Episode 83 Show Notes
Episode 83. We love a good sake interview and today we have a great one! We are joined by our friend Sam Barickman who has worked in just about every aspect of the sake industry. Sam has worked not only for a sake brewery but he has also introduced sake to the public as a sake sommelier in high end restaurants. Currently Sam is active in sake distribution and sales with a new distribution company, Sipt Global. We sit down with Sam to learn about his path into the sake industry and it involves ripe peaches, a stunning view of Mount Fuji and of course some show stopping premium sake. We also tasted two of Sipt Global’s products from the renowned Kozaemon brand produced by Nakashima Jozo in Gifu Prefecture. These two brews are a delight and are great examples of elegance and depth in the sakes that Kozaemon is producing. Listen in as we taste, explore and enjoy these sakes but be on high alert for that #UmamiSneakAttack!
Skip to: 00:19 Hosts Welcome and Introduction
Welcome to the show from John and Timothy
Skip to: 01:09 Interview: Sam Barickman
Check out the distributor we discussed, Sipt Global:
https://www.siptglobal.com/
Skip to: 14:49 Sake Introduction and Tasting: Kozaemon Junmai Daiginjo
Kozaemon Junmai Daiginjo
Alcohol: 16.5%
ClaBrewery: Nakashima Jozo
Classification: Junmai Daiginjo
Acidity: 1.9
Alcohol: 16.4%
Prefecture: Gifu
Seimaibuai: 40%
SMV: +2.0
Rice Type: Aiyama, Yamadanishiki
Brand: Kozaemon (小左衛門)
Importer: JFC (USA)
Skip to: 14:49 Sake Introduction and Tasting: Kozaemon Junmai Ginjo Omachi 55
Kozaemon Junmai Daiginjo
Brewery: Nakashima Jozo
Classification: Junmai Ginjo
Alcohol: 15.5%
Prefecture: Gifu
Seimaibuai: 55%
SMV: +2.0
Rice Type: Bizen Omachi
Brand: Kozaemon (小左衛門)
Importer: JFC (USA), Sipt Global
Skip to: 31:18 Show Closing
This is it! Join us next time for another episode of Sake Revolution!
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Episode 83 Transcript
John Puma: 0:21
Hello everybody. And welcome to Sake Revolution. This is America’s first sake podcast. And I’m your host, John Puma from the Sake Notes. Also the administrator over at the internet, Sake Discord, come down and have a drink with us sometime and around these parts. I’m the local sake nerd.
Timothy Sullivan: 0:40
And I am your host, Timothy Sullivan. I’m a Sake Samurai, sake educator, 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.
John Puma: 0:56
Hello, Tim How ya doing today?
Timothy Sullivan: 0:57
I’m good. How are you?
John Puma: 0:59
I’m doing quite a quite well. What are we up to today?
Timothy Sullivan: 1:02
Well, we have a special guest with us on the line. I want to welcome to the show, our good friend, Sam Barickman Sam. Welcome.
Sam Barickman: 1:11
Thank you for having me here and being part of the revolution,
Timothy Sullivan: 1:14
Yes.
John Puma: 1:15
Ooh, I like that. We’re going to
Sam Barickman: 1:16
comrades.
John Puma: 1:17
to say that every time now.
Timothy Sullivan: 1:21
So Sam, why don’t you give us a little bit of your background and how you got involved in the sake industry in the first place?
