More Joy

To quote Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, «SAKEEEEE!!!» After all, «What could be more necessary?»
This was my second official Joy of Sake event. My first experience with the Joy of Sake was a few months back at their big event down at Pier 2, or whichever pier it was, and I had a blast there. I’m sure it helped that I was with a bunch of awesome Unilocalers too. Anyway, when I heard about this More Joy of Sake event I jumped at it. Tickets were just $ 40, and there were 40 different sake to choose from plus food from Café Julia!
The evening started with some quick general overviews of sake, and the three main types of sake out there (Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo). We split into three groups and rotated between the three different types for more detailed explanations of each, then we were let loose to mingle, drink and eat.
I discovered that out of the three different types of sake I like Ginjo the least. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll still drink it, and enjoy it, but I prefer the Junmai and Daiginjo more. The food was very tasty and went well with the various sake being poured. However, when the food first came out the crowd was ravenous! I don’t think the kitchen staff were prepared for the feeding frenzy that happened. But props to the guys back there in the kitchen. They kept cranking out the noshes all night, and even had to improvise when they started running out of the prepared menu items.
The men behind the magic:
The sake staff were all extremely knowledgeable, and very friendly. You could tell that they love their sake, and are experts in their trade. It gives me something to strive for instead of just drinking and enjoying. I would want to become more knowledgeable like these connoisseurs of sake. I even met one guy who wasn’t affiliated with Joy, or any breweries, or shops, but he just loves sake and knows his stuff. It was quite educational sipping and chatting with him around the ice tub of sake bottles.
Here’s a couple of Junmai he recommended, and I loved:
YAEGAKI «KURO-​BIN» JUNMAISHU:
MOMOKAWA «NEBUTA TANREI JUNMAISHU»:

Since it was a small event it was much more intimate than the main Joy of Sake event. This enabled me to mingle, and chat with new and interesting people about the sake, the food, and anything else that may have come up throughout the night. I am definitely an even bigger fan of the Joy of Sake after this event, and am already making plans to attend any more that come up in the future!
***31 Unilocal: 11/​31***