12/8/07: ...and Sakaya was Born

The long-circulating rumor of the first saké-centric store in NYC came to fruition on Saturday, 12/8/07. Located at 324 East 9th Street, Sakaya ("saké store" in Japanese, where saké covers all form of alcohol) is the brainchild of Rick Smith and Hiroko Furukawa, and has been in work for the last 2 years. At the initial phase, the team consists of Rick, Hiroko, and Timothy.

While the location is not the easiest to locate, I now look for the Sugidama inside the window to know I've arrived.

The interior is modern-Japanese in approach, and the shelves give off nice aroma of cedar, reminiscent of taru.

On the other side, there is an outline of the map of Japan.

While I was looking around, a history was made- the first ever sales at Sakaya.

Straight ahead, by the counter, is a stand alone refrigerator for premium and nama saké selections. I was very pleased to see the Shichi Hon Yari Shiuku Junmai Daiginjo being sold.

Since Shichi Hon Yari was bit out of my price range, I looked around and found Denshin "Yuki" Junmai Ginjo from Fukui. Fukui makes some notable saké such as Kokuryu and Born, I decided to try this one.

To Sakaya: Good Luck!!! ~ from "Customer #3"

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Denshin Junmai Ginjo(SMV: +6, Acidity: 1.4, Seimaibuai: 55%) had aroma of persimmon, and clean, focused, firm, and deep flavor with long finish. Pretty intense.

I cooked Osaka-style Modan-Yaki, but the saké proved too intense even for Modan-Yaki. I'd try this with miso-marinated fish or meat...