34 Beverage Dynamics • January/February 2015
www.beveragedynamics.com
Japanese Imports
HOT AND COLD SAKE
There's no single answer to whether sake should be con-
sumed hot, warm or cold – often it depends on the type of
sake and individual consumer preferences. However, one
company is trying to make the serving temperature question
as simple as possible.
"We have two types of sake, a Junmai called Hiro Red and a
Junmai Ginjo called Hiro Blue," says Carlos Arana, Hiro Sake's co-
founder and CEO. "We've found that most consumers drink chilled
sake, so our Junmai has a blue label. For the small percentage of
consumers who like sake warm, we also have the Junmai Ginjo with
a red label."
The differences in how a sake must be classifi ed (i.e. Junmai vs.
Ginjo) is partially determined by how much the rice is polished,
much like whiskey types are determined by raw material make-up.
The more the rice is polished, the more the outer shell is removed,
leaving a grain that's of a higher quality.
Arana says that the demand for consumer education is accompa-
nying sake's increased visibility in the U.S. market. "The category is
experiencing a lot of growth, like what happened with tequila a few
years ago," he says. "When Mexican food became more popular,
tequila took off; now there are Asian and Asian fusion restaurants
everywhere, not just on the coasts, and so you see high growth rates
in sake."
Increased Interest
in Japanese Whisky
Since Suntory's acquisition of Beam Inc. was announced earlier this
year, industry experts have speculated about the possibility of more
Japanese whisky brands coming to the U.S. market. Beverage Dynam-
ics spoke to Neyah White, Suntory's U.S. Whisky Ambassador, to
fi nd out more about the newly-formed Beam-Suntory and what the
company's plans are for bringing new products stateside.
BD: Why has Suntory shied away from entering the U.S. in
a large way before now?
NW: We've been making whisky in Japan for 91 years and it's only
recently that we've broken out into areas other than Japan. It wasn't
for lack of confi dence – all the whisky was being consumed in Japan,
since the market has been on fi re there since the 1950s.
Suntory has explored the U.S. market in previous decades in a small
way, mostly just supplying Japanese restaurants. It's been negligible vol-
ume until now and almost no marketing, since the product was only
sold to certain accounts. About 10 years ago, Yamazaki 25-year-old
came in and then our fl agship 12-year-old became available.
Once the company brought over the Hibiki 12- and 18-year-old,
Sake importers include Gekkeikan, TY KU, SakeOne, Joto Sake and Hiro Sake.
