (01:41):
So, we're gonna be tasting some Brooklyn Kura.
It's a, you know, local sakethat we're both very familiar
with, and I am gonna be havinga, a newer product from them.
Uh, I'm a fan of this one.
Um, see Ashokan, Junmai Ginjouh, and Yamada Nishiki Rice, and
they're milling it down to, 60%of its original size.
(02:04):
Sake Meter value is plus three.
And, uh, A BV is, 15%.
When I first heard the name,Ashokan, I thought it was like
some kind of Japanese word Ididn't understand.
And then I was told later onthat it's actually named for the
reservoir.
Uh, upstate where they get wherethey get the water, which I
thought was interesting.
A bit of a, a bit of aanti-climactic finish for that
(02:26):
one for me.
Uh, Tim, what about you?
What are you drinking?
Timothy Sullivan (02:29):
I am gonna be drinking a sake.
We've featured a few times onthe podcast before.
It's the Brooklyn Kura ClassicBlue Door.
John Puma (02:36):
Hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (02:36):
This is one of their foundational sakes that
they've had for years, and it isa junmai sake that's made with
Calrose and yamadanishiki rice.
Rice milled to 70%.
The sake meter value is plustwo.
We have an acidity of 1.8 and alittle bit higher alcohol
(02:58):
percentage of 17%.
And this is also a NAMA orunpasteurized sake.
John Puma (03:03):
Yeah.
Why don't we, have a couple ofsips and, uh, then we'll get
started talking about our topictoday, which Tim, why don't you,
um, begin opening up your, yoursake and I'll quickly mention
what our topic is.
Sake Day is coming up and everyyear it feels like there's more
sake events for Sake Day.
And we think that, it's kind ofcool to do a little primer and
(03:26):
kind of get everybody.
Up to speed on what's comingand, uh, you know, if they're
local to any of the areas or ifyou like traveling, you know,
what, what's in store for themif they decide to go to one of
these sake day events.
In some cases, Tim or I havebeen to some of these events and
we have some, some hands-on thatwe can talk about, about our
experiences.
So Tim, do you have that bluedoor opened up?
Timothy Sullivan (03:47):
I got it poured.
And John, I just want to tagonto what you just said.
Sake day is our Christmas.
Thanksgiving and 4th of July allrolled into one.
For sake, people like you andme, this is the highlight of our
year.
So we got a plan, our strategyfor getting to as many of these
(04:08):
events as we can.
So I'm so excited to go over thecalendar with you from, it's
literally from coast to coast.
We have sake events coming up,
John Puma (04:16):
Literally, quite literally, yes.
Timothy Sullivan (04:18):
So I've got my blue door poured.
How about you, John?
John Puma (04:22):
Um, yeah.
So I'm going to grab thisAshokan.
And I've got that in the glassnow.
Uh, Tim, I also think, if I'mnot mistaken, this ashokan is
also a blend, which I find avery interesting thing that
we'll probably need to go indepth on this in the future.
Timothy Sullivan (04:38):
Yeah.
John Puma (04:39):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (04:40):
All right.
Well, John, here's Sake Day inadvance.
John Puma (04:44):
Here's to Sake day Tim, and it's weird to do this
so early in a show, but
Timothy Sullivan (04:48):
Here we go.
John Puma (04:49):
Kanpai,
Timothy Sullivan (04:52):
Mm.
Now my Blue Door from BrooklynKura is one of their sakes.
They've made for a long time.
It's a little more rice forward.
But you get that richness fromthe unpasteurized side of it,
really food friendly and uh,just a great foundational sake
(05:14):
for pairing with food.
You can open it and pair it withjust about anything.
It's really great.
Always a winner.
John Puma (05:21):
Nice.
And this is Ashokan despitebeing newer to their line of
sake is, It's very light, verycrisp and there is a really
nice, pleasant acidity acrossthe whole taste, which I really
enjoy.
So, yeah, this is, this is somegood stuff.
Timothy Sullivan (05:38):
Hmm.
Can't go wrong.
We're gonna start out, and Iwanna say that, this calendar
from.
Mid September to just after Sakeday, is going to be available in
our show notes.
So if, if any of the events arenear you or you want to travel
to them, if you want details onwhere to buy tickets, that will
(06:01):
all be in our show notes.
So please visitSakeRevolution.com.
Check out the show notes forthis episode, and we will have a
full calendar of all the eventswe're highlighting today.
