'Sips of Summer' Kicks Off With a Sake Tasting Led by Jesse Matsuoka

Whether it’s wine or beer, spirits or hard cider, Americans love their alcoholic beverages. But the world of sake isn’t one that most of them are particularly well-versed in. For many people in this country, the word “sake” brings to mind a hot, clear beverage with a kick that is served in delicate ceramic vessels alongside sushi and sashimi.

But as Jesse Matsuoka, owner of Sen Restaurant in Sag Harbor, will tell you, the subtleties and complexities of sake run the gamut in terms of taste and temperature. On June 5, he will present “Exploring the World of Sake,” the first offering in “Sips of Summer,” a series hosted by The Express Magazine that celebrates the wineries, breweries and distilleries that call the East End home.

As a certified sake sommelier, Matsuoka has extensive knowledge of sake and a passion for its history and culture. At the June 5 event, guests will enjoy a tasting of a variety of sake products, some from Japan, where the fermented rice beverage originated, and some crafted right here on Long Island, and Matsuoka will talk about each sake that is poured.

Matsuoka recently sat down for an interview about the upcoming event, and quickly dispelled one of the first assumptions about sake — that it should always be served hot.

“There are a few liquor beverages that have the capability and versatility to be served at different temperatures,” Matsuoka explained. “You have mulled wine, and beer is one of those things in Europe that people might drink at room temperature, but not warmed up. A couple other things are like that, too, including hot toddies.

“Sake is one of those extremely versatile beverages,” he added. “Not only can it be served hot and cold, but the Japanese define it by enjoyment levels — actual degrees of enjoyment in temperature — so it’s not just lukewarm, there’s also slightly above lukewarm, hot, slightly hot and very hot.”

Matsuoka goes on to describe how the American propensity for drinking piping hot sake can be traced to the 1970s, when the only product coming stateside from Japan was boxed sake — basically, the jug of wine equivalent.

“That’s really what the American palate got used to back in the ’70s,” he said.

In the late 1970s, Matsuoka’s parents started a sushi catering business in New York City after his father, sumo wrestler Kazutomo “Tora san” Matsuoka, was injured and had to quit the sport. At the time, boxed sake was the only kind that his parents could get here.

“It was kind of gross and they boiled it to enjoy it. There’s nothing to compare it to from the homeland,” Matsuoka said. “It was not until the mid-to-late ’90s that importers and distributors realized it was moving very well, and that maybe there was a high end sake product Americans might enjoy.

“It took off,” he continued. “The new sakes that didn’t have to be served hot caught on – these were higher end sakes that you can enjoy chilled.”

Matsuoka notes that certain sake labels were designed specifically for the American market — those that could be served slightly chilled, at room temperature, or hot. And by explaining and educating the American market, the sales of sake increased.

“But what they didn’t educate people on was how to warm it up,” Matsuoka added. “A lot of people microwaved it. When it’s boiled, it loses the alcohol and ruins it. Or if you put it on the stovetop and boil it, which did the same.”

The proper way to warm sake is with a double boiler. Matsuoka recommends placing a full bottle of sake without the lid into a pot of boiling water on the stove, or boiling water in the microwave and then putting the bottle in the water once it’s removed from the microwave.

“You don’t want to damage the integrity of the product,” he said. “If it’s meant to be chilled and not warmed up, sometimes you’d lose the intricacies and taste profiles by warming. Warming increases alcohol by one percent, but it masks the very delicate profiles of sake. But other sakes have more structures and layers. By warming it up, the flavors express themselves, like a bottle of wine.”

Of course, wine is the specialty of Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Sagaponack’s Wölffer Estate Vineyard, but Roth is always on the lookout for new and creative ways to expand his product line, and a 2019 trip to Japan with Matsuoka yielded just that. The first sake that will be featured at the Sen tasting is not a sake at all, but rather Wölffer’s Oishi cider which is fermented with sake yeast.

“It was the brainchild between myself and Roman,” said Matsuoka. “I had brought Roman to breweries to see the world of sake in Japan. Wölffer wine is very popular there, and he did a wine tasting at two different restaurants — it’s so inspirational that our hometown product is represented in this way.

“At one of the sake brewery walk-throughs, you could see Roman’s mad scientist head saying ‘I must incorporate this yeast into something,’” he continued. “When we got back, he said, ‘Jesse, I think I’ve got it. I want to utilize the sake yeast to ferment my cider.”

So Matsuoka connected Roth with the brewmaster at Brooklyn Kura who gave Roth sake yeast which he used to ferment his cider.