Sam Barickman: 1:28
Yeah. Um, so it, it, you know, I always tell people it was not something I planned to do. This was not a, um, uh, a career move that I intentionally made. Um, which, which fortunately I think is, is the case for a lot of people in the industry. It really does suck you in at some point. Um, but I, I did study. The Japanese theater, as well as Japanese cinema in college. That was kind of my gateway point, and before that I had just always been quite interested in, in Japan, in general. And So um, after. I just really needed to get there, I ended up spending about a few months in Yamanashi. I was working, um, on a peach orchard of all things in a sort of work to live program, out there. And so during the day we were cultivating the fruits and at night we would drink sake, I had already known that I really enjoyed sake from, uh, um, just restaurants in New York. The irony is that I was probably drinking American sake at that point. Uh, you know, the cheap, uh, hot sake that you get at the, uh, cheapest, sushi restaurant or izakaya you can find. And I think that was really, you know, everyone talks about that first great moment that you have with sake. And that was really, uh, summed up for me, so when I was in Yamanashi, they, the closest brewery to the orchard was Shichiken. So we would end up drinking, uh, just isshobins of, of Shichiken, after a. A long day of working the fields. Um, and that was it. You know, just one of those things that I, I, it, it really opened so many doors for me and made me realize how little I know about this, um, and how much I really wanted to learn, and when I got back to New York, I just jumped into the. now I’m thankfully I can say that I’ve worked for, all three of the, uh, the tiers of the, the, um, alcoholic beverage industry, which meaning I’ve worked for a producer of sake. I’ve worked for importers and distributors of sake, as well as on-premise, as a sommelier.
Timothy Sullivan: 3:29
So like a restaurant.
Sam Barickman: 3:30
Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan: 3:31
Yeah. All right. Wow. Well that is a lot of sake exposure and I love that origin story of, you know, it sounds very romantic in the peach fields and
Sam Barickman: 3:41
It really was. I mean, you know, you’re up a ladder all day, just, with mount Fuji in the background. It was, it was quite a formative moment for me.
Timothy Sullivan: 3:51
oh my God. Amazing.
John Puma: 3:53
Yeah.
Sam Barickman: 3:54
I think another really interesting thing about being there, um, and in Japan, where you get to experience it that way is that connection between a local community and the sake brewery. Also one thing that I do recommend when people can travel back to Japan. If you are looking for a, uh, a cheap way to experience it. Doing some kind of work to live program is a really fun, fun experience, you know, when you’re young, I, I did have some people that it was on the farm with that, that were working, uh, in the rice patties and experiencing it that way,
Timothy Sullivan: 4:23
Oh, my
Sam Barickman: 4:23
really quite incredible. and since then, that was really the only non sake experience I’ve had, traveling to Japan since after that, it was, it’s all quite sake related,
Timothy Sullivan: 4:34
Yeah. You know, I think that a lot of people might have this experience in Japan and have this very beautiful experience Mount Fuji in the background, picking the peaches, drinking sake at night, and then come back to real life and become an accountant. So why, why did you. take that experience, drinking sake and come back and want to get into the sake industry. Like what was your first step there to kind of come back to reality, so to speak and get into sake.
Sam Barickman: 5:01
it, it, you know, circumstances, one thing I, I was offered a job at a major distributor at that point, um, that was willing to teach me the ropes. Um, you know, that was when I was able to take the kikisake-shi courses with Tim, so that’s, that’s how we met, But, you know, I really think it boils down to, uh, something that I think is really unique and interesting about sake and, and it’s, you know, you’re not just importing, rice water, yeast and Koji, you’re importing this cultural capital with it. it carries with it so much history and. Just amazing information about Japan itself. So in short, it was a really fun way to learn, you know, the more I learned about sake, the more I was learning about Japan. And so it was this kind of perfect convalescence of all of my interests, uh, at the time, which. I also did focus around alcohol as a 21 year old after college. It was a very fun thing to start, start getting into, and it just really, really worked out. And, you know, I think then moving into my work as a sommelier, was, was just a whole nother experience of, uh, how do you, uh, Translate that cultural capital and do something that is more sellable, and translate that experience to a customer, um, in a way that they can, um, both enjoy and hopefully learn something.
John Puma: 6:19
nice. And so what is your latest product? What are you up to these.
Sam Barickman: 6:23
Yeah. So currently, um, I am working for a new importer of sake called Sipt Global. We are. When we have all the sake and gonna be reporting abouts, uh, it’s 11 producers at both sake and shochu, um, all of them never before in the United States, which is very exciting, some very premium, um, beautiful sakes that you really wonder why they haven’t come into the States yet. Um, which is very, very exciting, I really can’t wait for it to all be here.
