Episode 177 Show Notes
Episode 177. If we think about sake, usually an image of a glass bottle pops to mind. But if we scratch the surface and investigate a bit more the way that sake is packaged and shipped, there is a world of variety out there you may not have considered! This leads us to one of our series we are calling “Funky Packaging”… think of it as sake beyond the glass bottle. Cups, bags, paks, and today’s packaging – the Joto One Cup – a special paper cup that makes sake accessible on the go. Listen in as we explore another variation of funky packaging with a graffiti twist. #SakeRevolution
Skip to: 00:19 Show Opening
Welcome to the show from John and Timothy
Skip to: 01:26 Funky Packaging: Joto One Cup
From the Importer:
This sake is made by Marumoto Brewery, in Okayama Prefecture. Brewmaster and president, Niichiro Marumoto, is known for his creative approach to sake making; from growing his own sake rice right outside the brewery to pioneering the science of Sparkling Sake. The Joto One cup is another example of Marumoto’s expertise in combining tradition and innovation in one delicious sake. This one-cup sake is the best selling one-cup sake in Okayama prefecture. Joto One-cup sake is packaged in an eye-catching single serve container designed by the Japanese graffiti artist, Shiro One. Joto One Cup shows old and new Japan in one.
Skip to: 06:23 About the Artist: Shiro One
Artist’s Bio for Shiro One:
“Shiro’s artwork is an exploration of classic New York urban history through the lens of an artist who reveres Hip Hop culture. Her artwork is a prime example of the fusion of Japanese aesthetics and old school New York graffiti art. Her character named “Mimi” is incredibly recognizable. Mimi has deeper meaning beyond the surface, she is emblematic of strength and femininity. A formative time for the artist was in her early 20’s. She worked as an RN in Japan, a time she faced her patients, and experienced the end of life while taking care of each one. Her practice as a nurse made her realize that every life is limited. This pungent realization inspired her to travel the world and create her murals as her “footprints”. In 2002, she moved to New York alone, and after living between Japan and New York, she obtained an US American artist visa in 2013, acquired an US artist green card in 2021, and is currently based in New York. Her motto is “Love life and live it to the max. We exists only RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE!” She has traveled and created murals in 19 countries on 5 continents and more to come. As the artist evolves her creative practices, which include fashion, graphic design and fine arts including murals for global communities, she will continue to build her artistic career and further her legacy.”
– Bio from Shiro One website
About Grafitti Artist Shiro One
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shiro_one/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShiroBJ46/#
Website: https://shiro1.com/
Skip to: 10:32 Sake Tasting: Joto One Cup Sake
Joto One Cup Sake
Brewery: Marumoto Shuzo
Prefecture: Okayama
ACIDITY: 1.3
ABV: 15%
SEMAIBUAI: 70%
NIHONSHUDO: -2
RICE: Akebono & Yamada Nishiki Rice
YEAST: #1401
PRESSING: Yabuta
PASTEURIZATION: Twice
YEAST STARTER METHOD: Ko-on-toka
Skip to: 27:45 Show Closing
This is it! Join us next time for another episode of Sake Revolution!
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Episode 177 Transcript
Description
Transcript
John Puma: 0:22
Hello everybody and welcome to Sake Revolution. This is America’s First Sake Podcast I’m your host John Puma from the Sake Notes, also the administrator over at the Internet Sake Discord and Reddit’s r slash sake community.
Timothy Sullivan: 0:37
And I’m your host, Timothy, Sullivan. I’m a sake samurai. I’m the director of Education at the Sake Studies Center, as well as the founder of the urban Sake website. And every week, John and I will be here tasting and chatting about all things sake, and doing our best to make it fun and easy to understand. Hello, John. I’m
John Puma: 0:55
Timothy, good to see you. How are you today?
Timothy Sullivan: 0:57
doing good. Excited to be back in the studio recording again?
John Puma: 1:03
The studio, huh? Yes, yes, the studio, the virtual studio, the Zoom studio. But we’re here, we’re here, and we have in front of us today bit of sake, that has a bit of a funky package.
Timothy Sullivan: 1:19
Yes, it’s time to get funky again. I can’t believe it but it’s just, It’s just you and me in the
John Puma: 1:24
can’t believe your puns.
