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CATEGORY REPORT Mixologist Alex Goode of Saint Felix in Hollywood, CA, says he appreciates the versatility of saké as a cocktail base. Here, he uses Mizubasho Junmai Ginjo. Why Saké? Why Now? T Sachiko Yoshimura, Chief Executive Director, JETRO Los Angeles. Chef-owner Chris Grodach of The Corner, Orange County, CA, finds many uses for saké as a component in his business. he world according to saké is changing. Perhaps more slowly than imported brands into the U.S. would like ideally, but the evolution is undeniably genuine and progressing at a solid pace. A growing number of mainstream bartenders and mixologists are embracing saké as a cocktail base and paralleling this development is the increasing awareness of how saké neat should be consumed—and how to tell a good one from a not-so-good one. Growth patterns indicate that higher-end sakés are consumed on-premise, while their lower priced counterparts retail off-premise. Overall price points are on the up though, as is case volume. Additionally, because of the limited knowledge that still exists of saké, on-premise brands are generally sold by way of waitsstaff recommendations. "The image of saké in the U.S. has changed in the last ten years," says Sachiko Yoshimura, Chief Executive Director of JETRO Los Angeles (Japanese External Trade Organization). "A decade ago, saké was mainly served hot, which is great but usually reflects lower-priced brands, and therefore the image of saké was something of reasonably priced, but only suitable when eating sushi," she says. "Now there are countless premium sakés from which to choose and more are coming on stream. Ginzo is a popular one that springs to mind. The quantity of saké that has been imported from Japan has doubled since 2002, when 2,046 kiloliters were being imported, to 2011 when the U.S. imported 4,071 kilolitres. That's about 550,000 U.S. gallons increased to over one million gallons in less than ten years. "The Cliff Notes of premium sakés look like this: best enjoyed cold; on the higher end of the price-point spectrum; and sales are dramatically up," Sachiko synopsizes. This boost is principally attributable to importers and distributors based in the U.S. who have not only strived to educate the already spoiled-for-choice American market, but have focused on providing diversity and choice as well. Increased participation through training, seminars and tasting events has facilitated support for these brands. Further, catering to a demographic keen for premium standard products has driven up price points and shifted the focus to higher-end names. The development of the saké category can also tip its hat to the craft cocktail movement. As serious mixologists look for versatile bases, and bar managers grow to appreciate the reality that lower alcohol, light cocktails are conducive to higher sales, saké continues to settle into the mainstream. And that's not all. In that butterfly effect manner, we should acknowledge another dynamic taking place in Japan that has influenced saké's success on U.S. shores: "In Japan we enjoy wine and spirits from around the world, so saké has to stand up to international competition from other categories. For that reason it's raised the bar, even for domestic consumption," explains Sachiko. "There are so many ways to enjoy saké— as you would a wine, or in a cocktail—and the enormous variations of sakés really allows you to be creative," she assures. "If I had one request for the U.S. market, it would be to open your mind, and see this product for what it is: versatile, varied and good for your bottom line." september 2013 / the tasting panel / 141 TP0913_104-156.indd 141 8/22/13 10:33 PM