CRAFT SAKE, POURED WEEKLY
Sake is being brewed in Brooklyn. And Nashville. And Hot Springs, Arkansas.
A weekly letter about craft sake — the new American breweries, the Japanese kura that have been at it for centuries, and what's actually worth drinking.
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Why this exists
Japan closed the door. The brewers went somewhere else.
For most of a century, Japan has barely issued a license for a new sake brewery. So anyone who wanted to brew had two choices: buy a kura that already existed, or leave. Enough of them left that there is now sake being brewed in Brooklyn, in Nashville, and in Hot Springs, Arkansas. In 2025, one of them sent sake back to Japan.
Almost nobody is covering this for people who just want to drink well. The good sake writing comes out of Japan, and the American newsletters belong to shops selling you their inventory. We’re neither.
Every Thursday
Six minutes. No homework.
One Bottle
A single sake worth finding, and where to actually buy it.
The Brewery Spotlight
One American kura at a time.
From the Old Guard
Japan, covered with respect rather than as decoration.
Behind the Noren
A working sommelier’s tasting, or a cocktail you can build at home.
Sake 101
One idea explained plainly, in the same place, every issue.
The Board
Festivals, releases and tap takeovers worth the trip.
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