The bottle in question was some type of clear spirit, purchased on a business trip to China, secondhand gifted to me. Its only English lettering was the word “Taiwan” and a three-digit number that I figured to be the spirit’s proof. It smelled like an auto mechanic’s shop on a humid July afternoon—stuffy like hot … [ Read more]
The Unnecessary Categorization of Everything (Or Why I Love Shibuya Crossing)
April 26, 2018 by
My buzz has completely worn off. Throwing back Asahi, Japan’s rice beer equivalent to Budweiser, the entire 12-hour flight over seemed like a good idea at the time, but now, standing in line at Japanese customs, I was beginning to rethink my decision to make friendly with the flight staff. When you’re flying with a … [ Read more]
Q&A: The Birth of Saké
September 1, 2016 by Leave a Comment
From October to April, a group of men live an almost monastic existence in a brewery in rural northern Japan. Awake at 4am, they steam 2,600 pounds of rice every morning. They tend to yeast starters, polish the rice, and watch it slowly bubble and ferment. They’re sticking to the traditional hands-on ways of making … [ Read more]