John Puma: 6:52
Um, I always get very excited about new stuff coming over to the States, and that’s, uh, kind of what we’re talking about today. We’re secretly, this is a secretly sort of a branded episode. and we’re going to be talking about, Kozaemon, which is one of the, uh, one of the brands that you’re bringing in and we’re going to focus on that. so what can you tell us about, uh, Kozaemon.
Sam Barickman: 7:17
So, Kozaemon, um, is celebrating about a 300 year history. Um, as of now, uh, they are from Gifu prefecture, uh, which I was find is a, a quite interesting place for sake, just because it lacks, um, quite a lot of that regional styles that you get from other prefectures, it can kind of be all over the place. the prefecture itself, um, from north to south, those range quite heavily in terms of the water that you get. and there really isn’t kind of any cohesive style I can say, for, for any of this, I came from Gifu. I’m sure people will disagree with that. Um, but it, to me just seems like it just going all over the place, which is an exciting thing. But Kozaemon itself as a, quite a small brewery. they only make about a thousand Koku a year, which is, is a lot smaller than I thought. given the, um, different types of sake that they produce. Um, and they had kind of gone through a pretty. Dramatic rebranding. and in the last 10 years or so in terms of making generally mostly premium high-end sake, which is a kind of a, an interesting switch from what they had previously done, another 300 year history.
John Puma: 8:25
Oh, wow.
Timothy Sullivan: 8:27
And we should mention that the brand name is Kozaemon and the brewery name is Nakashima Jozo. So. Uh, run by the Nakashima family, right?
Sam Barickman: 8:39
That’s correct.
Timothy Sullivan: 8:40
So this is one of the sakes that you’ll be distributing with the new company you’re working at.
Sam Barickman: 8:47
Yeah, that’s correct. this is one that you can get immediately if you were to run out to a, to a store or a restaurant.
John Puma: 8:53
Oh, this is one thing we like about our sake. It’s immediacy.
Sam Barickman: 8:56
exactly.
John Puma: 8:58
Hmm. So you mentioned that, that you feel like you feel Gifu really doesn’t have a regional, style or prefectural wide style. what about this Kozaemon brand.
Sam Barickman: 9:09
You know what I think, Kozaemon itself, is a very interesting producer of sake because they range, you’ll see here in a minute when we taste, even these two sakes have quite a lot of similarities, but they. Go from producing these gorgeous aromatic, Junmai Daiginjos to producing in my mind, one of the best Ume-shus on the market right now. they also have been dabbling a lot with, other yuzu sake, is that kind of thing, so it’s just quite an amazing breadth of style that they’re able to, um, to produce with such a small production, amount it’s really, really quite cool.
John Puma: 9:43
Nice.
Timothy Sullivan: 9:44
Now you’ve been kind enough to provide two samples for us to taste today. And we’d love to get an introduction to each of these sakes and then we’ll move on to tasting them and talking about them. So why don’t you let us know which two sakes you brought in for us to taste?
Sam Barickman: 10:02
Yeah. So I have, um, firstly, Kozaemon’s flagship Junmai Daiginjo this is a sake that is quite interesting to me, I don’t know if you’ve featured any other sakes on this show that have, Uh, two different types of sakamai and incorporated into one sake, which is really exciting. so this, particular sake uses both, uh, yamadanishiki as well as aiyama, um, which is a very interesting sake grade rice, both are polished to 40%. And the second that I have for you is their Junmai Ginjo Omachi this one I find is a very interesting Sake. I love Omachi um, I know you guys do as well, this is polished to 55%, and it is using bizen Omachi
John Puma: 10:50
Nice.
Timothy Sullivan: 10:51
right. So it seems like they’re paying special attention to the rices that they select.
