Umami Mart

As the saying goes, membership has its privileges. And for members of Sake Gumi, our monthly sake subscription club, that means invitations to really cool, really exclusive events. On Saturday, November 7, all Sake Gumi members are invited to join us at Ramen Shop’s new bar for our first Sake Gumi Social: Mad About Genshu. […]

It’s been three months since starting Sake Gumi. Frankly speaking, Kayoko and I have been overwhelmed by the reception, with members joining from coast to coast. The Sake Gumi love is alive and thriving across America. For October, we wanted to celebrate the end of the rice harvest season in Japan. The last harvest usually […]

A high quality sake deserves a high quality vessel to complement and showcase its flavor. You wouldn’t drink a fine single-malt whiskey from a Dixie cup, would you? (Well, maybe you would…) We think the Hard Strong Diamond Cut Sake Flute is the sexiest sake ware around. Yet another gorgeous product by Toyo-Sasaki, the top glass manufacturer […]

It’s been almost a year since I took John Gauntner’s Sake Professional class in San Francisco. Time flies! Attended by industry, sake enthusiasts and wine and spirits professionals, this was a three-day course that, as Gauntner says, “Leaves no sake stone unturned.” The classes were held in the ornate San Francisco Federal Bently Reserve Building. […]

Umami Mart has two connections to Hakkaisan. It was the first sake brewery that Kayoko and I visited in Japan back in 2011 when we went with a group of chefs and artists from the Bay Area as part of a collective called Open Harvest. You can read about our brewery visit here. And then […]

I’ve talked about following your passions in life before (ok, I talk about it like everyday) and here’s a place that embodies a deep passion for sake. Opened in 2007, Sake Nomi is a pioneer in sake retail and tasting in the United States. It is casual and almost feels like you’ve just walked into someone’s […]

I deplore the word “Saketini.” The whole idea that you can name a cocktail by adding “tini” to the end of it is just plain juvenile and not creative at all. Which is not fair because I’ve been drinking a hell out of these Martinis, subbing sake for vermouth, and the name Saketini is not so far off. […]

Yoko and I will be hanging out at Sake Summit all weekend in Union Square in San Francisco. Come visit us! This is your chance to try pretty much all the sakes that are available for consumption in the Bay Area. If you’re into sake, you can’t miss this! This is the third annual Sake […]

Last month, Kayoko and I visited Portland for the 5th annual SakeFest PDX. It’s always a pleasure to hang out in Portland, and this time, we even took a side trip to the Sake One brewery in the Willamette Valley’s Forest Grove. Nestled between wineries and berry growers is Oregon’s own sake brewery. Operating since […]

It’s been a crazy sake week here at Umami Mart — first we launched the Sake Gumi, and now, we’re happy to announce a special tasting event with renowned Hakkaisan Brewery! We will be hosting an evening with Timothy Sullivan, founder of Urban Sake and Brand Ambassador of Hakkaisan Brewery. I have known Timothy since my NYC days — […]