Joshua Kalinan (hereinafter referred to as Kalinan) is a globally active sake sommelier based in Singapore, having been selected as the 2018 Sake Sommelier of the Year by the SSA (Sake Sommelier Association), a global sake education organization headquartered in London, England.

With 103,000 followers on Instagram (as of June 2025), he has attracted international attention and In this interview, he reflects on his career and speaks passionately about the future of sake.

The encounter was with "Fugu Hirezake"

Kalinan first encountered sake more than 30 years ago, in 1992, during his time at Singapore Airlines.
Serving as Cabin Manager and Sommelier for First and Business Class, he was responsible for wine education and service.Despite being well-versed in fine wines, sake didn’t initially captivate him.

Despite being well-versed in fine wines, sake didn’t initially captivate him.

"Whenever I flew to Tokyo, I visited izakayas, but the sake served was what I would now call ‘mediocre.’ The taste didn’t leave a strong impression," he recalls.

At the time, Kalinan was pursuing the Certified Wine Educator (CWE) qualification, a credential awarded by the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators (SWE).

A turning point came in 2013, when he traveled to Tokyo to sit for the CWE exam.

One night, he stopped by a high-end izakaya and accidentally came across "fugu hirezake"—hot sake infused with grilled fugu fin.
The aroma and complexity stunned him.The moment he took a sip, he was shocked.

"It had a roasted, umami-driven aroma I’d never experienced. and was completely different from any sake I'd ever drunk up until then. The flavour was totally unlike any sake I’d had before. It felt mystical—and I wanted to know more.."

Inspired by his experience at night in Tokyo, Kalinan decided to learn more about sake, and in 2014 he became certified by the Sake Sommelier Association (SSA), which is based in London, England.
SSA is an international sake education institute established in 2000. It is well-known for its practical courses on learning about sake from a wine sommelier's perspective and its curriculum that emphasizes sake pairing.

As the first sommelier to obtain a sake qualification and work for Singapore Airlines, Kalinan was interviewed by several local media outlets.

"This means that as a qualified person, I need to know more about sake."

Feeling this way, Kalinan eagerly undertook courses such as the Sake Sommelier certification from the SSI (Sake Service Research Institute), WSET Sake Level 3, and the Japan Sommelier Association (JSA), and even began teaching himself Japanese kanji.
The results have been steadily recognized, and in 2016 he was invited to serve as a judge for the London Sake Challenge, building not only an international perspective but also the communication skills mentioned at the beginning.

COVID: A Turning Point

In 2020, the COVID pandemic that raged around the world also hit Singapore.
As airline operations were suspended, Kalinan held online educational courses for SSA and SSI sake sommeliers, and spent a lot of time researching sake pairings with Chinese cuisine and local Singaporean foods.

During this time, he began to feel that he wanted to focus on spreading SAKE to the world. In 2022, as global travel resumed, he made a bold decision: to leave his stable job of 30 years and launch his own beverage consultancy.

“It was a big decision. I left behind a steady salary and comfortable benefits. But I felt a strong desire to take the leap and create something of my own from scratch.After talking with my family, especially my wife, we decided to take this direction."

Though the early days were challenging, he soon began hosting sake pairing dinners and expanding his influence.
In 2023, he co-launched the Singapore Sake Challenge, the first international sake competition in Southeast Asia, which grew into a large-scale event in 2024 with over 160 entries.

HEAVENSAKE: A Game-Changing Encounter

For Kalinan, HEAVENSAKE was a life-changing encounter.

HEAVENSAKE lineup. From the left: "Label Orange Regis Camus x Urakasumi Sake Brewery", "Premium Junmai Konishi Junmai 12" (not yet released in Japan), "Label Noir Junmai Daiginjo Regis Camus x Niizawa Brewery", "Label Azul Junmai Ginjo", and "Sake Baby! by Hakushika" (not yet released in Japan).

HEAVENSAKE was founded in 2016 as a premium sake brand that incorporates the "assemblage" technique of blending sake into sake. It has attracted attention in the industry as one of its founders is Frenchman Régis Camus, former head brewer at the prestigious Champagne brand Piper-Heidsieck.