Sam Barickman: 10:56
Yes, very, very calculated in that sense, it is very difficult, especially with Aiyama, if we want to jump into that, that’s not a rice that you can easily get your hands on. If you’re a brewery in Japan, the, the history of Aiyama, is quite unique, they first, started planting that in the early forties. In Hyogo prefecture, I believe it was 49 when they finally designated it as a, a sake grade rice. It’s got a really great pedigree as well. Um, it’s Parentage is both Omachi and Yamadanishiki, um, as well as, uh, uh, a few others. Yeah. So it Really is a good one to think about a lot, like Omachi in a lot of aspects, it’s, it’s one of those, sake grade rice variatials that grows very tall. it’s got a big Shinpaku it dissolves really easily into the mash. so all of the things make it a lot more difficult to produce,
John Puma: 11:47
That’s really cool, I think we should taste some of these. What do you guys think?
Timothy Sullivan: 11:51
Yeah. So let’s open the Kozaemon Junmai Daiginjo first and get that in the glass
John Puma: 11:58
Starting the show with a showstopper, Tim.
Timothy Sullivan: 12:00
yeah. Beautiful bottle, beautiful label too. Like a washi paper label.
Sam Barickman: 12:09
Yeah, it is really quite beautiful. they have been in the New York market for quite a while. They did rebrand a little bit, a few years ago.
John Puma: 12:15
Um, one thing I do like about their branding and this is something that I bring up whenever I see a brand that does this is they are doing the relatively straightforward label. We’ve got the brand name in English, on the front as a very memorable symbol. And The color of that changes based on the bottle you’re getting. And that makes it so easy for somebody who’s not familiar with sake who tries one of these, and if they like it, or they’re curious about it, they can, oh, I’ve had this one with the gold. I haven’t had this one with the blue and then they try the blue one and, and you know that they begin to get a relationship with the brand because it’s a very easy to remember bottle.
Sam Barickman: 12:58
Yeah, that is always very helpful. Uh, you know, I, I remember when I was a, a floor somm and every night I would play the game. Can you get any of the sake with the red writing and the blue background and nine times out of 10, I would know what they’re talking about. You know, if it was labeled like this, it’s very, very obvious, Yeah. it, it does help everyone out.
Timothy Sullivan: 13:19
All right, so we’ve got this in the glass. It looks beautiful, let’s give it a smell. Wow. All right. So I talk all the time about classic ginjo aromas. Like Junmai, Daiginjo aromas that are rich, tropical fruits, pineapple, melon, banana. And that really comes through on this. Like, this is a textbook sake I want to use in my classes now because it’s so perfect for illustrating. What would be a true classic ginjo aroma? Don’t you think Sam?
Sam Barickman: 13:55
Absolutely. Um, there’s also a bit of restraint there too. I, you know, sometimes I find that Junmai Daiginjo. Such a big showstopper for a brewery that it really blows you out of the water with the aromas, to the point that it might actually get in the way of food pairing. Um, and I get that, especially with, with 1801 yeasts where it can kind of be a little overpowering at times, but there is, um, everything that you want is there and nothing that you don’t essentially.
John Puma: 14:23
nice.
Timothy Sullivan: 14:24
Yeah, John and I talked about balance a lot. Like nothing, no one thing sticks out so much that you don’t notice the other things about the sake. So when the aroma is a little bit perfumed and a little bit expressive, you don’t want it to be so much that it clobbers you over the head and it’s all you can smell at your table when you’re trying to enjoy your food. But this is. In a perfect control and it is really a balanced aroma and just really enticing. And it really makes me want to take a sip of the sake quite honestly.
John Puma: 14:58
Are you trying to indicate a lack of patience?
Sam Barickman: 15:02
Don’t let me stop you.
John Puma: 15:03
He’s trying to drop a hint guys. Well, let’s, let’s, let’s do
Timothy Sullivan: 15:08
well, Kanpai. Cheers. Hmm, that’s good.
John Puma: 15:13
This just makes me smile.
Timothy Sullivan: 15:15
I’m smiling
John Puma: 15:15
This sake just makes me smile,
Sam Barickman: 15:17
It is really quite elegant there, their goal for this. And, and the reason that they use the aiyama was to make a umami driven in Junmai daiginjo. and I, I really think that they, they accomplished that in spades. This is also, I don’t know what your serving temperature is right now, but, this is one that you can do room temp, even slightly warm. Um, it’s quite elegant. It doesn’t lose any of that aroma. Um, and a lot of those richer earthier characters that you get from the aiyama are a bit enhanced when you warm it up quite a bit.