John Puma (06:12):
Wonderful.
Wonderful.
Cool.
So, so Tim, where do you wannastart?
Timothy Sullivan (06:16):
Well, first I think we should take just one
minute and talk about what SakeDay is, when is it,
John Puma (06:23):
we have an episode about that, but I will, I'll
let, I'll let this, I'll let thereminder happen in this case.
Timothy Sullivan (06:28):
Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
So Sake Day is October 1st,right?
John Puma (06:34):
Yep.
Timothy Sullivan (06:34):
And what's the deal?
What's it all about?
John Puma (06:37):
Uh uh, it is, uh, the day is the day the brewing
season starts.
Timothy Sullivan (06:43):
That's right.
So it's a, it's a day that isset aside to kind of celebrate
the kickoff of the brewingseason.
And it's a day to stop andcelebrate all things sake and
focus the world's attention onthe beverage that we love so
much.
And I think it's a great day tocelebrate.
And, you know, beer has St.
Patrick's Day.
(07:04):
Tequila has Cinco de
John Puma (07:05):
that, is that what has St.
Patrick's Day?
I don't know if, I don't knowif, if the Irish agree with beer
having St.
Patrick's Day necessarily, but,we'll, you know, we'll let them
write in and tell us what theythink about that.
Timothy Sullivan (07:22):
Well, I'm just, I am just glad sake
John Puma (07:24):
does tequila have you say
Timothy Sullivan (07:25):
Cinco de Mayo.
John Puma (07:26):
Mayo.
We're
Timothy Sullivan (07:29):
No.
Am I wrong?
Am I way off base?
John Puma (07:31):
I don't know.
now.
All right.
But, but we, but we have SakeDay.
We do
Timothy Sullivan (07:37):
We have Sake Day, and there's, there's no,
there's no ambiguity about it.
Sake day is dedicated to sake,and it is October 1st.
So the, the events starthappening in like late.
September through early October,so all cluster around October
(07:58):
1st.
And I thought it, it would begreat to do a little overview
for all of our listeners allaround the country to see which
sake day events they might wantto go to.
So coming up first is the ninthAnnual San Diego Sake Festival
in celebration of Sake Day, andthat's gonna be on Saturday,
September 20th.
(08:19):
So this is San Diego,California's largest sake
celebration.
John Puma (08:25):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (08:26):
have you ever been to this one?
John Puma (08:27):
Uh, San Diego you say.
Timothy Sullivan (08:29):
San Diego?
John Puma (08:30):
No, I've been to a different San based,
Timothy Sullivan (08:35):
We'll get there soon.
We'll get
John Puma (08:36):
get there soon, but no, I've not, I have not been to
San Diego in,, since I was ateenager, so it's been a while.
Timothy Sullivan (08:41):
Alright, well.
This is a Sake Festival that'sbeen going for nine years, so
that's a pretty long time forcelebrating Sake Day in San
Diego.
Uh, this is going to be, again,Saturday, September 20th.
They have a VIP entry at 2:30.
General admission at 3:30 andthe tickets are on sale already.
(09:03):
So if you are in the San Diegoarea, this is one not to be
missed.
The tickets are on Eventbrite,but again, just visit
SakeRevolution.com.
We have a YouTube video from apast year, so you can kind of
get the vibe for this event.
And then, tickets, will have alink for that.
John Puma (09:19):
So Tim, have you ever been to this one?
Timothy Sullivan (09:21):
No, I've never been to the San Diego Sake
Festival, but it has been aroundfor a while.
And, uh, definitely the early,early side of Sake Day
celebrations.
John Puma (09:32):
of course.
Yes.
Uh, okay.
So what's next?
Timothy Sullivan (09:36):
We're gonna stay on the West coast for what
I would call, you know, myfavorite phrase, the big kahuna
right here.
John Puma (09:42):
Mm,
Timothy Sullivan (09:44):
Sake Day San Francisco
John Puma (09:48):
Now this one?
Timothy Sullivan (09:49):
Oh my gosh.
We've both been
John Puma (09:51):
Yeah.
This one I've been to
Timothy Sullivan (09:53):
when?
Is this year's happening?
John Puma (09:55):
This year it's, Saturday, September the 27th.
So they're, they're getting inthere ahead of time.
Timothy Sullivan (10:01):
Yeah, that's good.
It's on a weekend, which isalways appreciated.
John Puma (10:04):
I think it's important for, to do a weekend.
