Here’s a PSA for all sake lovers: Singapore’s largest sake festival is back again this year for its Spring Edition on 1 – 2 April 2023, and we promise there’s a lot in store for you to look out for! Sake Matsuri is Singapore’s largest sake festival that brings together both the acclaimed and the emerging sake breweries – promoting sake awareness and appreciation through the rich culture, craftsmanship and lifestyle. This time, Sake Matsuri is returning with the largest ever sake selection, including a wide variety of competition-winning sake, seasonal releases, and sake that you’ll probably see for the first time in Singapore!

Enjoy a full three hours of free flow sake sampling, together with your own RIEDEL tasting glass. Have a taste of delicious food to pair with your sake tasting, such as Wagyu fat-fried katsu sandos from Gyu San and modern Japanese small bites from Japanese restaurant Wagatomo.

We got a little ahead of ourselves and had a sneak peek at what’s in store for us during this year’s Sake Matsuri with a sake pairing at modern Japanese restaurant Wagatomo – here are some of the sakes we think you should definitely keep an eye out for this year:

RASEN Sake by Yaegaki Brewery in Hyogo

A special blend of Junmai sake created with local Singaporean food in mind, RASEN is intended to be paired with delicious Singaporean cuisine with its sweetness and higher acidity – meant to pair perfectly with local delights such as seafood and laksa.

This sake is a product of a Japan-Singapore collaboration with Singaporean celebrity chef Willin Low and is blended using two types of Junmai sake, producing a sake with a smooth texture, elegant sweetness, and umami flavours.

Daishichi Junmai Daiginjo Shoka by Daishichi Brewery in Fukushima

The Daishichi Junmai Daiginjo Shoka is made using Yamadanishiki, the king of sake rice, and has a polishing ratio of 50%. What’s interesting about the Daishichi brewery is that their sake is made using only the Kimoto method, which is the most traditional method of brewing sake. This process involves introducing a bacteria and natural lactic acid to the sake-making mixture of rice, water, yeast, and koji. The kimoto method is then performed by brewers using a paddle to grind the sake rice to introduce this bacteria. This is a highly skilled and complex process, and requires three times the usual amount of time compared to modern industrial brewing methods.

The Daishichi brewery is also a pioneer in flat rice polishing which yields a higher quality – sake produced by polishing flat rice with a polishing ratio of 51% is equivalent to its normal rice counterparts’ polishing ratio of 34%.

This delicious sake has notes of fresh fruits as well as pleasant surprises too – a fresh sake with an unexpected hint of slight ageing.

Four Fox Junmai Daiginjo from Naeba Shuzo in Niigata

The Four Fox Junmai Daiginjo from Four Fox Sake has possibly one of the most striking sake bottles we’ve ever seen. Its sleek and modern chrome sake bottle design that features the fox spirits of Inari guarding the Torii gates, allowing only the purest of spirits to pass – a fitting metaphor for a Junmai Daiginjo brewed in Niigata, using pure snowmelt water and highly polished gohyakumangoku sake rice to a polishing ratio of 50%.

This Junmai Daiginjo encapsulates the classic clean, crisp, dry and pure flavour profile of Niigata sakes, and makes for an easy bottle to reach for a drink with friends, or even in sake-based cocktails.

Gangi Hitotsubi Junmai from Yaoshin Shuzo in Yamaguchi

A mouthwatering Junmai sake brought to us by Kirei – the Gangi Hitotsubi Junmai sake is made by adding water to the raw seishu sake and heat-treating the sake after bottling.

The heat treatment of this sake give way to a unique flavour profile that’s slightly reminiscent of what you’d get with aged sakes – a balanced sweetness and savouriness, notes of shiitake mushrooms, and a medium texture with a dry mouthfeel that lets every sip carry its weight in flavour.

Mikotsuru Karakuchi Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu from Suwa Mikotsuru Brewery in Nagano

Mirai Sake Hall brings us this delightful Nama Genshu from Suwa Mikotsuru Brewery. Nama refers to sake that is unpasteurized, and Genshu is sake which has not been diluted after pressing.

This is a dry-style Junmai sake with a refreshing mouthfeel, with flavours of fresh fruits and citrus – an ideal pairing with salty food, vinegared food, or heavier oily food for the refreshing acidity of this Nama Genshu to cut through.

Hirotogawa Tokubetsu Junmai by Hirotogawa Shuzo in Fukushima

Another fantastic choice brought to us by Mirai Sake Hall, the Hirotogawa Tokubetsu Junmai is made using Yume no Ka sake rice and is polished to a semai-buai ratio of 55%. Yume no Ka is a famous local rice from Fukushima, and the high polishing ratio brings about distinct aromas and flavours of ripe peaches and Japanese melon. This pairs wonderfully with rich foods with a taste of some sweetness, such as gravies or sukiyaki. 

This is an 8-year consecutive gold award-winning sake from one of the most prestigious sake competitions in Japan - have a taste of this sake when it's both chilled and warmed!

About the Sake Matsuri Festival

When: Saturday, 1 April 2023 and Sunday, 2 April 2023 – from 11am to 2pm OR 3pm to 6pm

Where: Urban Park @ Guoco Tower, 1 Wallich Street, Singapore 078881

Ticket Pricing: $55 per person or $250 for a group of five

Each ticket includes three hours of free flow sake sampling at Sake Matsuri, and a Sake Matsuri RIEDEL tasting glass

Get your tickets now at www.sakematsuri.sg!

Happy sipping!

@ChopstickPride