Timothy Sullivan: 15:52
Yeah. And I don’t think we can move on from this sake without talking about the texture of.
Sam Barickman: 15:58
Hm.
Timothy Sullivan: 15:59
sake. It is so silky. What do you think John.
John Puma: 16:04
It is the, the sake. I mean, I wanted to say, oh, this sake is all about the texture, but there are so many other great things going on. But, uh, but I do, I do notice that and I do love it, it is just, it’s a delight to drink this sake. It’s wonderful.
Sam Barickman: 16:19
another really interesting thing I think about it is, is. The versatility and pairing with a sake like this. Um, it is, it is quite spectacular. This, this does not take a back seat to things like spicier food, um, anything that is, um, you know, you otherwise wouldn’t want to pair it with Junmai daiginjo, this, this is going to work. Um, it is, it is quite assertive and I think that’s because of the aiyama and those richer, fuller body characters to it.
John Puma: 16:49
Hmm. Yeah, it’s a really nice, as Tim mentioned, we’ve been talking about a lot balance, uh, between those, it has that fruit is there, but there is that, uh, that umami component there is. Incredible texture. It’s so there’s so much going on and nothing is, is, is distracting you from anything else. It’s all very nicely in harmony with one another. And that’s one of the reasons I’m a big fan of this, I’ve liked this brand for a long time and, I’m kind of glad we’re getting to talk about it because it’s, I think they’re, they’re making some really great stuff. That’s fly under a lot of people’s radar.
Sam Barickman: 17:26
would definitely agree.
Timothy Sullivan: 17:27
yeah. So you mentioned food pairings. Do you have any specifics that you might want to pair this with yourself.
Sam Barickman: 17:35
This one is really stood up to anything I’ve thrown at it, in, in quite a surprising manner, you know, even Thai Curry and the things that you would really have some issues with most sakes with. Um, this has really held its own, uh, It just is also just so eminently drinkable that it’s just, it’s one of those sakes that I don’t really even think about pairing much. It’s going to go on the table and it’ll work. Um, w which is quite unique and especially for junmai Daiginjo is I think that it’s a little bit easier to, baby them a bit more, um, and be a bit more precious with, with a sake like this. Whereas, I really love its ability to just tie any kind of flavors together on the table.
John Puma: 18:19
I think, I think if you’d have told me a few months ago that somebody was going to recommend a Daiginjo that was going to pair with Thai Curry. I would have been like, no, that’s not going to happen. And here we are.
Sam Barickman: 18:32
It might just be my, you know what, I ended up eating quite often, but I have a bit of a spice addiction. So I do really love sakes that can cut through that. you know, it’s not always the case, uh, but, uh,
John Puma: 18:43
I’m going to save some of this and try that.
Timothy Sullivan: 18:47
Yeah.
Sam Barickman: 18:47
it warm too highly recommended.
Timothy Sullivan: 18:49
Yeah. what we’ve been talking about with this sake, the way I would refer to it as like depth of flavor, you know, it’s got layers going on. It’s not a one trick pony or a OneNote harmonica. It’s got, you know, a nice depth of flavor and there’s layers to discover as the temperature changes as you sip it slowly. And that is something that. It’s very luxurious to me. And it’s the texture just underscores that luxury and, and super smooth, super delicious. I love it.
Sam Barickman: 19:21
I have to say when I was trying to write the, um, product descriptions or the, flavor profile for the sake, I had to stop for awhile because I just, it, it, it was almost an impossible task because everything was just in the perfect correct place. It was like, this is, I remember my, my first note was. Perfect Junmai Daiginjo I don’t know what else you want. You know, let’s just enjoy it now. You know, just, it’s. It’s great. Uh, excellent. Let’s just shut up and drink it. Um, so it was a bit of a challenge of that aspect.
John Puma: 19:52
Excellent. Well, let’s not forget that we do have a second sake to tastes and talk about everybody. And it’s something that is near and dear to, at least Tim and I’s hearts. Sam, what are your thoughts on Omachi?
