Japanese Drinks at Home: Sake Pairings and Shōchū Cocktails

家で楽しむ日本酒と焼酎

Bring an izakaya (Japanese style-tavern) experience to your home in the final part of this webinar series exploring the world of Japanese drinks from Japan House and the Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association.

During the event, sake sommelier and Museum of Sake founder Kikuya Natsuki shares inventive ways to pair sake with food, using food items available locally in the UK – perfect for enjoying sake at home. Attendees will also receive a mixology masterclass from award-winning bar owner and bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, who introduces how to make unusual cocktails at home using Japan’s most popular domestic spirit shōchū.

Finally, Oliver Hilton-Johnson (Tengu Sake) provides a brief overview of sake and shōchū trends in the UK, explaining where the drinks can be purchased and how they can be enjoyed.

There will be an opportunity for guests to ask questions to the speakers during this live online event.

Expand your knowledge of the drinks of Japan with the other events in this series: ‘Nihonshu: Sake Brewery Visit and Introduction’ and ‘Shōchū: Distillery Visit and Introduction’ (recordings available on Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn after each event takes place).

About the Speakers:

Kikuya Natsuki

Born into a sake brewery family in Akita Prefecture, Kikuya Natsuki’s sake journey started in 2009 in Tokyo at the sake retail company Hasegawa Saketen, and in 2010 in London as a sake sommelier at the Zuma restaurant group. In 2013, she launched ‘Museum of Sake’ a sake PR and education agency to introduce and promote sake to European markets. Natsuki was awarded with the prestigious title of ‘Sake Samurai’ in 2015 and is a judge in the International Wine Challenge (IWC) Sake Category.

Ryan Chetiyawardana

Award-winning bartender Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, is owner and founder of Lyaness, London; Silver Lyan, Washington DC; and Super Lyan, Amsterdam as well as Mr Lyan Studio creative agency. Ryan is also a world-renowned teacher, becoming a MasterClass instructor in 2020. As a pioneer of sustainability within the world of food and drink, and with a focus on innovation, Mr Lyan has become internationally recognized for pushing the boundaries of the industry, accruing titles such as International Bartender of the Year, and World's Best Bar along the way.

Oliver Hilton-Johnson

Oliver is a sake and shōchū specialist and is the Director of Tengu Sake, a Japanese alcohol imports, wholesale and retail company. Tengu Sake supplies quality Japanese sake and spirits to some of the UK’s finest restaurants and bars and is the recipient of the International Wine Challenge’s ‘Sake Merchant of the Year’ award 2016–2019. In November 2019 Oliver was named as one of the ‘Future 50’ drinks industry professionals to watch.