Timothy Sullivan: 1:26
It’s just you and me in the studio today. we’re going to be looking at some funky packaging and I think with all humility, John, I think this funkiest we’ve come across. So I’m very excited.
John Puma: 1:39
Yeah, this one is, been around for a little bit and I think people might be a little familiar. Uh, I know that I’ve certainly had it before. Tim, have you had this one
Timothy Sullivan: 1:47
I have had it before, but I’m excited to try it again. it’s, been, it’s. been a good, It’s been a minute. since I’ve tried this sake.
John Puma: 1:53
So, uh, we’re gonna pull back veil here and tell everybody what we’re drinking and talking about. And that is the Joto one cup sake cup and and you might oh, it’s a one cup. That’s that is not funky but no with this one cup is Unusual and especially united States is is funky and Tim. Why is that?
Timothy Sullivan: 2:16
Well, it is a paper one cup, so it feels kind of like a Dixie cup, doesn’t it? Like, it’s like a wax, wax coated paper cup
John Puma: 2:31
Yeah,
Timothy Sullivan: 2:32
the size, let’s check. The size is 200 milliliters,
John Puma: 2:36
mm hmm
Timothy Sullivan: 2:37
so a little
John Puma: 2:37
is a little unusual,
Timothy Sullivan: 2:39
bit more than one go.
John Puma: 2:41
Yeah, for people at home, the one cup is typically either, like, glass or, um, is it like aluminum, Tim? It’s aluminum? Metal? So, yeah, so aluminum or glass, and so having something that is literally paper, and it does, Tim, you nailed it with the dixie cup, it does look like it’s a big Dixie
Timothy Sullivan: 3:06
Yeah. so when you have a regular glass, one cup, like you said, there’s usually that foil topping that you peel off like a pringles can. I remember talking about that on the show. uh, this has a plastic lid that comes off and then there’s a foil, very thin foil cover.
John Puma: 3:27
So the foil, the foil does make an appearance. It just, uh, it’s actually a much thinner
Timothy Sullivan: 3:31
Very thin. Yeah. yeah.
John Puma: 3:33
It’s, It’s, almost like a Capri Sun kind of thing. It’s like, you could probably poke a hole in this with a straw if you wanted
Timothy Sullivan: 3:38
You could definitely poke a hole in that. And, but you know, John, if it was just a paper, one cup, that would be funky, but Joto has done something to take this to another level. We got to talk about the design on this paper cup.
John Puma: 3:55
It is, it is one of the more interesting looking sake labels, and it’s, so it’s interesting because, we’ve talked about Joto before, we’ve had, we’ve had people on the show from Joto before, and, you know, we’ve talked about how they do some white labeling, and this fits into that, this is a white labeled, uh, a white labeled sake, and Tim, can you remind people at home what white labeling is exactly?
Timothy Sullivan: 4:16
Sure, that’s when a company buys product from a brewery, and then they rebrand it, relabel it, and sell it under a different brand. So in the, in the case of this Joto one cup, Joto is very transparent and they purchase sake from, uh, Marumoto Shuzo, they’re, the makers of the brand Chikuren, which Joto has sold in the States for a long time. So they buy this sake from Marumoto Shuzo out of Okayama and they sell it as Joto brand. So that’s white labeling and it’s, it’s pretty common and they got to design their own label because of that. And they’ve gone for something super funky.
John Puma: 5:03
Yeah. And they, you know, again, they, they, they do this often with, with white labeling and usually they’re, bottled sake it’s the packaging is usually it’s a little bit more, uh, restrained this one, they just went for it And it’s, it’s just, it’s almost like graffiti art. Right, Tim?
Timothy Sullivan: 5:18
it’s not like graffiti art, it is graffiti art.
John Puma: 5:21
well then.
Timothy Sullivan: 5:24
This is a graffiti design. it says Joto One Cup Sake. And there are lots of motifs in here. Maybe we can describe a bit for our listeners. Of course, you can visit sakerevolution. com and you can look up this funky packaging episode and look at a picture of this label, which we will put there for you to see. We have the great wave of Kamakura at the bottom, probably one of the most famous symbols of Japan. We’ve got Mount Fuji in the clouds. We’ve got rice. Uh, there’s a bird and there’s a fish.
