Sake Festival Singapore returned to Singapore last month for its 10th anniversary edition and had an impressive immersive lineup at the Suntec City’s Convention & Exhibition Centre. The event saw 31 brewers coming together with an exhibition of over 500 labels of sake for a free-flow tasting experience. Founded in 2014, Sake Festival Singapore has evolved into the region’s most anticipated gathering of sake lovers.
Organised by Orihara Shoten – Singapore’s leading sake distributor – the festival is a cornerstone celebration of nihonshu (traditional Japanese sake) culture, bringing in kurabitos (brewery workers) and tojis (brewmasters) for rare face-to-face interactions with attendees.
At the festival, Orihara unveiled its Aged Sake Collection, featuring up to 40 “Teion Jukusei” (lightly house-aged sakes) labels aged at low temperatures (4°C) to intensify umami and mellow out harsher notes.
There was also a Warm Sake Corner that highlighted the complexities of heated sakes – especially junmai types – with on-site sommeliers guiding guests through flavour shifts across different serving temperatures.
The festival debuted a range of rare pours, including Niizawa Brewery’s limited-edition Crystal Absolute 0; the LOHAS Organic “Duck Rice” sake from Minenoyaki Brewery, produced using Koshihikari organic duck rice; and a bold junmai daiginjo aged in Oloroso sherry casks from award-winning Manatsuru Brewery. Kiyama Shoten, a family-run Saga Prefecture brewery dating back to the Meiji era, presented its gold medal-winning Kihotsuru sake.
Beyond the brews, guests explored an expanded izakaya alley by the ‘Tanpaga’ chefs – a collective of eight Japanese chefs based in Tanjong Pagar. Led by Sho Naganuma (Torasho Ramen & Charcoal Bar) and Koki Miyoshi (Hearth), the group served an array of izakaya-style dishes to complement the sakes.