Assemblage Club, a Japanese sake project made possible through the cooperation of three sake breweries in Kyoto, and My Sake World, a place where individuals, restaurants, and businesses can create their own original blended Japanese sake. We interviewed the breweries and people who are cooperating and supporting this unprecedented project called "Sake Blending," about why they decided to participate and the impact it has had since then.

I spoke to this person

Yukino Nishimura, Manager of Isomatsu, Isoya Group

Profile

Born in Tokyo. After graduating from university, he worked for a general company and moved to Kyoto in 2012. In 2020, he joined the Isoya Group and was involved in the launch of Misostand (later spun off). In 2022, he moved to Isomatsu and became the store manager the following year.

1. Isomatsu: A wide selection of wines that go well with vegetable dishes

The hugely popular Izakaya Izakaya Group uses fresh vegetables picked every morning from their own farm in Kyoto. Of the 11 restaurants in Kyoto City, Isomatsu in particular is based on the concept of vegetable dishes that go well with wine. The restaurant, which makes use of a Kyoto townhouse located in Kawaramachi Shijo, has an impressive large wine cellar right at the entrance.

-What is Isomatsu's position within the Isoya group?

Nishimura: "Our restaurant is 'Vegetables and Wine,' so we specialize in wine more than other restaurants. We stock wines from many different countries and types, plus we also have natural wines. Our cuisine is quite diverse, ranging from Western to Chinese, Korean, Italian and French tastes, and we feature dishes that use the aromas of spices and herbs that go well with the wine."

2. The highly popular original blend sake [Natsuyu]

Isoya Corporation "Natsuyu"

- At the Isoya Group, we offer your original blended sake, which was created through the Assemblage Club, and Natsuyu, a soup made specifically for vegetables. What has the reaction been?

Nishimura-san: "In addition to wine, we also have two or three types of sake available, but Natsuyu in particular is often ordered as the first drink for a toast, as it is a sake that can only be drunk here. It is also very popular with foreigners."

—What do you think of the taste of Natsuyu?

Nishimura said, "It has a slightly sweet and sour taste and is refreshing, and very easy to drink. It also reminds me a bit of wine. It's been well received even by customers who don't usually drink much sake, and some have even bought a bottle to take home because they liked it so much."

--Has anything changed since you were offered "Natsuyu"?

Nishimura: "I think we probably sell the most out of all the restaurants in the Isoya group. People order it often, which leads to an increase in the average customer spending."

3. Original sake made by Nishimura himself at [My Sake World]

—The other day, you also had the opportunity to try out sake blending at My Sake World.

Nishimura: "It was fun! I had never thought of blending existing alcoholic beverages, so I wondered how it would turn out at first. But when I tried it, I was surprised at how well it came together. It was like combining two sakes that were already delicious and taking the best parts of each. I tried it with the other staff members, and everyone said theirs was the best (laughs). That's what you get when you choose your own favorite alcohol and make it."

- Nishimura's blend of sake is served in the shop under the name [ISOMATSU].

Nishimura: "We used a sweet and sour sake as the main flavor, blended it with a smooth-tasting Junmai Daiginjo sake so that it would go well with the restaurant's dishes, which are paired with wine. I think we've created a bottle that has a refreshing sweet and sour taste, similar to yogurt, and a strong rice flavor that is unique to sake. We've received great feedback from customers, who say, 'There's a sake like this!' We serve it chilled, but the flavor seems to gradually increase as it gets closer to room temperature, and some customers say they prefer it this way. Everyone is intrigued by the fact that it's an original sake that can only be drunk here, so they order it, and then they share a cup as a group and exchange opinions, and it seems to have become a hot topic of conversation."

Natsuyu: 1,700 yen per glass, 1 yen per cup; ISOMATSU: 2,000 yen per glass, 1,700 yen per cup
Carpaccio of wild yellowtail with onion leaves and yogurt, herbs and lemon zest sauce 1,500 yen, arugula tarte flambé 1,800 yen

4. Because it is a drink that I made, I can recommend it with care.

-Finally, please tell us about your future plans.

Nishimura says, "As we're not a specialist sake store, we have a limited selection, but we'd like to offer our own original sake, as well as interesting seasonal sake that goes well with our cuisine. If I were to recommend something, I'd recommend original sake, and since it's sake that I made myself, I can put a lot of feeling into it and appeal to customers."

"I would like to tour the sake brewery with customers and have some kind of 'experience'. Like the sake blending at My Sake World, these days a lot of people are looking for experiences. I think it would be interesting if we could have some kind of sake-related experience together."

The Isoya Group harvests fresh vegetables every morning from its farms and prepares them into dishes that go well with alcohol. Sake has been added to the list of vegetables that the group is proud of.
The staff confidently recommends not only food and wine, but also sake, which increases customer satisfaction and the overall appeal of the store.

About the production of original blended sake
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Writer/Sake Master Eriko Fujita
Expand your world to a sake specialty store in Osaka and encounter a variety of sake and sake breweries. Favorite sakes are Akishika, Ohgi, and others.
Other than drinking, my hobbies include collecting minerals and raising swallowtail butterflies.