John Puma: 6:01
is a bird and a fish, and in the background implies the old, sun raised japanese flag.
Timothy Sullivan: 6:07
And in the upper left corner is a, drawing of a brewery worker with a headband on straining to stir the moromi. So
John Puma: 6:18
he looks like he’s, Hey, he’s busy. He’s having a, a rough day. He looks tired.
Timothy Sullivan: 6:22
Yeah, and he also makes an appearance on the foil cover.
John Puma: 6:27
repeated appearances on the foil cover.
Timothy Sullivan: 6:29
Yeah.
John Puma: 6:30
with the Joto logo.
Timothy Sullivan: 6:32
Absolutely. So, I researched a little bit where this label came from, and Joto actually partnered with a New York City based Japanese graffiti artist named Shiro One, and she is a well established graffiti artist who has a pretty interesting history. She’s originally from japan and she started her career out as a nurse. So she, yes, so she worked in a, in a
John Puma: 7:04
that’s quite the pivot.
Timothy Sullivan: 7:05
I know! Yeah, so she worked as a nurse for many years and decided to change career paths and was really interested in, I think it was in dancing originally. And then she became attracted to graffiti art and moved to New York on her own without knowing anybody and began doing murals. So, she’s really well known for her outdoor murals and she’s created a character named Mimi who appears in a lot of her murals and it’s kind of a symbol of female empowerment and a way of expressing her desire for what she wants to achieve and, uh, They’re really, really wonderful. So if you would like to. If you want to. see the work of Shiro One, the Japanese graffiti artist who made this label, please check our show notes and we’ll link to all of her Instagram and website so you can check out her work. And she’s still active in New York and actually recently launched a fashion collab. So now she’s doing graffiti art, but also fashion and she’s a super, super interesting person and just really really inspiring.
John Puma: 8:26
That’s great. That’s awesome. So now, uh, one thing I’ve noticed about this, before we go too much more in depth, is that they don’t they don’t say anything about, um, the grade of this sake. It doesn’t say anything about Junmai, or Junmai Ginjo, or anything like that. So, the thing that pops into my head is, oh, wait a minute. This just might be Futsushu.
Timothy Sullivan: 8:48
Yes, john, what is futsushu for our listeners at home
John Puma: 8:52
It is Hmm, I guess a derogatory way to say it would be it Is table sake.
Timothy Sullivan: 8:58
Well
John Puma: 8:59
It’s, you know, in all curiosities, like, would you consider somebody saying, like, table sake about Futsushu? Would that be Do you think that would be derogatory?
Timothy Sullivan: 9:06
I do not think that’s derogatory at all. My way to define it, honestly, is not non premium sake. So, you kind of draw that delineation between what qualifies for the premium classifications, and if for any reason you don’t qualify, then you fall into the futsushu category. But your sake can be amazing. It could be some other reason. that you’re not in a premium category. So, uh, I would say it’s basically defined as non premium, but it’s a big catch all term and there’s a lot of amazing futsushu out there. There’s some stuff that’s not the, best, but another colloquial way to describe it is, like you said, is table sake.
John Puma: 9:49
Yeah, yeah, and that’s the, uh When you asked me, I was like, I wanted to say, I was thinking like, Oh, either non premium or table sake, like, which does table sake, sound bad? And that’s why, that’s why I asked. And I thought it was a good, a good conversation to have. Cause it was, I think people at home might wonder if like the term table sake. is, Uh, is, is acceptable. Apparently it is
Timothy Sullivan: 10:09
I think I think so. Everyone has to make that decision for themselves, but I think I think it’s very acceptable now, Uh, let’s um, let’s Let the people know what the stats are because we have from the joto website We know what the stats are for this sake. So john, why don’t you tell them what we’re dealing with here? Well,
John Puma: 10:32
Uh, so Tim, as you mentioned earlier, this is, uh, the Joto One cup. Uh, it is from Marumoto Shuzo over in, in Okayama Prefecture this brewery, is well known, for making the rin brand of sake. this particular one though, this, uh, futsushu, is using, ake bono rice and Yamadanishiki. So this isn’t table rice in their table sake. They’re using some, some heavy hitters here and, uh, they’re milling them down to, 70% of their original size. the sake. meter value, that measure of dry to sweet, is minus two, the yeast, we actually have yeast information for this, uh, is, uh, 1401. the acidity is, uh, 1. 3, and Tim, would you consider 1. 3? That’s like kind of right, right in the, right in the average, right? Not, not too high, not too low? Or am I off on
Timothy Sullivan: 11:25
I consider most acidity between 1. 5 is medium. And so anything between 1.0-1.5, I consider on the lighter side of acidity.