Sam Barickman: 20:06
I mean, I absolutely love it, I think that it’s just such a favorite for sake fans, for, for so many different reasons. I think one, the, you know, just the story of, of how it was discovered. Further cultivate is just so romantic that how could you not love it? you know, I also just love the trend of heritage grade rice in sake. and, and, you know, it’s one of the few ones that you can really blind tastes pretty easily. Um, although I’ll be curious about this one. I think this is a very interesting expression of Omachi. That’s why I really wanted to bring it for you guys, because at least for me, I think it’s quite unique in terms of the breadth of, of the, Um, uh, omachi that you can get, uh, currently.
Timothy Sullivan: 20:48
So anyone who’s interested in diving a little bit deeper into Omachi, you can go back in our archives on SakeRevolution.com and look up our wild rice episode, focused on Omachi get the whole background story there. So we have a wonderful Omachi here from I’m going to get this open and we’ll get this in the glass. All right. Hmm. Interesting aroma it is. I don’t know if this sounds crazy, but it feels like, it feels like these aromas are connected by DNA, but they’re not the same.
Sam Barickman: 21:33
You are not off. Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan: 21:36
a thread of similarity there.
Sam Barickman: 21:37
It is actually the, the same yeast build for, for these sakes so in terms of, of aromatic properties, they’re, they’re pretty similar. Um, just the, the massive difference between being the rice varietal and, and Polish ratio.
Timothy Sullivan: 21:53
Yeah,
John Puma: 21:54
is the intensity is dialed way down
Sam Barickman: 21:56
Um,
John Puma: 21:57
on the aroma here, but in a, you know, I think that is important in this case. I don’t think everything needs to have that, that Daiginjo aroma.
Timothy Sullivan: 22:06
Yeah. And for me, this, this is a beautiful, lovely aroma, and I do get some. fruit notes in there as well, but it’s not quite as expressive in the tropical fruit arena as the Junmai Daiginjo was, but it just, there’s a similar note in there that tasting these one after the other. It’s like, oh yeah, these, these are related. These are like, you know, siblings.
John Puma: 22:31
Yeah. Does that, there’s a very faint, almost, almost cherry that I’m going to hang on my nose. And that’s, uh, that’s something that’s unusual in sake and I love it when I get even a hint of it. So I get really excited.
Timothy Sullivan: 22:46
Yeah, In summary, it’s just lovely and it’s expressive and there’s, there’s a hint of something rice-y in there. There’s a hint of fruitiness and it is, has enough structure and enough body to it that it, it stands on its own, just really engaging aroma. And it, again, it, it wants to invite you in to take a sip. So that, that is what I’m getting from this like really
Sam Barickman: 23:10
That does take a lot of skill and balance to produce a sake that way. I mean, that’s, that’s such an interesting debate on the amount of aromatics that you want in the sake and how much is actually too much and how, how much do you have to dial it back and, and be a bit more careful with theyeast varaitals that you’re using and not really, you know, the goal is to not get in the way
Timothy Sullivan: 23:31
Maybe that’s where that 300 years of experience comes in.
Sam Barickman: 23:35
so.
John Puma: 23:37
Excellent.
Timothy Sullivan: 23:38
All right. Let’s give.
John Puma: 23:40
yes. I know what you mean now about the. You might not notice. This is Omachi
Sam Barickman: 23:49
It’s quite an interesting case thing to have these back-to-back as well, knowing, um, at least how genetically connected Aiyama is to Omachi. And from a technical standpoint, they prove fairly similar, you know, both have that big shinpaku, both are really hard to polish. Um, they dissolve really easily into the mash. Um, it really does take a skilled hand to, uh, to tame it so to speak.
Timothy Sullivan: 24:16
for me. I don’t know if you agree, Sam and John, but for me. The kind of mid palate and finish of this has a more umami driven focus to it than the Junmai daiginjo had. We mentioned that there’s a little bit of a mommy there, but for me, it’s a, it’s a whisper and this on the finish, there, there is a earthiness to the finish of it that is very pleasant and very umami driven and. I really, really enjoy that, but I pick up on more earthiness and more weight on this sake and the previous one.
