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A beautiful new space dedicated to Japanese rice wine just opened in Industry City, hoping to spur even more New Yorkers to drink and learn about the beverage.
Sake Studies Center, which pegs itself as the first sake school in the country attached to a functioning brewery, is associated with Brooklyn Kura, the sake brewery that opened at 34 34th Street in Brooklyn back in 2018.
The beautiful new, 20,000-square-foot space is actually more than double the brewery’s previous capacity and it will be home to different in-person and virtual programs, including a weekly Introduction to Sake class, a sake server certification course and brewery tours. You can sign up for the various offerings right here and expect them to be available online as well in the near future.
The programming will be helmed by Director of Education and sake expert Timothy Sullivan, who was awarded the title of Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewers Association back in 2007.
At Brooklyn Kura next door, visitors get to indulge in a rotating menu of sake on tap that are available by the glass, in carafes or in tasting flights. Make sure to try some exclusives like a moromi and a shiboritate.
Bar manager Kyle Davis has also created a cocktail menu focused on a slightly different Japanese spirit, shochu. Standout offerings include the Martin cocktail (sandalwood-infused shochu, sweet vermouth, atomized Luxardo and sage) and the Kakariko (buckwheat, Japanese bourbon, sherry and soda).
In addition to tasting some of the best rice wine out there, patrons should order some of the shareable plates available. The menu features octopus salad lettuce cups, chicken fried oyster mushrooms, pork sausages and a two-toned focaccia made with black garlic butter and a Japanese spice called togarashi.
Given the city's focus on all things immersive, it's exciting to learn about the debut of a slightly different project—especially one that involves delicious drinks.