Monthly Club Archives
Every month, our sake club arrives with a story. Browse past selections, tasting notes, comics and seasonal letters from the Sunflower team.
JUNE 24, Treasures from Okayama, Part 1: Chikurin Otoro Namazake + the protein contradiction
Dinner & impromptu kanzake with new friends at Love Song, a natural wine, raw fish & okonomiyaki bar, Okayama City Sunflower Sake...
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Matsunoi: The Lone Pine of Tokamachi
Yutaka Furusawa is a classically trained Echigo Guild toji. His style is clean, dry on the finish, with a robust core. Everything...
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SEPTEMBER 2023: Tedorigawa
This month’s club looks at two different interpretations of elegance under the Yoshida Shuzo banner. Tedorigawa Daiginjo Iki na Onna, which translates...
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NOVEMBER 23: Celebratory Feasts (Tsuchida Kimoto & Tsukinokatsura Iwai)
It’s undeniable: Portland is getting colder, wetter, and cozier by the day. I went to the Japanese Garden a week ago and...
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MAY 24: The Kamoizumi Story
May 2024, we used a one-page comic to highlight Kidoizumi Shuzo & the inaugural arrival of AFS, as well as a fresh...
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JUNE 2023: All About Kirinzan
June 2023, we used a one-page comic to highlight a brand-new arrival to Oregon: the seasonal junmai ginjo nama, Potari Potari Blue,...
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JULY 23: The US Import Pathway: How Sake Gets from Japan to You
Sourcing sake is a complicated process. Alcohol is highly regulated, and the path from brewery to customer is complex: in all but...
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FEB 24: Cool climate rice: How Kamenoo saved the north
Japan’s record heatwaves are flipping the script on a century of rice breeding for cold tolerance. From the 1600s to as late...
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APRIL 24: Terada Honke's Gonin Musume, three ways
Terada Honke, maker of Gonin Musume, is an unusual brewery. Their sake is made with organic rice, entirely ambient microorganisms, and ancient...
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JAN 24: A sake diary entry for a difficult month
the sake I chose for January– Hakuto Tokubetsu Junmai, Tahoma Fuji Namagenshu, and Bizen Maboroshi Junmai Ginjo-- are a bit of a...
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DEC 23: Kokken Shuzo: a Fukushima Tale
For December 2023 sake club, in honor of the recent arrival of two super-fresh Kokken Shuzo bottlings, the (aged) Yamahai Junmai and...
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