Timothy Sullivan (10:07):
It's gonna be from four to 8:00 PM at the
Hotel Kabuki, and there aretickets online at Eventbrite,
but last time I checked, thisevent is already sold out.
John Puma (10:19):
Yeah, this one sells out fast, and I don't even think
it matters how soon we would'vedone this episode.
This would've sold outbeforehand.
It's a very, very, um, popularevent.
There's a lot of people there.
It's probably the biggest of theevents we're gonna talk about,
but.
Man, is it, it's a lot ofpeople.
It sells out real fast.
It's a great time though.
Timothy Sullivan (10:39):
Yeah, and this is the 20th anniversary for Sake
Day San Francisco.
So this is the first Sake Dayevent that.
Was held in the States.
This is the a big granddaddyevent, and uh, it is very
popular, very successful.
You and I have both been, solet's hear about your experience
(10:59):
at Sake Day, San Francisco.
John Puma (11:01):
Um, so for me it was a.
It was a very special eventbecause not only was it my first
trip to Sake Day, San Francisco,but it was coming outta the
pandemic.
It was the first one they'vedone since then.
And it was for me and Myshell,like the first time we went to a
big social event.
You know, outside of like NewYork.
And so going over there, gettingto the West Coast and, you know,
(11:23):
during the pandemic we met allof these really wonderful
people, um, on the discord andon different sake tasting events
on virtual, like onnomis andstuff like that.
And so it was great to finallysee and meet and drink with so
many of these people that I had,I, I had.
Known, quote unquote, but hadnever actually sat and, and, and
broke bread with, or, orkanpai'd with.
(11:43):
And it was a really wonderfulexperience.
And on top of that, just theevent itself is just so big and
it's just, you know, so muchwonderful sake.
And if you are an East coastperson.
There's something you shouldknow, and that is the West
Coast.
Even from the same importersgets different sake.
You can try just stuff that youcan't get in New York.
Timothy Sullivan (12:04):
Yeah, I went last year for the first time and
I was pouring Hakkaisan Sake asa vendor and I got, got to break
away for a little amount of timeand walk around, but it's on two
floors.
There are dozens and dozens oftables, representing different
brands, distributors, importers,and it was so full of sake.
(12:30):
Goodness, you could not believeit.
So.
John Puma (12:33):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (12:33):
Really highly recommended.
Um, and for this year there'sactually going to be, I'm privy
to a little bit of insiderinformation.
There's going to be, yes,there's going to be a sake
Samurai reunion and sake samuraitable at this year's Sake Day,
San Francisco.
John Puma (12:51):
how are you gonna do this?
You gotta split your time, likewhat's going on?
Timothy Sullivan (12:55):
Yeah, so there's one table dedicated to
Sake Samurai and they will bepouring, I think every 45
minutes.
It's gonna change.
A couple samurai's are gonnacome in and pour certain sakes
and throughout the night you canmeet all the different Sake
samurai's from the years.
And uh, I'll be on one of thoseshifts when I'm not at the
(13:15):
Hakkaisan table.
John Puma (13:16):
Wonderful.
So yeah, if you can, if you arethere, you can meet Tim twice.
You meet him at two different,completely different tables.
Timothy Sullivan (13:26):
Yes.
And if you say you are a fan ofSake Revolution, you will get a
sticker.
John Puma (13:32):
Oh, is that it?
Timothy Sullivan (13:34):
so John, the next event is hitting very close
to home
John Puma (13:38):
Yeah.
Um, yeah, so the next event isOctober the first on Sake Day
itself on a Wednesday.
Um, and it is, uh, pardon,pardon the.
Strong self-promotion.
Here
Timothy Sullivan (13:55):
Shameless,
John Puma (13:56):
shameless self-promotion here, the
shameless self-promotion.
Here it is.
Sake Day.
Sake Revolution live.
And so it's gonna be me and it'sgonna be you, Tim.
And we're gonna be at BrooklynKura and we're gonna do, uh, a
live episode of the show.
On stage.
There's gonna be sake to drink.
There's gonna be.
(14:17):
Uh, you know, other, I'm surethere'll be other fun people to
hang out with there as well.
There always are.
And yeah, we're gonna do aspecial episode.
We're gonna have a guest, whichis gonna be a lot of fun.
So, uh, Tim, who's going to beour special guest
Timothy Sullivan (14:32):
We are going to have Byron Stithem, the owner
and Brewer from proper sake inNashville, Tennessee.