HEAVENSAKE, which specializes in Junmai Daiginjo and collaborates with Noguchi Naohiko Research Institute, Katsuyama Sake Brewery, Konishi Sake Brewery, and others to artistically blend sakes of different qualities to create sophisticated styles and flavors, is currently available in over 14 countries around the world. It is mainly used in luxury hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, and made a full-scale entry into the Japanese market in October 2024.
With its modern bottle design and clear English labeling, it is garnering a lot of attention as an entity that is expanding the international potential of sake.

It was in 2023 that Kalinan was contacted by Zak Gross, HEAVENSAKE's general manager of overseas operations.
"I know you. Can I send you two bottles of HEAVENSAKE?"
The message arrived:

After tasting the sake with his family, Kalinan was impressed by its "beautiful flavour and the style of sake I was looking for."
After that, he was appointed as a regional brand ambassador and participated in promotional activities in Bangkok, Thailand. He was also asked to develop the Singaporean market in his home country, and was put in charge of educating importers there.
In September 2024, the first pairing event was held at the Michelin-starred Japanese-French fusion restaurant "Whitegrass," which was a great success.

Assemblage Sake: Breathing New Life into Tradition

His encounter with the technique of assemblage and sake was a big shock to him.
He was particularly impressed by the method of blending sake from different breweries to create the final product, which he says is like arranging a symphony.

Kalinan is particularly supportive of Sake World’s “Assemblage Club” and similar initiatives that reimagine sake as a contemporary, creative beverage category.

“Blended sake has the potential to connect with younger generations who might otherwise view sake as an ‘old man’s drink’.It pairs beautifully not just with Japanese cuisine, but also with French, Italian, and the diverse flavours of Southeast Asia.”

He also notes that assemblage brings flexibility

Kalinan describes assemblage as “One plus one makes three, not two”

“It’s not just combining two things. It creates something new—something greater.”Aren't these words filled with hope?

Overcoming Challenges and Amplifying Stories

As he works to popularize SAKE overseas, we also asked him about the challenges facing Japanese sake.

"Sake is still confined to the framework of 'washoku' (Japanese cuisine), and language barriers such as the kanji used to write it are obstacles to its international popularity."

He believes the solution lies in better communication, including English labeling, pairing education, and storytelling.

"Sake can be paired with food from all over the world. It's versatile!"

Kalinan speaks passionately about this, emphasizing that sake not only pairs well with Japanese food, but also with Chinese and Singaporean cuisine, and even Indian cuisine, the home of his own roots.
"It goes surprisingly well with chicken rice and tandoori chicken," he says, and is proactively making suggestions that resonate with the food cultures of Southeast Asia and South Asia.

A pairing of the famous Balinese dish of roasted suckling pig, known as "baby-guling," and Moriki Shuzo's "Rumiko's Sake Junmai Ginjo." The suckling pig, which has been roasted for over two hours, is perfectly matched with Rumiko's sake, which has a perfect balance of umami and acidity. It brings out the aroma of the skin and the richness of the fat.

North Indian tandoori fish with "HEAVENSAKE Label Noir". The subtle sweetness gently envelops the hot spices, creating an exquisite pairing.

His vision for the future is to "create a world where sake is a standard feature on the wine lists of ordinary restaurants all over the world."

"Going forward, it will be essential to incorporate storytelling techniques into marketing. By telling the story of the brewer - who made the sake, where, and with what feelings - I want to deepen the meaning of sake for drinkers."

"To achieve this, I consider it my mission to amplify the stories of the brewers," Kalinan declared. This is indicative of his mission to go beyond being a mere sake sommelier and to communicate with "people" through sake.

"The best is yet to come."

With this belief, Kalinan continues to bring new stories about alcohol to life today.

Original Japanese Writer/English Translator: Ayuko Yamaguchi
Sake journalist, WSET Sake Educator, international sake sommelier, and lecturer in Japanese sake studies. Based in Osaka, she teaches the WSET Sake course in English and writes in both Japanese and English. She also holds WSET Spirits Level 2019 (2023) and covers spirits alongside sake.
(Photo courtesy of Joshua Kalinan)