This week at Sake On Air we tackle a wide range of sake and shochu-specific topics based upon questions submitted by you, the listeners!Even though we’re always available and eager to engage with our listeners, viewers and followers across all of the online spaces you can find us on, we also recognize that there’s still a great deal more that we could be doing to facilitate that dialogue. This episode is just one small piece of a larger initiative in-the-works to help make that happen.In order to help improve and expand the flow of communication between our listeners and everyone here at SOA, we’ve actually welcomed a new partner-in-crime to the crew!It was thanks to Cindy Bissig that we were able to make this episode happen, and if you happened to submit a question or interact at all with us here on social media over the past couple of months, chances are it was Cindy that you were talking to.A talented, ambitious, sake-loving and ever-traveling documenter of the Japan experience, we were incredibly lucky to have our world collide with Cindy’s despite a year of limited interaction and travel. For the past few months she’s been keeping a close eye on the world of sake to share up-to-date info with our listeners, while also going out of her way to create more opportunities to dialogue with the people that make this show a joy to create: you.On this week’s show, Cindy joins a handful of your regular hosts, Rebekah Wilson-Lye, Justin Potts and Chris Hughes, to tackle your questions and offer perspective from our position over here on the fine island of Japan. Consider this “Part 1”, as we still have many more questions that we weren’t able to get to and we’re always accepting your thoughts and questions. It’s an ever-expanding, never-ending quest that we’re on.

Be sure to send along a big “Kampai!” to Cindy and welcome her to the show! And while you’re at it, let us know what you think of this week’s format and if you’d like to hear more of this type of discussion-based Q&A from your hosts and guests. You can go ahead and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or whatever service you rely upon for your podcasting needs, as well. Contact us at [email protected] with any thoughts about the show, and feel free to follow us on  Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Everything from Sake Future Summit 2020, as well as a number of other recordings, are all archived over on our YouTube channel, as well.We’ll be back in two weeks with more Sake On Air.Until then, Kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is a co-production between Export Japan and Potts.K Productions, with audio production by Frank Walter. Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” was composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.