John Puma: 11:37
Okay, so it’s a little bit lighter than, uh, and, uh, the ABV is 15%, which is sounds great for, for a cup of sake, right?
Timothy Sullivan: 11:47
Yeah. Now this is a futsushu. So one thing We haven’t talked about is. If this is alcohol added or pure rice, Junmai style, and because they are omitting any reference to the word Junmai here, I think It’s safe to assume that this is an Aruten or alcohol added style.
John Puma: 12:07
Probably.
Timothy Sullivan: 12:08
Yes, probably. Probably yes.
John Puma: 12:12
We have no way of knowing for sure, but the, the good money is on, is on, aruten, right?
Timothy Sullivan: 12:17
For sure. Yeah. And just one note before we crack this puppy open and drink it. This cup is also sold in Japan as addition to being sold here, and this actually is the best selling one cup in Okayama prefecture.
John Puma: 12:34
Really. That’s awesome.
Timothy Sullivan: 12:36
So the prefecture where Chiku and the, makers of this cup are located, this is the best selling one cup in the whole prefecture. So, uh, it, it has captured the local market for sure.
John Puma: 12:49
That’s great. That’s really cool. Uh, I, yeah, it’s, I, I don’t, I, I wouldn’t know what it would look like in Japan, you know, I don’t know what the, what the cup would, uh, would appear to be. So, i, I’m gonna to keep my eyes open next time over there and, uh, if I ever go to pre fixture, definitely something I’m gonna be looking for because I think it would be fun to, I think it’d be fun to snag the the original version
Timothy Sullivan: 13:09
Mm. All right. Well, you ready to get tasting?
John Puma: 13:15
am ready to get tasting. The fun part about this is that we don’t need to pour anything into any glasses. We can just drink this straight out of the cup
Timothy Sullivan: 13:22
All the time I’m going to save washing my wine glasses after this. All right.
John Puma: 13:28
Yes, but unfortunately, you’re also not going to get the ASMR pour moment that we usually get. But,
Timothy Sullivan: 13:35
we will get the
John Puma: 13:37
the pull test.
Timothy Sullivan: 13:39
pull tab. So let’s see if we can capture this without spilling. Okay. I’ve got mine open. Ooh.
John Puma: 13:46
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan: 13:47
Oh, wow. is that an optical illusion or is it It’s shiny on the inside.
John Puma: 13:54
It is shiny on the inside, tim, I think. So what I think is going on is probably a coating similar to the wax on the outside to protect the paper from, you know, falling apart. I assume.
Timothy Sullivan: 14:06
it, looks like there’s a firm inner plastic lining inside the cup, and it kind of gives it a silvery shimmer. it’s, really, really nice, actually. I like it. Hmm.
John Puma: 14:18
you know, it does make it look like you’re drinking something a little special.
Timothy Sullivan: 14:21
All right. let’s give it a smell. Oh. Hmm.
John Puma: 14:27
You got that, uh, Steamed rice is where I’m at. Steamed, a little sweet rice, steamed and a little sweet. It’s kind of like, I’m beginning to realize that when we have like futsushus on the show or, or you’re kind of, um, you’re, you’re lesser milled, um, Junmai or Honjozo, you often get that. And It’s like kind of like classic um, for that style. It’s like a classic aroma for that style.
Timothy Sullivan: 14:55
That’s a hundred percent correct. Yeah. Yeah. There’s a little bit of that steamed rice as you correctly identified. There’s also a hint of ethanol too. There’s a little hint of alcohol aroma, which you can expect with Futsushu, just a touch, um, which is totally on, on
John Puma: 15:17
On brand
Timothy Sullivan: 15:18
for Futsushu.
