THE CUP SAKE REVOLUTION
From the 29th February to the 6th March 2016, Museum of Sake, SoHo+Co
and Alina Sann ran a week-long cup sake bar in the courtyard of the
Hoxton Hotel in Shoreditch. In anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,
visitors watched original Tokyo ‘64 footage around a 20m long concertina
paper bar, with sake sommeliers to guide them on their tasting experience.
Cup sake was originally invented in 1964 to
enable thirsty Japanese spectators to enjoy
drinking sake whilst watching the Tokyo ’64
Olympic events. These individual portions
of sake are typically packaged in beautiful
and distinctively illustrated glasses and cans,
opened by simply peeling off the metal lid.
Historically cup sake has contained everyday
sake - more classic types. There has also been
the perception in the past that cup sake was
not very good quality. However, there has
been a shift recently with more breweries
creating unique cup sake with more premium
contents and beautiful designs. One example
is Umenishiki Junmai Daiginjo sake which
comes in a lovely, curved