A bit of a small miracle, we managed to get the entire Sake On Air entourage in the same room at the same time. A first for the show, we have John, Sebastien, big Chris & little Chris, and Justin all together on the mic together this week!

In Japan, the sake and shochu industries are now just as turbulent and dynamic as any beverage category on the market. Since that action doesn’t always get communicated to the international sake-loving community, we thought we would sit down this week to reflect on the trends and impactful events that helped define sake in 2018.

Seeing as how we like to look ahead to sake and shochu’s unquestionably bright future, we also rounded up and shared our predictions for 2019. Some of those things are extensions of what we saw in 2018, however we could be in for some real surprises as well.

This week’s recording took place after a lengthy and energized team gathering where we plotted out our vision, goals and ambitions for the year ahead. The result is an episode of Sake On Air with an (awesome!) energy a bit different from everything that’s come before. Suffice it to say, we’re ecstatic about what the coming year has in store.

As far as we’re concerned, we’re still sending out the “beta” version of the show, but we’re on the verge of shifting into the next phase. We’ve got some big plans and exciting changes in store. They may not all be apparent at first, but we think you’ll pick up on it soon enough. We can’t wait to share more in the coming months.

As always, thanks to both our dedicated followers and new listeners that make it all possible. If you have any thoughts about the show, feel free to contact us at [email protected]

Please do follow along with us (@sakeonair) on our day-to-day journeys via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, as well. We’re sharing glimpses into sake brewing, service, people, and the culture that binds it all together.

Taking a moment to write a quick review helps more than you know. If you’re so inclined, yoroshiku!

A big thanks (as always) to Frank Walter for the amazing turnaround on this one. We wanted to get this out into the world while the excitement was still resonating.

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association and is a joint production between Potts.K Productions and Export Japan.

Kampai!

Our theme is “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.