John Puma: 15:20
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Timothy Sullivan: 15:21
but this is,, really convenient. Now the little plastic cover can be put back on if you don’t finish it all and it can be stored in the fridge. So, uh, because you have the feel peel off foil, it doesn’t mean you’re stuck drinking the whole thing in one go if you don’t want to. So there is that outer plastic lid. It looks like a mini iced coffee lid. It’s like a clear plastic.
John Puma: 15:46
Yeah. I wouldn’t necessarily, um, travel with this after you’ve opened it and put the lid. on. It’s not quite ready.
Timothy Sullivan: 15:55
yeah, it’s, it would definitely leak if you shook it around.
John Puma: 15:59
Oh Yeah. absolutely.
Timothy Sullivan: 16:00
All right. Well, I’m ready to give this a taste. Here we go.
John Puma: 16:05
Sounds like a plan to me. Let’s do it. Hmm.
Timothy Sullivan: 16:10
Hmm.
John Puma: 16:12
That’s nice.
Timothy Sullivan: 16:13
Those rice notes definitely carry over. Now there’s a tasting note on the, side of this cup. I don’t know if you
John Puma: 16:23
There is,
Timothy Sullivan: 16:24
It says, bursting with hints of green grape and juicy watermelon.
John Puma: 16:32
far be it from me to debate the, distributor, but I I don’t I don’t know if I’m getting a whole lot of that from this. I’m enjoying it, but I don’t know. It’s a, to me, I just feel it’s so very, um, rice forward. And to me, that’s like the prevailing. flavor when I sip on this. Now that you’re looking for the green grape, perhaps, and the watermelon. are you finding it?
Timothy Sullivan: 17:00
I will say I’ve had other sakes that are more green grape watermelon. to my palate than this.
John Puma: 17:07
don’t know.
Timothy Sullivan: 17:08
But, uh, yeah, I agree with you. For me, there’s that classic rice forward taste. It’s a little bit heavier. This isn’t super light. It’s, it’s a little bit richer and full and, um, it does have that rice forward and a little bit richer taste. Now, this doesn’t have, you know, we’ve tasted some sakes we’ve called ricey, and it was kind of like a rice pudding lactic character, but this doesn’t have that.
John Puma: 17:43
I just, uh, experimented with putting the lid on. I would definitely not shake this up with the lid on. It’s very, uh, The lid is a little precarious. I’m glad it’s there! Um, but it’s a little, you know. That’s a little precarious.
Timothy Sullivan: 17:59
Yeah, so this, this has some boldness, and I just had a thought that, like many futsu shus, I think this would be really interesting if we warmed it up.
John Puma: 18:11
Maybe you’ll get some green grape watermelon when you do. I feel like rice comes out more when you warm it up. I do think so. Mine is cold. been recording for about 20 minutes, so it’s probably been out of the fridge for about half an hour. Uh, so it’s, it’s chilled, but not, not super cold. And I think it’s a great temperature for this. It’s like, it’s really doing a great job. It’s very sippable, very relaxing. I’m sure that it probably would, would do well with food as well. but I think you probably are absolutely right though, and that we should, um, consider in the future, warming this up a little bit and seeing what happens because, you know, I think you have a good point. this sort of thing tends to lend itself to, to being warmed hot! Mmm.
Timothy Sullivan: 18:59
Yeah. When you warm up a futsushu, often when you sip on it, you get that, I often describe it as like that hot toddy sensation where it just kind of warms you. the, the the alcohol notes come forward a little bit and it just kind of warms you from the inside out. Uh, that sensation, that is really nice in the winter time. and, I also think that, warming it brings out more umami when, now this rice is polished to 70 percent remaining, And when you don’t polish down to really small sizes, you have more of the proteins on the rice grain that make it into the sake, and that gives you more umami and savoriness. When you warm up the sake, I feel it brings out those savory notes even more. The lighter fruity floral notes tend to dissipate more quickly when you warm a sake and those more rice-y earthy umami notes remain and get highlighted when you warm a sake. So I find that if, if, I’m, I would imagine if we warmed this up, we would probably get a little more umami and that warming hot toddy feeling from the sake, which can be very nice in the winter
John Puma: 20:11
Mm hmm. I have to say like whenever we do this funky packaging I think at least this is at least our second Futsushu And i’m always surprised because I think that like futsu shu gets a bad rap and uh, cause it’s all the world is not premium. And so people, I think include myself included, get ideas in their head about non premium sake. And, uh, yeah, I’m like, I’m like, no, this is like, non premium sake is not a, not a dirty word. Table sake is not a pejorative term, apparently,
Timothy Sullivan: 20:41
according to some.
