So, it’s a bit late but Monday October 1st was Sake Day, or Nihonshu no Hi as it would be called in Japan.
Why October 1st? Well, there are a couple of reasons and uber sake sensei John Gauntner covers them concisely in his blog so I’ll leave the explanation to him. For me, I like the reasoning that October 1st marks the beginning of the new brewing season. Rice has been harvested, breweries spring cleaned, machinery oiled and polished all ready for “go time” so we can all look forward to our favourite rice brew.

It was in fact the Japan Sake and Shochu Brewers Association that picked the day in 1978 so it’s still a relatively recent addition to the calendar and it isn’t widely recognized outside of the sake world…yet. Obviously here in Australia it goes by with even less of a kerfuffle and I feel a pinge of guilt for not doing anything in particular myself this year other than have a quiet drink.

But as they say; there’s always next year. Hope you enjoyed a glass on Sake Day. But if you didn’t, don’t worry you should never need an excuse to enjoy sake all year round!