Meet maker of award-winning Arizona sake
Atsuo Sakurai’s life turned upside down when he moved from Japan to Holbrook, Arizona to be closer to his wife’s family. He’d been working in sake factories in Japan for nearly a decade and was determined to continue making it in the U.S.
Now, after just three years, he’s not only continued pursuing his passion, but has also won awards for making some of the world’s best sake not produced in Japan.
Sakurai is a first-grade sake brewer, distinction the Japanese government reserves for the world’s finest sake brewers who pass an extensive exam.
“That exam is based on how long you work in the production of sake,” Sakurai says. “Normally people quit, but I didn’t quit.”
What is sake?
Though sake is often referred to as rice wine and has a similar alcohol content to wine, it’s brewed more similarly to beer. The national drink of Japan is made with rice, water, yeast and koji, a fungus also used to ferment soybeans into soy sauce.
Typically sake is made with “polished” rice, which has had the husk, bran and germ removed from each grain. The more polished the rice, the higher quality the sake. Sake brewers, known as “toji,” combine polished rice
with koji, water and yeast before the whole mash is left to ferment. Next, the mash is pressed, filtered and sometimes pasteurized.
The final product can be bubbly or flat and served hot or cold.
Sometimes sake makers will add additional alcohol to batches of sake to increase yield, though this results in lower quality sake. “Junmai,” which means “pure rice,” sakes are made with no additional alcohol, using the traditional, more time-intensive method.
In recent years, however, the traditional drink, which dates back more than 2,000 years, is slowly losing its grip on Japan, NBC reports. Sake sales within the country have decreased 30% since 1975 as the country’s younger drinking crowd looks more to beer and cocktails. The appetite for sake stateside, however, continues to rise. In May, The Japan Times reported that, outside of Japan, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer of sake.
What you need to know about Arizona Sake
Sakurai started producing Junmai Ginjo Arizona Sake in Holbrook in 2017 in his garage. Now he makes it in a newly-built brewery using the traditional method to produce unpasteurized nama-style sake. Each batch takes three months to brew.
In addition to the clear, flat Junmai Ginjo Arizona Sake found at bottle shops and restaurants around Arizona, he also makes a cloudy, sparkling version only available at restaurants in limited supply.
In 2018 at the Tokyo Sake Competition, Junmai Ginjo Arizona Sake was recognized as the best internationally produced sake. Sakurai’s Arizona Sake won another gold medal the following year for best of class at the 2019 Los Angeles International Wine Competition.
The sake is so good, Sakurai says, partially due to the climate in Arizona. In Japan, high humidity often leads to mold growing in the sake rice. In Holbrook, the air is so dry Sakurai doesn’t encounter this problem.
He’s able to create sake he describes as, “fruity, fresh, full of passion and love.” And after winning multiple awards, he’s seen increased demand and has worked to produce enough sake to fill all the orders. Sakurai hand distributes his sake to restaurants and stores around the state, driving more than three hours to Phoenix twice a month.
“I’m really happy I could come to the U.S. and to Arizona,” Sakurai says. “I am happy to be making sake here.”
Why more people are drinking sake in Phoenix
Asian-inspired restaurant Clever Koi in midtown Phoenix has been serving Arizona Sake for about a year, even since co-owner and beverage director Joshua James tasted it at other local restaurants including Glai Baan and Hot Noodles, Cold Sake.
“There’s an allure to Arizona Sake (even) if customers are not familiar with sake,” James says.
Customers are more likely to try sake for the first time because it’s locallymade, James says. Because of this, Arizona Sake is also helping convert fans to the drink.
“At first it was hard to get,” James says, recalling when Sakurai was making small batches in his garage.
The nama-style sake also draws fans, he says, as it is similar to natural wine. The lack of sulfites, preservatives and pasteurization in Arizona Sake resonates with those looking for natural wine, which is popping up on an increasing number of metro Phoenix restaurant menus.
Sakurai’s sake is available for retail sale around metro Phoenix at Top’s Liquors, Hidden track bottle shop, The Wandering Tortoise, La Grande Orange Grocery and King’s Beer and Wine. It can also be found at restaurants including Nobuo at Teeter House, Sushi Roku, Roka Akor and as well as others in Hawaii, New York and Nebraska.
‘It’s damn good sake’
Arcadia Premium, a bottle shop owned by Joel LaTondress, was one of the early carriers of Arizona Sake in
Phoenix. LaTondress started selling Arizona Sake at his store in August 2018 and has maintained a good relationship with Sakurai.
“He is just a super nice, humble guy and he does everything, he’s very hands on,” LaTondress says.
At Arcadia Premium, local products get priority, but quality outweighs all other considerations, LaTondress says.
He carries only two types of sake at the store and has developed a customer base who come in looking specifically for Arizona Sake.
“The style is not a style you really find outside of Tokyo,” he says, but really, he believes the origin doesn’t matter so much as quality.
“Once people taste it it doesn’t matter if it’s from Arizona or Tokyo,” LaTondress says. “It’s damn good sake.”