John Puma: 20:42
according to some yes. But Yeah, I’m, I’m really enjoying this.
Timothy Sullivan: 20:47
yeah, it’s really, really interesting. we should also talk about the sustainability of this cup too.
John Puma: 20:54
Hmm.
Timothy Sullivan: 20:55
Now the, when you
John Puma: 20:57
What do we know about the sustainability of
Timothy Sullivan: 20:59
well, glass, glass, and. Aluminum are also recyclable and sustainable in their own way. But one thing that comes across with this is how portable and how light it is. Like, this is incredibly light. It would be, uh, easy to recycle, I imagine, and transportation costs are a big part of the ecological burden of any goods that have to be shipped. And if you’ve ever carried a case of sake through Haneda Airport, you know how heavy those bottles can be,
John Puma: 21:35
I can’t say I have Tim.
Timothy Sullivan: 21:40
Yeah, so
John Puma: 21:41
I’m guessing you have
Timothy Sullivan: 21:42
I have glass, glass bottles are heavy. So when I picked this up, I was like, Oh, this is, you know, they put just enough reinforcement inside the paper to like make it, uh, solid and it doesn’t feel like it’s going to collapse if you give it a little squeeze, but it, it seems like this would be easy to recycle light to transport and. I just had a little spill
John Puma: 22:10
Oh, no.
Timothy Sullivan: 22:11
with my lid on.
John Puma: 22:12
I was about to say, were you testing the boundaries of the lid? Do we now know what, what you can and cannot do?
Timothy Sullivan: 22:18
you cannot tilt it to the side.
John Puma: 22:21
Oh, no.
Timothy Sullivan: 22:22
Yeah. So I, I picked this up and I think it’s, it’s got a nice light feel to it, but would not be that heavy to transport. Um,
John Puma: 22:34
We did our funky packaging with the, the Lucky Dog sake, which was also a paper that had a coating on it. Um, and as you pointed out about this, this feels more sturdy than that to me. Like, this is like, you know, has more, definitely has more structural integrity to it. And I don’t know if it’s because of the shape of it being, you know, a Almost a cone. And or if it’s just that they just made it, you know, they gave it extra layers because if I recall correctly from lucky Dog, they were they layered it up to to get there and here it’s a little bit more a little bit more I mean, it’s definitely definitely feels more sturdy.
Timothy Sullivan: 23:19
I think the inner lining, the plastic that is on the inside of the cup is pretty thick, and I think that gives it the stability. When we’re done enjoying our sake, we’ll have to rip this cup apart and find out what’s on the
John Puma: 23:33
And do a deep dive. Mm hmm. Mm
Timothy Sullivan: 23:36
No, I think, I think the plastic inner lining of the cup, uh, keeps it rigid, and probably, You know, protects the sake from, uh, exposure to light. Cause it’s solid. The design is solid on the outside. The plastic is clear on the inside and then you got the foil on the top. So, um, that definitely helps keep it protected, but yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s that plastic lining on the inside.
John Puma: 24:09
Yeah, probably, you’re probably right about that. It’s interesting though, if you, if you hold up the, uh, if you hold up the cup, like, with a light source, um, on the outside and you look on the, inside, you can see through it. Uh, and you will see the, the graffiti art right there. Which is really, uh, surprising and interesting, because we talked about how, how sturdy it feels because of that lining on the inside. That lining on the inside is almost transparent.
Timothy Sullivan: 24:34
hmm.
John Puma: 24:35
Really cool. Like this is a, this is a well made cup. I’m a fan. And, um, and I think The point you were trying to make earlier is that, you know, paper is light, paper is recyclable. So it’s nice. It’s easy to deal with.
