This January, as I tucked into a healthy scrumptious meal aboard a Japan Airlines flight from Tokyo to New Delhi, I didn’t have the slightest idea of how the rest of the year was going to sensationalise itself. I was flying back after a hectic tour of Sake breweries of Japan- the country’s national beverage that is increasingly finding favour all over the world, including India.
The Covid pandemic happened and we know its continuing challenges well. But true to the indomitable human spirit, life has continued, and in many cases, pleasantly so by surpassing expectations. Sake Club India has been one such new venture for me.
The Germination of a Thought
To many of us, Sake is “Japanese Rice Wine”. Several years ago, I was in the same boat to call it so, given my then limited exposure to the beverage. However, all that started changing when I attended an in-depth Sake tasting session with an organisation called Sake Samurai that had come visiting from Japan to New Delhi. It was then, that I realised that Sake deserves much more attention than what it was probably receiving.
In simplest terms, Sake is Japan’s National Alcoholic Beverage brewed from rice. But this simplification stems from centuries of painstaking work that puts it in a distinct genre of its own.
Japan Calling
Cut to 2020 when I flew to Japan on the invitation of Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association as part of a 7 member global group to tour Sake breweries. I found myself lucky on two major accounts- first because I was the chosen one from my country to undertake this expedition, and second, that the journey happened just in time before the pandemic revealed its ugly face.
On return from Japan and before the Covid pandemic started affecting life, I was brimming with enthusiasm to create a community in India to share my learnings with fellow Sake enthusiasts. Needless to mention, that over the past few years India has seen a growing interest in Sake like never before. A large credit for such heightened interest goes to the proliferation of Japanese cuisine within the country and an increased number of Indians travelling to Japan either on work or for personal reasons.
Whither Sake Club India?
My idea was to create a Club that would conduct periodic Sake tastings coupled with cuisine and knowledge elements thrown at the right places. However, with the prospect of lockdowns looming large, the plans had to be modified slightly wherein going virtual looked like an obvious solution.
After a brief telephonic discussion with my Tokyo based Sake Sommelier partner Mika Eoka, Sake Club India was launched on 23rd March 2020 as an Indo-Japanese community with global participation.
A Step at a Time
Things are rather difficult to handle on a virtual plane when you’re talking of a tangible commodity like Sake. However, moving ahead being more important, we commenced our SCI journey by starting to share knowledge content and first-hand experiences from the Sake hinterland. Slowly, the affairs graduated to Sake webinars and virtual tastings further going on to “hybrid” events that involved physical tastings with live connectivity with Japan. The video below traces our journey thus far, starting with my first meeting with Mika.
What next?
Like the rest of the world, SCI too awaits the end of the Covid pandemic. However, the blueprint is ready to scale up our activities in tandem with the levels of world normalcy as and when it happens. But one thing is for sure- it’s the right time to say “Kampai” with Sake in India.