Byron is gonna fly up and joinus as our special guest, and
we're gonna be including, uh,two sakes from his brewery as
the tasting flight that everyattendee who comes to our live
(14:53):
recording is gonna be able totaste along with us at the
Brooklyn Kura tap room.
So it's gonna be fantastic.
Now we have to mention we didthis last year with, Shinobu
Kato and Brandon Doughan fromKato Sake Works and Brooklyn
Kura.
So we're continuing on with thetheme of having a US brewer in
the house with us.
(15:14):
And I don't know about you,John, but when we did our live
recording last year for SakeDay, I had an absolute blast.
Like it was so much fun.
It was so much fun.
John Puma (15:24):
it was, I had a great time also.
It was just, Such a, you know,just blast is the right word.
Yeah, it was such a fun time andI was, I think I had to like get
on a flight the next day too.
So I was very nervous aboutmaking sure that everything was
in order and all that.
So I'm really looking forward tobeing able to enjoy it a little
bit more and have a little bit,you know, a little more
relaxation on it.
(15:44):
Very excited though.
It's gonna be such a, a great,uh, event.
Timothy Sullivan (15:48):
So if you are in the New York City area, and
we are the only event I foundthat's actually happening on
sake day, proper sake, October1st.
If you're in the New York Cityarea, please join us at the
Brooklyn Kura Tap room.
Tickets are available atbrooklynkura.com and also on
Eventbrite.
And as always, for all theseevents, just visit our show
notes to get the link directlyto tickets and.
(16:12):
This is an affordable event too.
It's only$15.
That includes, uh, entrance tothe live recording, uh, tasting
flight of two sakes.
There will be other sakesavailable for purchase along
with snacks, but it's a greataffordable price to come in and
be with some fellow sake nerdsfor sake day.
John Puma (16:31):
Yeah, I hope to, uh, you can get over there and join
us.
I be a lot of fun.
So Tim, what's after that?
Timothy Sullivan (16:38):
Okay.
After that, we have another.
New York City Sake event.
This is World Sake Day, New YorkCity 2025, and it is on Friday,
October 3rd from five to 9:00 PMat the W Loft Rooftop in
Brooklyn.
Now, have you been to this eventbefore?
They've had it for a few yearsnow.
John Puma (16:56):
No.
So last year, as mentioned, Iwas going outta the country
right after our event.
So I missed everything else thatwent on that weekend, which, uh,
very sad about.
It was nice to go on vacation,so I'm not complaining too
loudly.
This does look like a lot offun, though.
I've never, have you ever beento the W Loft?
In Brooklyn.
Timothy Sullivan (17:13):
No, I have not.
But I do have some details aboutthis event.
Uh, the admission is$65 and thatwill get you 15 tasting tickets.
And then, uh, they say they'regoing to have 35 Japanese and US
sake breweries represented.
John Puma (17:33):
Okay.
Timothy Sullivan (17:34):
Um.
And the tickets will beavailable on Eventbrite.
And again, see our show notesfor more details.
so moving on.
That's October.
which is the Friday, and movingto the Saturdays.
So this is that, valuableweekend, right after
John Puma (17:51):
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan (17:52):
day when a lot of events happen.
John Puma (17:54):
Yes, yes.
Saturday we've got, Denver'sQueen City Sake Festival for
those in the, uh, in the Denverarea or would, or those who
would like to be in the Denver,Colorado area, uh, this is an
event for you.
Timothy Sullivan (18:07):
And this is gonna be Saturday, October 4th
from one to 4:00 PM MountainTime.
John Puma (18:12):
Ooh.
Afternoon.
It's a little day drinking goingon.
Alright.
Timothy Sullivan (18:17):
Now, did you know Denver was known as Queen
City?
John Puma (18:20):
No, I thought that was like Charlotte.
Timothy Sullivan (18:23):
I don't know.
They say, they say it's QueenCity, so I did not know that.
Um, this is an event thatfeatures over 100 sakes
John Puma (18:33):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (18:33):
and they have a few different tiers.
They have a VIP early accessticket and they also have a
general admission ticket.
And it looks like it comes witha free, locally handmade.
Sake cup as part of youradmission and I have a video of
this event as well you can checkout on our show notes and it
(18:54):
looks like a whole lot of fun.
This is held at a place calledFinn's Manor in Denver, and it
is gonna be a fun afternoon ofhashtag day drinking.