Timothy Sullivan: 24:50
and, when the, when the foil top is still intact, you can just throw these in your bag And go on a picnic or something like that, which is the same thing we said for the, the lucky dog cup. It’s like a very mobile way of getting around. When you throw your sake bottles in your bag, you have to like be really careful with them, but these paper cups are pretty good for on the go sake sipping. I
John Puma: 25:20
Yeah. To me, it’s like, this is sort of a little bit of a classic. do you remember when you first had this?
Timothy Sullivan: 25:25
think, it’s been around since like 2016 or so.
John Puma: 25:29
Yeah. I think, I think at least, for me, I was in, like a bar arcade in Lexington, Kentucky. And they had, like they, they had like on the, chalkboard, like we were all at the beers, they had sake. I was like, Oh, they have sake. And it was like Joto cup. I was like, Oh, I know joto. I don’t know the, joto cup. What is that all about? And so I got it. And I was like, this is lovely! I’m able to just, like, walk around this arcade with this cup of sake. This is so, uh, convenient. yeah, it was a good time. it’s really nice to see sake in places you don’t expect to see sake. Like, that’s like a, always puts a smile on my face when I’m able to, to get some sake. In a, in a place that’s not a restaurant or, you know, specifically not a japanese restaurant. Like, it’s really nice to see sake in, in places like that. We should maybe, maybe, we need to do an episode one day about, you know, we call out places that do sake that are not stereotypical. That would be fun. I think that’s like something that should be celebrated and I think that’s like an awesome thing for, it’s a win for sake.
Timothy Sullivan: 26:31
You know, this, I think designs like the label that this has and the format this has makes that more possible. I think if You walked into the arcade with like a traditional seven 20 ML of sake with
John Puma: 26:45
like walking around the
Timothy Sullivan: 26:46
With a kanji label, it’s just not the format that’s going to fly there. So this is the, this funky packaging is thinking outside of the box and it makes a placement in a place like an arcade or something like that more possible. So that’s really a success in my book.
John Puma: 27:03
Yeah, totally, totally.
Timothy Sullivan: 27:04
Well, I think we’ve successfully funkified another episode with our funky
John Puma: 27:11
Funkified. Yes, we did.
Timothy Sullivan: 27:14
John, we, keep, we keep saying we’re going to run out of funky packaging, but it hasn’t happened yet.
John Puma: 27:20
I don’t know. I just keep coming up with more. I’m not complaining. I’m very pleased that we, uh, that we’re, we’re finding an endless stream of, uh, of funk.
Timothy Sullivan: 27:30
well, They keep, popping up. So as long as the funky packaging keeps showing up, we’ll keep reporting on it. Right, John?
John Puma: 27:38
Oh yes. We, when, when, funky packaging drops, look to sake. Revolution. We’re here for it.
Timothy Sullivan: 27:45
Alright, well John, it was great to taste with you and it was fun to taste something in such unique and stylish packaging. Really fun. Um, and, uh, I want to
John Puma: 27:57
And again, really damn tasty. This is really nice sake.
Timothy Sullivan: 28:01
Absolutely. I’m still looking for that watermelon, but,
John Puma: 28:06
The search for watermelon.
Timothy Sullivan: 28:09
but it is really enjoyable and, Uh, uh, something that we do have to play around with the temperature next time. Really fun. All right. Well, uh, great to taste with you, John, and Thanks to all our listeners. for tuning in today. We hope you enjoyed our show and a special hello and thank you to all of our supporters. If you, would like to join in support of Sake Revolution, the best way to do that is to join our community on Patreon. We’re a listener supported show and the support we receive from our patrons Allows us to host, edit, and produce this podcast if you’d like to join, visit Patreon.com/SakeRevolution.
John Puma: 28:51
always, always, but especially today, you need to visit the, uh, website, SakeRevolution.Com, so you can check out the show notes because again, we can, we can tell you about this sake cup all day, but you got take a look at this graffiti. It’s really nice. the art is, it is art. It is really good. Graffiti is art, by the way. and also when you, have time, take a moment and review our show. On your podcast platform of choice. So if you’re listening to us on Apple podcast that’s where you’re going to do it. Spotify, Charitable, all of those fun things. We really do appreciate the shout out. It does help the show. Without any further ado, please raise your wonderfully graffiti paper cups. Remember to keep drinking sake and Kampai!