“The end result was this cider that not only has a higher octane, but the yeast is able to ferment the sugars more than what their normal yeast could do — it gave it the profile of sake, but it’s cider made from apples,” said Matsuoka, who believes this beverage is a first of its kind. “It took a long time to finalize, but ultimately, he got it down to the science. It’s amazing and it tastes fantastic, with a light effervescence, it has the viscosity and mouth feel of a sake, but you’re like, ‘What is that? Wow, it’s apples.’”

Also on the tasting menu next Wednesday will be another somewhat local product — Brooklyn-made Kato Sake Works Nama — “nama” being the Japanese word for “unpasteurized.”

“Most sakes are pasteurized. Mr. Shinobu Kato is from Brooklyn, he’s three years in on his brewery and his products are fantastic,” Matsuoka explained. “He’s a retired engineer from a Japanese car company and hated his life in a corporate cubicle and wanted to do something different. He quit his job and invested time in building his sake skills. He was home brewing beer for many years and making small batch sakes at home. He went from a sake kit to his actual brewery in Brooklyn.”

Matsuoka explained that namas, which have a much shorter shelf life, are best served cold, as warming them is a way of pasteurizing them.

“The pasteurization process kills off any potential enzymes or refermentable proteins, but it also kills off flavor, all the beautiful creaminess, brightness and layers, all these things that namas bring that unfortunately are lost in pasteurization.

“Unpasteurized sake is very difficult to acquire, for the sole reason of the shelf life and stability. They’re sensitive and the difficulty is most sake is shipped on containers and takes a couple months to get to us,” he said. “Nama has to be enjoyed within a couple months. We get some nama from Japan, they will presell to restaurants who take it then air ship it. It’s more expensive and they only bring in what people commit to.”

Which is why Kato Sake Works has been a game changer for Matsuoka in terms of sourcing.

“But he’s one man and can’t deliver. He opened his brewery in March of 2020 and survived by selling to customers within walking distance from the brewery. Now he has a bigger brewery but is only delivering locally, so I’ve had to go in and pick it up myself.’

While namas are served chilled, there are other sakes with flavor profiles that change depending on temperature. One of those is Kikusui Sake Company’s Funaguchi, a favorite of Matsuoka’s which will be featured at the June 5 event.

“They’re based out of Niigata, which is on Japan’s west coast, and they’re a pretty big company, but excellent at everything they do,” said Matsuoka, who notes that he first became a fan of Kikusui’s sakes at a blind tasting in New York City.

“I tasted this one cup and my world exploded,” said Matsuoka. “I fell in love. I said, ‘Stop the tasting, what is this? I want to buy it.’ It was this. It’s full bodied, voluptuous, it’s sweet — I definitely have a sweet tooth — and it’s 19 percent alcohol. It’s dangerous, it’s so smooth it goes down like water.

“It’s great cold, but it’s also very nice at room temperature and fantastic hot,” he added. “It has a lychee, floral, cantaloupe flavor when cold, but when hot, it becomes earthy, shitake and almost porky, so what you’re eating might determine the temperature.”

Another sake from in Niigata that will be featured at the tasting is Hakkaisan Yukumoro, from one of Matsuoka’s favorite breweries.

“The hospitality they give there is so beautiful. Every time we go there, we stay at their manor, tour the brewery,” he said. “We have a meal with the brewers, the representatives, the company’s ambassadors and the president. It’s a big table with 100 dishes and a dozen pieces of glassware in front of you and you’ll taste through the different sakes.

“It’s the overall experience, the hospitality, the dedication to their craft, the way the sake brewmaster talks through the process — and that’s what inspired Roman so much,” said Matsuoka.

“I have this underlying drive to tell their story,” he added. “I have to share their passion, grit and hard work they’re putting into this product. They depend on me to be an ambassador for their product. I love to teach people — it’s edutainment, and it locks in that information.”

“Exploring the World of Sake” with Jesse Matsuoka is Wednesday, June 5, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Sen Restaurant, 23 Main Street, Sag Harbor. Other sakes that guest will be able to sample include Amabuki, Mio Crisp and Tedorigawa Yamahai Daigninjo. Tickets are $50 and light bites will be served. Other upcoming “Sips of Summer” events include: “An Evening with Wölffer and Paumanok,” a wine pairing dinner with winemakers Roman Roth and Kareem Massoud at The American Hotel in Sag Harbor on Thursday, June 20, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. ($140); The Next Generation of Craft Beer” at Kidd Squid Brewing Company in Sag Harbor on Thursday, July 18, at 6:30 p.m. ($40): “Craft Spirits from Master Distillers” at Sagaponack Farm Distillery on Thursday, August 1, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. ($75).