NYC's Top Spots to Sip on Sake

Since 1978, October 1 has held a special place in Japanese culture as World Sake Day or "Nihonshu no hi."

Aside from being a day to honor the complex fermented beverage, it also signifies the beginning of sake making season.

Though not yet as popular as other spirits or beer and wine, sake is gaining traction around the world, and rightly so. Best served chilled, the rice alcohol can be found in specialty liquor stores, trend-setting restaurants, chic bars and Japanese establishments throughout the country.

In particular, New York City is experiencing a wave of newly opened, stylish and sophisticated Japanese restaurants. Along with this slew of innovative ramen shops and sushi bars come sake-specific cocktail menus to pair alongside the savory cuisine.

"Sake is unique when compared to other types of spirits because it is the most food-friendly beverage. Since sake is high in amino acids, (especially glutamic acid), it makes it easier to pair with food unlike wine, which has many tart and bitter acids like malic and tannic acids," said Jessica Joly, International Kikisake-Shi (sake sommelier) and the inaugural Miss Sake USA.

"With sake, the palate is soft and delicate; therefore, it is not a beverage that will overpower your food. Someone once said, 'sake is there to be the best supporting actor and not the main,' which is why it will always be a great pairing for food because it is not trying to outshine the cuisine. With the right combination, it will elevate your food experience to the next level."

Neither distilled nor carbonated, sake is unique to other types of alcohol. Given the wide variety of sake styles-think crisp, dry, fruity or earthy-sake provides a perfect accompaniment to any dining experience

On that note, here are three of New York City's top spots to spend an evening sipping sake. Kanpai!

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SakaMai

The Lower East Side's SakaMai is a contemporary, upscale Japanese Gastro-Lounge that boasts not only an extensive list of sake but also a wide range of inventive Japanese cocktails, beers, whiskeys and shochu. Literally translated as "sake rice," SakaMai prides itself on offering hard-to-find sakes from around the world.

Whether you're a connoisseur of sake or not, the incredibly attentive staff possesses an unparalleled level of knowledge. Don't be shy when it comes to asking questions!

Moreover, this modern izakaya and sake bar has a featured sake list to help guests choose from their vast repertoire. With one glance at the menu, guests can learn where their sake came from, its tasting notes, rice polish percentage and alcohol by volume.

Guests can opt to sip on a flight of top-notch sake in its purest form or order from a selection of complex cocktails, courtesy of Angel's Share's Shingo Gokan, the award-winning mixologist behind SakaMai's cocktail program.

If you're lucky enough to dine on a Monday night, SakaMai hosts a Soul of Sake hour with Jessica Joly. Each week from 6 to 8 p.m., the team features a special sake ($9 for a glass of sake + 3 oysters), giving guests the opportunity to learn more about the large collection at SakaMai.

Bar Moga

Bar Moga is a recently opened Greenwich Village cocktail bar that serves beverages that incorporate traditional Japanese spirits into libations inspired by the American prohibition era as well as female-produced wines.

This self-proclaimed "1920s Japanese cocktail bar" is named after the Japanese "moga" or "modern woman", which is essentially the Japanese version to America's flappers. The moga is an independent woman who enjoyed jazz and Western fashion.

The beverage menu has been crafted by well-known New York mixology veterans Becky McFalls-Schwartz. It showcases shochu-forward libations such as the Sleepwalk with lemongrass shochu, yuzu omoi, sake, coconut, ginger, lime and rose.

Founded and designed by a woman, Bar Moga donates one dollar to the ACLU or Breast Cancer Research Foundation for every namesake cocktail (The Moga) that's ordered. This decked out, retro cocktail bar sports four types of sake, including the floral, citrusy Tedorigawa Iki Na Onna or Lady Luck, which was made purposely to celebrate women sake store-owners in Japan.

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Oka

Last month, John McCarthy opened izakaya-formatted Oka in Murray Hill. Oka strives to reimagine the Japanese tavern-style "through a New York lens." Being the sake sommelier (and former wd-50 research and development cook) that he is, McCarthy hand-chose the selection of sake and shochu that fill its menu.

The innovative cocktail menu highlights Japanese ingredients in beverages like the Lillet blossom with Lillet, vodka, Ginjo sake, ginger and grapefruit. There's also the Kyoto spritzer with prosecco, umeshu (a plum wine) and grapefruit.

The libations menu is made up of a range of Japanese whisky, shochu and sake. Guests can order the latter by the glass, carafe or bottle and can easily navigate the selection based on what taste profile they're in the mood for.

From the full-bodied pure rice sake Junmai/ Tokubetsu Junmai to the elegant and smooth ultra-premium Daiginjo/ Junmai Daiginjo or the sparkling Aragoshi Umeshu plum sake, there's a sake for every taste preference.

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