John Puma (19:06):
Uh, yeah, I, I've actually never been, not only
have I not been to, uh, thisevent, I've actually never been
to Denver.
Don't, uh, don't get out much.
Go to Japan a lot.
That's about it.
Timothy Sullivan (19:16):
Yeah, well on Saturday, October 4th, there's
this event in Denver, but thereis competition on the East
coast.
Uh,
John Puma (19:25):
what else is there?
Timothy Sullivan (19:26):
the other event happening on Saturday,
October 4th is Sake Day East.
John Puma (19:32):
Ooh, I've heard of this one.
Timothy Sullivan (19:34):
Yes.
So it's called Sake Day East.
This is New England's largestSake Day celebration.
Uh, they've been doing this forseveral years.
Have you been to Sake Day East,John Puma?
John Puma (19:45):
no.
I, like I said, I don't get outmuch.
Timothy Sullivan (19:50):
Well, I've been to Sake Day East several
years, and it is very fun.
John Puma (19:56):
Mm-hmm.
Timothy Sullivan (19:57):
this is an interesting event.
They do the tasting event, whichis your standard walk around
tasting.
Uh, but they have a pre-eventguided seminars.
So they're doing a littleeducation piece that starts at
like three to 5:00 PM
John Puma (20:14):
Oh, okay.,
Timothy Sullivan (20:15):
for an additional fee, you can come
early and do a guided tastingwith several sake experts that
will be there.
We have Todd Bellamy doing one.
There's a representative fromHeiwa Shuzo is gonna be there.
Our friend Josh from Joto Sakeis gonna be there.
(20:35):
And so they have these,pre-event seminars that they do,
which is really fun.
And then the main event kicksoff, either at five or six
o'clock if you want, earlyadmission or not.
So there's a lot of options, alot of education, a lot of
tasting you can do.
Uh, this is a really rich event.
(20:56):
Lots to, lots to check out here.
John Puma (20:58):
Nice, nice.
Being, uh, being on the EastCoast is something that maybe I
should consider.
It's only an Amtrak away.
Timothy Sullivan (21:04):
That's right.
Yeah.
Fantastic.
So it's a great event.
I've really enjoyed it, uh, thepast years that, that I've been
able to go there.
And I know that, Brooklyn Kurawill be represented along with a
whole bunch of otherdistributors.
I, the one year that I went,they had a, a cheese purveyor
there who did these little bentoboxes of cheese and you could
(21:25):
buy those with your sake andlike nibble on the cheese and
walk around.
It was great.
I loved it.
John Puma (21:31):
Nice.
Well, if, um, you're on the EastCoast and going up to Boston is
a little out of the way for you,perhaps you'll enjoy going down
to DC because on Sunday, October5th there is the DC Sake Co
Kanpai to Sake Day in DC That's
Timothy Sullivan (21:50):
Where, where is it?
John Puma (21:51):
it's, I think it's in dc Uh, and I think that you're
doing Kanpai-ing and you'rehaving sake in dc.
this is uh, run by DC Sake Co'cause their name's right in the
front and we've had Reiko fromthere on the show before.
And, uh, so she's a friend ofthe show
Timothy Sullivan (22:06):
Yeah, so the unique thing about this DC Sake
co event, it's that it's gonnabe held at a restaurant.
They're doing this incollaboration with a restaurant
in DC called Love Makoto, whichis a fabulous restaurant.
So I think they have the abilityto do these seated luncheons as
a, first step, and then they dogeneral admission later in the
(22:28):
day.
So this is, this is anafternoon.
Day drinking event, which again,two thumbs up, we wholeheartedly
approve.
It allows you to go on and enjoythe rest of your night and, uh,
but this, this is justfantastic.
John Puma (22:42):
Yeah.
Let's say you are on the EastCoast, um, but you know, DC's
kind of far and Boston's kind offar, uh, and you happen to be in
New York on Sunday, uh, Octoberthe fifth.
Well, we've got you covered.
There's an event in New York forthat as well.
Uh, Tim, what do we have?
Timothy Sullivan (22:59):
Yeah, so this is another little bit of
shameless self-promotion.
You can't deny us that, uh,Brooklyn Kura is gonna be doing
its own celebration for Sake Dayon Sunday, October 5th, and
that's going to be in theBrooklyn Kura tap room.
Uh, we're gonna be inviting anumber of distributors to come
and, uh, tickets will beavailable on BrooklynKura.com
(23:22):
and also on Eventbrite.
