Sake teaser offers preview of this year’s Joy of Sake

An exclusive group of Hawaii sake aficionados were in attendance at the Honolulu Design Center last week for a preview of this year’s Joy of Sake, which takes place July 22 in Honolulu, followed by stops in New York in September and Tokyo in November.

The June 23 preview featured dozens of bottles of rice wine that arrived in Hawaii from Japan the same day, with a record-setting 408 entries set to take part in the Honolulu festival. Just under half of them are of the daiginjo variety, meaning they are the most refined — and most expensive — bottlings released, representing the best sake a brewery can produce.

More than half of the sake served won’t be available for purchase in the United States; a good number of bottles aren’t available to the general public in Japan, either. So while the Joy of Sake is a definite can’t-miss for sake fans, it’s almost guaranteed to disappoint those who like to buy entire bottles of their favorite discoveries after attending tasting events like these.

That’s why you’ll see veteran festival attendees swarm certain bottles at the Hawai‘i Convention Center every year, since they know it’s probably the only chance they’ll get to sip the stuff. Serious sake fans often spend time before the festival mapping out their plans of attack, studying the sake list released by Joy of Sake staff and researching which ones they need to try.

Just like fine wine, there are guidelines to sampling sake. Here are a few tips, courtesy of Joy of Sake staff:

1. Look at the sake: When you taste a sake, raise your glass and look at it. Is it clear, or does it have a pale hue? The more color, the more pronounced the flavor impact.

2. Smell the sake: Inhale the aroma. Is it fruity and floral? Or is it more subdued, perhaps with a scent of steamed rice, meadow grass, a hint of pepper?

3. Drink the sake: Take a sip and swirl it. The flavors of sake can be complex and layered or straightforward and simple. Sweetness, acidity, umami; in a fine sake these meld together seamlessly in perfect balance.

4. Savor the sake: Take it all in. Does the sake please you? Does your empty glass invite another? It’s that simple and that personal. This is how you know you’ve found a good sake.

It also helps to drink with an entertaining host — last week it was Joy of Sake staffer Lito Pineda who guided a small group of VIP guests through an introductory tasting experience. While other guests grazed through bottles set up throughout the Honolulu Design Center’s Cupola Theatre, Pineda held court in a corner with eight hand-picked bottles and a personality that only got more gregarious as the sake began to flow.

“Isn’t it great?” he asked repeatedly, glossing over some of the less important stuff — like the names of the sake he was pouring — in favor of spotlighting different flavors each bottle offered and reminding guests to keep thinking about the tips mentioned earlier. I honestly had no idea what I was drinking that night, but I did enjoy everything Pineda shared with me. And when most of the sake you’re sipping isn’t even available outside of the event, does it really matter?

Along with the alcohol, festival guests will enjoy food from more than 20 of Hawaii’s top restaurants along with an Izakaya Alley of upscale Japanese-style street food offerings that was a popular addition in 2014 and 2015. New restaurant additions this year include Mahina and Sun’s, Teppanyaki Ginza Onodera, Bakery & Table and 40 Carrots by Bloomingdale’s.

Tickets for July’s festival stop in Honolulu are $95, with a limited number of $145 early-access tickets also available. Early access gets you inside at 5:30 p.m., an hour before general admission ticket holders. The tasting runs until 9 p.m. and is open to those 21 and over only. Visit joyofsake.com for more information.

Jason Genegabus has written about Honolulu bars since 2001. Contact him at jason@staradvertiser.com with suggestions of places to visit and drinks to try; read his blog at inthemix.staradvertiserblogs.com.