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Thank you.

Two years ago Sebastien, Big Chris, Justin, John and Little Chris huddled around some microphones after-hours at the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center and tried to sort out how to approach an episode of Sake On Air. We stumbled our way through a year with all kinds of amazing guests and inspiring events. Along the way, we were incredibly lucky to be able to welcome Rebekah and Marie into the fold. Over the next year, things got a bit smoother and more polished.

And then COVID happened, and for the first time in the show’s history we started doing shows from a distance. We had always really enjoyed that the show was conducted entirely in-person, however with new challenges brought new opportunities. We were able to welcome guests to the show we wouldn’t otherwise have been able to convene with, and we put in a great deal of work gathering information for our listeners during these unprecedented times.

And here we are, exactly two years and 50 episodes later. Thanks to the blessing and support of Imada-san and the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association, along with one of the luckiest chance encounters imaginable in crossing paths with Frank, the man who really makes it all work, we were able to get the entire cast together – in true, physical space – to celebrate this special occasion.

As sake (and shochu) are still relatively niche in the grand scheme of things, conversations and perspective on the categories tend to get boiled down to the lowest common denominator – the love for the beverage itself. With this cast, crew, and our incredible community of listeners and supporters across the globe, we feel so incredibly honored and proud to be able to share and contribute to the wider, ever-expanding dialogue growing with the world of sake. For us, these beverages represent much more than merely liquid in a bottle. It’s something that has resonated with us and changed our lives in all kinds of incredible ways we never could have imagined. With Sake On Air, being able to continue to grow and develop our excitement, perspectives and relationship with sake and shochu together with such a vast population of sake-lovers and sake-curious has been rewarding beyond words. We can’t thank you enough.

So, in order to celebrate two years and 50 episodes…we celebrated. Last month we got the entire cast together for a two-hour live Q&A, while welcoming previous guests Dave Joll (Zenkuro), Andre Bishop (Sake Master), Natsuki Kikuya (Museum of Sake), and Pablo Alomar Salvioni (S&A) for live discussions and debates, and delving into some of the most heated conversations we’ve had to-date here at Sake On Air. It’s unquestionably a sake-fueled session, but if it’s any indication of what’s to come in year number three, we’re already very excited.

Maybe most important of all, Sake Future Summit 2020 is happening on November 21-22. That’s next weekend. There’s more programming scheduled over a single weekend that what we’re able to produce in an entire year at Sake On Air. This is an entirely new endeavor for us. We don’t know how it’s all going to go, but we’re as excited for this as we were when we first started the show. We certainly hope you’ll join us for this very special event.

Day 1 YouTube Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqP_2k2S7iE
Day 2 YouTube Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQu2XcwtxpY

Feel free to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, or reach out to us at questions@sakeonair.staba.jp. You can follow us on  Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, or join us over on YouTube, as well.

Thanks for an incredible two years, everyone.
Here’s to the next two.

Kampai!

Sake On Air is made possible with the generous support of the Japan Sake & Shochu Makers Association and is broadcast from the Japan Sake & Shochu Information Center in Tokyo. The show is a co-production between Export Japan and Potts.K Productions, with audio production by Frank Walter.

Our theme, “Younger Today Than Tomorrow” is composed by forSomethingNew for Sake On Air.