And this will be a really funwalk around tasting.
We're going to have some.
Guest chefs come in and dopop-up food.
We're going to have a DJ playingmusic.
We're going to have a, uh,enhanced interactive brewery
tour we go around the breweryand you're gonna be able to
(23:45):
taste steamed sake rice by thesteamer.
You can drink Moromi in thefermentation room.
You can.
Do a whole lot of tasting ofKoji by the Koji room.
And you can also taste some kasuby our Yabuta sake press.
So as we walk through thebrewery, you get to nibble on
all the stages of the sakebrewing process.
(24:06):
And it's really fun.
We don't do this very often, butfor special events like Sake
Day, we're gonna do theseinteractive brewery tours.
And uh, Brandon is also gonnaget out his Shizuku drip as
well.
John Puma (24:19):
Oh, nice.
Those are always fun.
He like does those for specialoccasions too.
Yeah.
Cool.
Timothy Sullivan (24:25):
Yeah.
So if you can come out toBrooklyn Kura on Sunday, October
5th from uh, five to 9:00 PMwe'd love to see you.
It'll be a great event with, somany types of sake.
All our importer and distributorfriends will be there.
John Puma (24:38):
Nice.
Nice.
Sounds good.
uh, so yeah, we, we've got ournext event here.
So we're moving past, past sakeday, weekend, and moving into
Friday, October the 10th.
And this is, Sake-Con, which Ilove the name sake, Con sake
day, NYC 2025.
(24:58):
And, um, Tim, tell us all aboutsake.
con.
Timothy Sullivan (25:02):
This is gonna be on Friday, October 10th from
five to 10:00 PM Eastern.
And this is gonna be at an eventspace in Manhattan.
So if you're in the city's andyou want to go to, evening time
Sake event and you kind of missall the stuff around the first,
uh, this is a great event thatwill follow up a little bit
later.
(25:23):
That there are just like manyother events, there are some
early bird options to get inearly.
A general admission prices rangefrom.
$35 to$45.
John Puma (25:37):
Well that's interesting.
Cool.
Um.
Timothy Sullivan (25:40):
So that, uh, if you want to look up the Sake
con, sake Day, New York City2025, that's on Eventbrite.
Or you can also visit sakerevolution.com.
So John, that is our calendar.
I think that Sake Day 2025 isprobably the most robust
offering of events that I'veever seen.
(26:02):
What do you think?
John Puma (26:03):
Yeah, I think that, and I think that every year we
get a little bit more, which Ilove.
I think it's great to have, tohave options, to have variety,
uh, and, and, you know.
America's a damn big place.
And so having events all overthe country, um, it's good for
people who are just notnecessarily just in New York or
California.
(26:23):
I'm talking to you Denver.
I'm talking to you Boston, andI'm talking to you DC I think
it's really awesome that, thatwe've got these things going on
outside the big city.
so, so where are you gonna be?
Timothy Sullivan (26:33):
Alright, so I'm definitely gonna be at Sake
Day San Francisco and it goeswithout saying that I'm gonna be
at the live recording of SakeRevolution on the first.
Yes, I'll be there and then I'mgonna be at Sake Day, Brooklyn
Kura on the fifth on thatSunday.
(26:54):
And those are the ones I'mguaranteed to be at for sure.
John Puma (26:58):
Cool.
Timothy Sullivan (26:59):
What about you?
John Puma (27:00):
Well, unfortunately, I'll definitely not be in San
Francisco, but I I willabsolutely be at Brooklyn Kura
for our live show.
And I, I honestly haven'tdecided if I'm gonna do part of
me wants to go up to Boston.
I, I, I haven't gone to Bostonin like 15 years and it seems
like it would be a fun thing,um, and.
So maybe that, maybe I'll dothe, you know, sake con thing.
(27:24):
Maybe I'll do the Sake DayBrooklyn Kura if I don't go to
Boston.
'cause I don't think I could doboth, so, you know, I'll figure
it out.
I'm still, for me, my, in mymind is kind of early.
I'm gonna try and suss out whatI, what I'm feeling and, and how
I want to do this.
But, you know, I'm excited toget out there and go to some fun
places and, and sip sake withfolks.
I think it's gonna be a goodtime.
Timothy Sullivan (27:45):
Yeah, and that's why I wanted to do this
episode a little bit in advanceso that we could be like Paul
Revere and get the word outthere and let all the sake
lovers know.
