Sake Surges in the US

For years, most Americans knew sake — assuming they knew it at all — as a hot, jet fuel-like drink sipped from thimble-sized cups between bites of sushi.

As better sake becomes more available in the U.S. the Japanese drink is finding fans in all areas of...

As better sake becomes more available in the U.S. the Japanese drink is finding fans in all areas of the country. Restaurants with a large sake selection, some with over 100 choices to consider, find themselves putting a sake sommelier on staff. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe)

(AP)

Turns out, we were swallowing schlock.

"There wasn't a lot of selection and what did come to us was an inferior brew," says Ed Lehrman, founder of Vine Connections, a wine and sake importer.

"Distribution of sake was limited to Japanese trading companies. They sell you the food, the plates, the sake. It's one-stop shopping for sushi restaurants. In that environment, sake wasn't getting its due. And the majority of the sake exported was table sake, which isn't very good."

But about 10 years ago, two things changed that.

In the U.S., Asian food trends boomed. Asian and Asian-fusion restaurants flourished, non-Asian restaurants served dishes with ingredients such as miso, wasabi and edamame, and grocers offered more ethnic fare.

At the same time, the Japanese began turning their noses up at sake. In Japan, young drinkers view sake as old fashioned, favoring beer and wine instead. As a result, sake consumption has fallen sharply since 1995.

To survive, premium sake (pronounced SAH-kay) brewers in Japan turned to Americans and began working with importers, who introduced sake to the fine wine market.

"Non-Japanese companies started importing sake and doing dog-and-pony shows to educate people about it," says Beau Timken, author of "Sake: A Modern Guide."

"Some educators started coming online," he says. "Restaurateurs are making an incredible effort to get people to try something they're not used to. Sake started getting more face time."

Americans' thirst for sake exploded. The U.S. has become the largest importer of Japanese sake worldwide.

During the past five years, the volume of sake brought from Japan has grown about 14 percent a year (987,475 gallons in 2007 and estimated at more than 1 million gallons for 2008), with an estimated total retail value around $150 million.