All About Sake: the Sake Samurai

The Sake Samurai Association was established in 2004 as a junior council for the Japan Sake Brewers Association – an organization of sake brewers who originally came together to preserve the tradition of sake making and consuming. Today, the Association is also focused on sharing and celebrating sake with the rest of the world and since 2006, they’ve awarded annual ‘Samurai’ titles to a select group of individuals who’ve made an outstanding contribution to the understanding, appreciation, and promotion of sake both in and outside of Japan.

Each recipient of the ‘Sake Samurai’ title must:

• Love both sake and the beautiful culture of Japan
• Strive to gain a deeper understanding of sake culture and work on behalf of its further development
• Spread the word about Japanese sake around the world with pride and passion

The title of ‘Sake Samurai’ is extremely prestigious as it’s only awarded to a handful of people each year. Since its inception in 2004, the Sake Samurai Association has awarded this honor to less than 40 non-Japanese people and this year, our Beverage Director Elliot Faber was added to this short and distinguished list.  In October, Elliot was presented with the title of Sake Samurai through a traditional ceremony held in Kyoto. Check out some of the photos from the ceremony below and the next time you see Elliot at Yardbird or RŌNIN, make sure to ask him for sake recommendations.

Images Courtesy Keisuke Irie