Whe when the events arehappening, if people do wanna
travel, it's in my book.
It's like totally worth it.
Like if you want to go toBoston, it's a great city to
(28:05):
visit for a, a weekend or a longweekend.
And if, if sake Day East is youranchor for, for that visit,
like, that's great.
That's a wonderful thing to dofor a getaway.
And if you see John or myselfout at a Sake Day event, please
say hello as a listener and youtwo can get a free sticker.
John Puma (28:25):
So now I have promising stickers.
Okay, got it.
Timothy Sullivan (28:27):
too.
Yes.
John Puma (28:29):
I'm on it.
Timothy Sullivan (28:30):
All right, so jp, let's check in with our
sakes.
We've had our Brooklyn Kuras inthe glass for a little bit,
John Puma (28:38):
I didn't finish my glass at all, Tim.
That's right.
Timothy Sullivan (28:42):
so you're not repouring right now.
John Puma (28:44):
I am totally not repouring right that, that sound
was, uh, stirring vigorously.
Uh
Timothy Sullivan (28:51):
All right.
John Puma (28:52):
hmm.
Now, now I will have to say thatmy sake, despite having been in
a bottle that's been sitting onmy, desk for the past 40 minutes
or so.
Probably a lot cooler than itusually is because you bought me
a wonderful birthday gift.
Timothy Sullivan (29:06):
Happy birthday
John Puma (29:08):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So you got me this, Husky justhusky, this husky, bottle
cooler.
And I just, it's a metal devicethat you wrap around your bottle
and it keeps it nice and cold,even when you're doing a long
podcast with, with your friendTim.
Timothy Sullivan (29:23):
Yeah, it's like a stainless steel
insulating sleeve that kind ofscrews over the bottle and the
neck of the bottle sticks outthe top and it keeps your sake
chilled at the table for up tofour hours.
And I thought, who better?
To have this then my podcastbuddy John Puma.
So happy birthday.
John Puma (29:40):
having just poured and sipped a little bit more,
I'll tell you it keeps it coolfor at least 40 minutes.
Timothy Sullivan (29:44):
Alright, good.
John Puma (29:47):
So far, so good.
Timothy Sullivan (29:49):
40 minutes and counting.
John Puma (29:50):
40 Madison County.
How is your NAMA dealing with
Timothy Sullivan (29:53):
Hmm.
Well I ha I do not have, that,cooler so my sake in the glass
has warmed up just a little bitand.
As you would expect the warmertemperature, just a few degrees
warmer.
It brings out a little more ofthe nuttiness, and rosiness in
this sake, brings out the savorynotes, but still totally
(30:14):
pleasant, really enjoyable, andjust not as, uh, crisp as
before, but a little more savorythat comes through as the sake
gets closer and closer to roomtemp.
And I'm loving it.
I, I just think this is a greatsake.
John Puma (30:29):
Glad.
So Tim, I think it's time for usto wrap up, let's tell the good
people at home what's going on.
Timothy Sullivan (30:38):
Yeah.
Well.
We do hope that all of youlistening enjoyed this episode
and we do hope you can make itout to support Sake Day wherever
you are in the country.
I want to thank you all so muchfor tuning in.
We really do hope that you'reenjoying Sake Revolution.
Now if you'd like to show yoursupport for our show, uh, the
best way to support us is tojoin our Patreon.
(31:01):
You can visitPatreon.com/sakerevolution to
learn about different ways toshow us your support.
I don't wanna forget to send aspecial hello and thank you to
all our existing patrons.
We love to see you all on ourmonthly happy hour that we do
live on Zoom.
And if you'd like to join thehappy hour and chat with us
yourself, uh, join us onPatreon.
(31:22):
We'd love to have you.
John Puma (31:24):
And if you would like to check us out over on social
media, we Are Sake Revolution orSake Revolution Pod on just
about every platform out there.
No TikTok yet.
Still after all these years,Tim, we've talked about that.
It still still hasn't occurred,but maybe one of these days
we'll get there.
And if you want to, uh, reachout to us about mistakes we
(31:44):
might've made, if we missed asake event that's going on for
Sake Day, please reach out to usand you can do that at
feedback@sakerevolution.com orone of those aforementioned
social media outlets.
okay, everybody, please makeyour Sake Day 2025 plans.
Remember to keep drinking sakeand.
(32:08):
Kanpai
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