The Japanese Sake Bible. Brian Ashcraft

       SHARING SAKE WITH THE WORLD

       The Sake Bible launches at a crucial moment for sake as top chefs, sommeliers and enthusiasts alike are discovering this beautifully handcrafted beverage. Sake has been part of Japanese culture for over a thousand years and until recently you had to be an expert and make frequent visits to Japan to study and unravel the mysteries that are gathered together in this book.

      As a longtime sake enthusiast, reading this book brings me back to my first trip to Japan. I soon realized that the sake I had tasted growing up in Canada had been very basic and rough. In Tokyo, strange oversized 1.8-liter (4-pint) isshobin bottles lined the windows and shelves of the local restaurants we visited, each decorated with beautiful labels covered with exotic motifs and unrecognizable characters. With every new bottle I realized no two sake were alike, discovering a surprising range of deep and refined flavors accompanied by fragrant aromas and subtle varying textures. Served in hand-crafted vessels, the sake gently supported the food, and the ritual of pouring for one another created a warm and communal feeling.

      Those early experiences kindled my deep curiosity in sake, and as I returned to Japan each year for my DJ concerts, I visited breweries, talked with brewers, tasted local styles and learned as much about sake as I could. I started to fully appreciate the fine balance of tradition and modern technology that forms the basis of this refined, handcrafted and creative process.

      As a musician who balances human intuition alongside electronic synthesizers and drum machines to write music, I found a wonderful parallel to the creative process of artisan sake. The attention to technical detail, the restricted ingredients and the astonishing resulting complexity, along with its heady intoxicating feeling, all reminded me of qualities that I strove to instill in my own productions. I was hooked, and just as I share my passion for music in my DJ performances, I set in motion a series of ideas that would allow me to spread my passion for sake to my fans and friends around the world.

      This is where my intentions align with this book’s creators, in our mission to share our love and knowledge of Japanese sake with an international audience. In this book you’ll meet the men and women behind the sake: the families, brewery owners, master brewers and the staff, whose ingenuity, perseverance and dedication have continued the tradition and development of sake over generations. And you will learn how relatively simple ingredients become such a magic combination, creating the complexity and variety of flavors, textures and aromas that we all find so alluring in sake.

      One of the most beautiful, and important, characteristics of sake is that it quietly enhances the flavors of food and actually pairs incredibly well with international cuisine. At tasting events around the world, I marry sake with regional specialties using local ingredients. From pasta and fresh cheeses in Italy, to seafood paella in Spain and delicate farm-to-table dishes at Michelin-starred restaurants, the versatility of sake is unparalleled and something I recommend everyone experiment with!

      I remember one particular dinner in Lebanon where guests were astonished and excited how well this foreign beverage paired with their flavorful and hearty cuisine. In combination with the sake, they were tasting their favorite traditional dishes in a refreshing new light. Imagine a creamy lentil pasta with spicy tamarind and juicy