Sam Barickman: 24:54
Definitely. and I think a little bit less. So for most omachis that I’ve had, though, it is like really does walk that tight rope line of, of. Nice Sneaky umami. As I like to describe it where it’s kind comes around in the back and then you’re just keep drinking it and keep drinking it. And you know, it just builds and builds and builds on itself, but it doesn’t ever, um, uh, prevent you from finishing a bottle. Um, but yeah, these, these are definitely both umami driven. sake is in a very unique way. You know, we’re not talking. The full-blown rich Yamahai Junmai style here though, it’s still has that clarity, that. kind of draws. It draws you back.
John Puma: 25:34
Um,
Timothy Sullivan: 25:34
Okay. Hashtag umami sneak attack. I’m
John Puma: 25:37
And
Timothy Sullivan: 25:38
that, that tag.
John Puma: 25:40
I like it. and I have to say like, despite being very food friendly in both these cases, I also find these to be immensely sippable. These are sakes, it can also stand alone and just be something you enjoy for what they are and for how they taste. And if you want to pair them with food, apparently they’re going to stand up very well to them. Even Thai Curry.
Timothy Sullivan: 26:05
Well, there, they’re just extremely elegant.
John Puma: 26:09
Hmm.
Timothy Sullivan: 26:10
You know, the, the aromas, the textures, the finish, the overall impression, the bottle, the label from a to Z, they are cultured and elegant sakes they’re in that flexible zone when it comes to pairing, uh, they have enough depth of flavor that you can go many different ways with the pairing. So you can tell these are well crafted. sakes for sure.
John Puma: 26:36
Yeah. Yeah.
Sam Barickman: 26:36
Yeah And it’s a, it’s a really interesting And it speaks to the talent or the brewers, but, you know, I also find that, um, when selling sake to a, uh, demographic that isn’t traditionally Japanese, you kind of always find that they’re going to expect a little bit more flavor profile than not. Um, and they do really want it to be. Both flavorful and yet tastes like Japanese water at the same time, uh, which is always a difficult challenge to, uh, to meet with the customer. But I, I really, I, this is why I love these is because I find that it’s, just both, so drinkable yet has such depth of character and flavor to it as well.
John Puma: 27:14
Yeah, this is, uh, that, that style is something that I, I get a lot of mileage out of because I want to be able to have something that’s just. Everybody knows about the couch, but I also, I also eat, so at the same time, I don’t want to, I don’t want my, uh, my need for nourishment to get in the way of my sake drinking. So I’d like to be able to continue while I’m eating.
Sam Barickman: 27:35
Yeah, and it really it’s just, these are set it and forget it types of sakes. You really don’t need to think too hard about it, uh, in terms of food pairing, which is, which is really great. You know, I know, that we in the industry have really tried to drive home that this, this idea that sake will pair with everything. But I think we need to be a bit more specific about it at times. And, and this is kind of what are the good ones that actually does fulfill on that.
Timothy Sullivan: 28:03
You know, a question I get a lot, is that, what can I bring as a gift? Or what sake can to my, you know, my in-laws or whatever, these sakes are delicious. And anything from this brand, I think is going to be a sure-fire gift, giving sake as well. You can enjoy it at home, but this would be a great style of sake. Would have a very broad appeal and perfect for Christmas or bring to Thanksgiving, right?
Sam Barickman: 28:31
Oh, absolutely. This, especially this omachi. I would, I would pair that with Turkey easily. I mean, that’s
John Puma: 28:38
Okay. That’s been a trend or less three episodes. We’re talking about Thanksgiving constantly.
Sam Barickman: 28:42
oh yeah. I mean pound for pound sake is going to be better than any wine at Thanksgiving. That’s, that’s one thing that we just need to, uh, just admit and
John Puma: 28:55
You heard it
Sam Barickman: 28:55
just the way it’s going to be. You know? Uh, I
Timothy Sullivan: 28:58
mic drop mic drop.
