We are pleased to announce that we will be releasing a collection of Summer Sakewares on Friday 30th June. Chilled Sake in the summertime is a wonderful treat made all the more wonderful when poured and enjoyed from fine ceramic sake vessels known as ‘Shuki’ or ‘酒器’ in Japanese.

In Japan, there has been much research by Sake sommeliers about how different cups might affect the perceived taste of sake when consumed from different styles of cup. Indeed, even how different tokkuri spouts offer a hand in changing flavour. Thick rims, rough rims, smooth rims and sharp rims are all thought to alter the flow of oxygen when sipping and hence the perception of taste. What we certainly believe here is that Sake is always best enjoyed and tastier when using a ceramic cup over sterile glassware. A huge part of the pleasure being the choosing of a cup that suits your mood, feels right in the hand and compliments the season appropriately. Taking time out to consider such things that might otherwise be overlooked makes the act of offering and serving a humble drink into something far more mindful and fulfilling.

This was the basis of a fascinating late night discussion had with Takashi Tanimoto in Iga earlier this year as we sampled an array of wonderful Sake brews with him in his beautiful countryside home. “Glass steals not only flavour but also the history of sake” he told us, we couldn’t agree more!


In the release there will be pieces from:

Osamu Inayoshi - Tokoname
Toru Ichikawa - Bizen
Kazuhiro Fukushima (Debut release) - Iga
Kei Tanimoto - Iga
Takashi Tanimoto - Iga
Kiyoshi Yamato - Hagi
Hiroshi Yamada - Echizen
Kazu Yamada - Echizen

乾杯！Kanpai! Cheers!