Sake Matsuri Singapore 2019

Singapore’s largest craft sake festival returns for its third edition; Sake Matsuri Singapore 2019 will take place on Saturday 28 September 2019 and features over 200 sakes for tasting.

Organised by bottle shop Temple Cellars, Sake Matsuri Singapore looks to increase the awareness and appreciation of quality craft sakes from smaller, family-owned breweries across different prefectures in Japan. This year’s festival will feature over 200 sakes from different craft sake distributors together under one roof for tasting, including seasonal releases that are available for the first time in Singapore.

Festival goers can expect a plethora of sakes made in a plethora of ways, ranging from the familiar heavier but drier traditional styles to more modern, fruit-forward styles that can appeal to a new generation of drinkers. Also on showcase are funkier, higher-acidity kimoto and yamahai method sakes, sweet and delicate sparkling sakes, and even smoky, sherry-like aged sakes.

You can look forward to sakes such as Keigetsu Junmai Daiginjo CEL24, a progressive style sake from the Kochi’s Tosa Brewery, and the Tenmei Bange Yamada Hanjuku Nama Junmai from the Fukushima producer. The Niida Shizenshu Kimoto Melon 3.33 – also from Fukushima – is a more farmhouse style with a mild sour juiciness underpinning its bright melon flavours, and likewise the award-winning Gokeiji Junmai Ginjo by Ibaraki’s Aoki Brewery that’s perfectly balance of fruit sweetness and lactic sourness.

Seasoned sake drinkers looking for something different could try the Murasaki Shikibu Junmai from Ibaraki, a darker, reddish sake made with kadai-mai exhibiting flavours reminiscent of wine or brandy. Then there’s the rather bizarre Le Guishu – Assemblage, a rice wine from Provence in France that blends wine from rice as well as Colombard grapes.

Participants can also expect to see a number of masterclasses to take place alongside the festival; conducted by sake sommeliers and brewers for sake enthusiasts (separate fees apply). And for the first time, Sake Matsuri will see a series of unconventional sake-pairing dinners to showcase the versatility of sake in a non-traditional pairing with global cuisine, reaching out to an even wider audience.These dinners, held in collaboration with partner restaurants Si Chuan Dou Hua, Morsels, Thevar and ​Sofi Cafe Pizza by Pasta Brava, will span over 2 weeks; prices start from $128++ for a 5-course pairing dinner.

Tickets for Sake Matsuri Singapore 2019 costs $45 per person (excluding ticketing charges), with an early bird price of $35 (excluding ticketing charges) if purchased before 14 September. Ticket includes free flow tasting of over 200 sakes and a free glass worth $20 to take home. You can buy your tickets here.

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