Sam Barickman: 29:00
let’s be real, a lot of the things gonna be foods, pretty bland, uh, you know, Turkey. That’s probably over cooked. You’re got, uh, the, cranberry sauce and you really need something to bring it together and, and liven it up. You know, th th let’s look at sake as the, uh, as the seasoning sauce in that equation.
John Puma: 29:20
Tell me you’re right with all this.
Sam Barickman: 29:22
Is that too much?
Timothy Sullivan: 29:23
No. I’m all right with
John Puma: 29:25
Okay. I know Tim’s a very like pro Thanksgiving. Food’s got a
Timothy Sullivan: 29:29
I’m a
Sam Barickman: 29:30
I love
John Puma: 29:30
just like it’s all flavorless. It’s all.
Sam Barickman: 29:34
No, I, I should take that back because it’s. actually some of my favorite food in the world, but you know, when you’re, you know, uh, mashed potatoes and, and, uh, and gravy is, is, um, is, is pretty middle road. Would you talk about, let’s compare that to Thai Curry and it’s
John Puma: 29:50
All right. Okay. I see. I definitely see your point. Well, I forgot your spice addiction and how that will influence your commentary.
Sam Barickman: 29:57
That might be it. That might be, uh, but no, for the record, I do love Thanksgiving food, but I have been trying to bring a bottle of sake to every Thanksgiving dinner. I think I’ve had for the last eight years.
John Puma: 30:06
There you
Timothy Sullivan: 30:06
Amen. Amen.
John Puma: 30:08
yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Timothy Sullivan: 30:10
all right. Well, Sam, I have enjoyed both of these. sakes very, very much before we wrap up today, can you let our listeners know if they’re interested in Kozaemon or your distribution company? How can they get in touch?
Sam Barickman: 30:27
Yeah, So we actually just launched our website. I’m real happy about that. The company is called Sipt Global. Um, that’s sip T global website. SIPTglobal.com. that will give you a look into all the exciting sakes that we will have in the pipeline, and as I mentioned, Kozemon, is available at New York LA markets.
Timothy Sullivan: 30:51
All right, everyone. So you heard it here first. Keep your eyes out for Sipt Global distributors and of course, keep your eyes out for Kozaemon on sake as well. Sam, thank you so much for joining us. It was an absolute pleasure to taste with you.
Sam Barickman: 31:08
Absolutely. This is let’s make it a, a, well, we’ll bring back more soggy. Let’s just put it that way. Once I get the, uh, everything again. Well, we’ll do this again.
Timothy Sullivan: 31:18
Absolutely. Well, thanks Sam. Thanks, John. So great to taste with both of you. And I want to thank our listeners as well for tuning in. We really do hope that you’re enjoying our show. If you would like to show your support for Sake Revolution, the best way to help us out is to back us on Patreon. We appreciate our Patreon supporters so much. And any contributions we get through Patreon go directly to supporting all the costs that go in to making Sake Revolution and bringing it to you every week.
John Puma: 31:46
that’s right. And our Patrion is located at Patreon.com/SakeRevolution. But that’s not the only way to support us. You can also support us when you subscribe on your podcast platform of choice and. Please leave us a review. Uh, it’s a great way to get the word out about the show. Also tell your friends, tell your family, family, dog, cats, Tim, any other animals in the family? We’re okay with that’s it just dogs and cats.
Timothy Sullivan: 32:16
Yes.
John Puma: 32:17
been a while since you mentioned dogs and cats, Tim.
Timothy Sullivan: 32:19
And as always to learn more about any of the topics or any of the sakes we tasted in today’s episode, be sure to visit our website, SakeRevolution.com for all the detailed show notes.
John Puma: 32:31
And for all of your sake question needs, we have you covered. Please send an email to us at [email protected]. So until next time, everybody, please grab a glass. Remember to keep it drinking the sake and…
Sam Barickman: 32:49
KANPAI!
John Puma: 32:52
Perfect
Timothy Sullivan: 32:54
That was perfect.