A “Super Sake Sunday” Masterclass

All roads led to Gurgaon as we, at Sake Club India (SCI), conducted our first-ever Sake Masterclass in the millennium city. A full house absorbed the Js and Gs (read Junmais and Ginjos) of Sake while they sampled seven exclusive Sakes poured alongside a delicious Bento Box Meal. In short, it turned out to be a “Super Sake Sunday”.

The genesis

Ever since Sake Club India (SCI) was founded in 2020, we have been conducting offline as well as online Sake tastings and lectures. However, there was a longstanding demand from Sake lovers for an event where knowledge could be coupled with a dining experience around Sake pairing. Thus came our Sake Masterclass that not only gave a detailed insight into the world of Sake but also involved a tasting of a diverse range of Sakes along with a pre-curated meal served right at the classroom table. The proverbial “proof of the pudding” certainly lay in its eating.

An encouraging response

The Masterclass packed a full house within a week of its opening, which speaks volumes about Sake’s promise in the beverage space of India. The attendance was an Indo-Japanese mix, with one of the Japanese guests arriving from Bangalore to attend the event. The vibrant gathering was a good representation of SCI’s thriving Indo-Japanese ecosystem in the global context.

We were delighted to have representation from the Embassy of Japan in India led by Ms Hokugo Kyoko, Minister for Economic and Development as our Chief Guest, who delivered the opening remarks for the session and presented the Sake Connoisseur certificates to the participants as the session closed.

Proceedings of the Masterclass

A one-hour lecture on Sake sparked some passionate discussions amid questions posed by the well-traveled audience. This made our job to explain the finer nuances of Sake more facile. Also, videos of our ground-level experience in breweries across Japan made the correlation with Sake production processes for the audience easier. Watch the video below to see what we mean.

Sakes and food at the Masterclass

Surpassing our commitment of five different Sakes for the tasting, we added two more sakes to the repertoire at the last moment, thanks to our import partners. The audience wouldn’t complain of course.

Coming to the food, a fine-tuned Bento box by Asagao Japanese Speciality Restaurant did an excellent job of pairing possibilities- something that was appreciated by the guests a lot. The colourful Bento boxes were as much a sight to please as they were to relish.

The Unique Value Proposition of SCI’s Sake Masterclass

Sake education in India has been gaining pace lately. SCI has been at the forefront of this initiative by bringing to India, the Nihonshu Navigator certification from Sake Service Institute Japan. Sake courses from the Sake Sommelier Academy and WSET have also made their mark in the country. These courses from international institutes are largely oriented toward trade professionals who intend to upskill themselves for career advancement. To some extent, they are subscribed by consumer enthusiasts too.

In contrast, SCI’s Sake masterclass is more informal, intending to give a headstart to Sake enthusiasts (both trade and consumers) to better appreciate Sake with a significantly lesser investment of time and money (upto one-fifth the cost of the above courses).

Another plus with these masterclasses is the incorporation of a much more elaborate element of cuisine, which is invaluable for learning the art of Sake appreciation. Also, our practical work experience with Sake breweries in Japan sets us apart from the rest.

With these promises, we hope to have you around at one of our next Sake Masterclasses.

More pics from the Sake Masterclass