Only a few years ago, sake (or nihonshu rather) was seen as succumbing to a massive domestic slump, with younger drinkers in particular abandoning Japan's signature brew in favour of beer and wine.
But this downward trend seems to have flipped: the rice tipple has been seeing quite a boom recently, with sake-specialist bars and restaurants offering nihonshu pairings with their dinners sprouting up like daisies both in Japan and abroad. For such a traditional drink, the times are a-changing indeed.
One place where this was apparent was at the 2017 edition of the Sake Competition, an annual event which sees a specialist panel of judges rough it by tasting very, very large amounts of sake before deciding which brews can be crowned the cream of the crop in a number of categories, including one for best packaging and ones for every different type of nihonshu (daiginjo, junmai and so on).
This contest was originally started to give the image (and sales) of nihonshu a boost, as well as to provide more information on the tipple, which is still regarded as somewhat inaccessible by some – what constitutes a good sake, and how do you pick the right bottle?
Now in its sixth year, the Sake Competition has grown to be a very fancy, grand affair, being held at Roppongi's Grand Hyatt and all. It's currently the world's largest contest of its kind in terms of entry numbers, so surely, we thought, it would be the right place to figure out what's happening in the sake world.
To start with our overall impression of the extravaganza, it's safe to say that sake is in the midst of a decidedly modern facelift. If you're looking to blag your way through a nihonshu-themed conversation next time you sit across from a self-proclaimed connoisseur in an izakaya, read on for four more specific trends we noticed.
1. Modern labels
Many older sake bottle labels tend to feature traditional calligraphy depicting the brand and brewery name – which makes things a bit difficult if you don't read any Japanese and think all of them look alike.
Nowadays, however, smaller breweries in particular have started producing sleek, modern labels, often with minimal text, easy-to-remember images and sometimes even with the names written in alphabetic characters rather than kanji.
Some of them have hired graphic designers to really promote their brand to a contemporary audience, whereas others keep things in-house because they happen to be blessed with a design-savvy toji (brew master).
This year's Sake Competition top ten definitely underscored this point: although the top prize did eventually go to a comparatively more traditional bottle (Echigo Tsurukame's Koshiwa), the label was quite discreet, with just the right balance between the nostalgic (traditional-style kanji) and the modern (a strong, simple image of a bird).
Animals – cats in particular – seem to be popping up more and more anyways, with some of one of our label favourites being Le Chat Botté, which boasts a cat wearing rain boots, and Haginotsuru's junmai ginjo, plastered with one very lazy feline.
2. Bubbly
The sake boom has yet to fully envelop younger Japanese drinkers, but sparkling sake is the brewer's new way in with the young crowd. Iwate's Nanbubijin Awase Sparkling took home the top prize in the carbonated category, but Miyagi's Suzune, in third place, was our fave – with its light, fruity flavour and ¥700 price tag, it makes for a nice accompaniment in the park during summer, possibly being the bottle that would sway even the most ardent sake-haters.
If you're looking for something a bit more edgy, try nigori – a cloudy version of sake with a bit of (natural) fizz. You'll have to shake the bottle before opening to get even sediment, but caution yourself when actually popping the cap: it'll sprout like a bottle of shaken Coke.
We like the Tsuki no Katsura nigori – white label; the black label junmai is also very good – as well as Mutsuhassen's Dobu Rokku (an unfiltered variety).
3. Simple but bold flavours
作, or Zaku, was the brand crowned not once, but four times in two different categories at the Sake Competition, even taking spots one and two in the same junmai category. This Mie prefecture brewery truly makes exquisite stuff across the board – we tried their Meguminotomo (pictured above, third from left), a slightly dry sake that still managed to be very fruity and full-flavoured.
Considering its top marks, it looks like there's a distinctive shift away from harder, intensely dry (karakuchi) flavours, with people looking for a more accessible tipple instead. Seeing that this particular bottle and brand has made its way into the top ten in consecutive years now, we'd say it's a very safe bet if you're looking for value: a 720ml bottle retails for around ¥1,400.
For the local crowd in the know, the brand of choice when it comes to bold flavours is the Yamagata-born Juyondai, although its popularity has led to a massive price surge online; bottles that used to fetch ¥2,000-¥5,000 in stores are now being hawked for ¥20,000 and upwards. Ouch.
4. Indie upstarts
Larger sake brewers may still reign supreme in supermarkets across Japan, but it was smaller brewers from less-obvious provinces that took home most of the prizes at this year's Sake Competition.
Rather than the usual suspects in Niigata and Aomori – both known for their rice, and thus also sake, production – microbreweries from prefectures such as Mie raked in the prizes.
Even Saitama-, Gunma- and Chiba-based brewers were crowned some of the country's best – go Kanto! Tohoku remains a favourite however, with renewed accolades for nihonshu from Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi.
But even in this traditional brewing region, sake now comes with more of a rock 'n roll edge in the form of younger brewers, funky designs, new flavours and an ambitious outlook.
Looking to go on a sake brewery tour? Check out our guide to nihonshu-fuelled travel in Kansai here