Japan Sake and Shochu Makers Association | JSS
Singapore is one of the few countries that have historical records of international trade with Japan. In fact, these records show items like swords and fans being traded since the 15th Century. Today, the bond between these two countries has only grown stronger, particularly after the formation of the Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement. As such, many Japanese products can be easily found all around Singapore, with one particular example being Japanese sake.
With the passion of many business owners and the economic agreement between Japan and Singapore, many sake bars and liquor stores specializing in sake and other alcoholic Japanese beverages have popped up, particularly Singapore’s Chinatown. This selection of popular shops offers a varied selection of sake to residents and tourists in Singapore.
The following list includes establishments that serve and sell a variety of different kinds of sake in Singapore. These shops are listed in alphabetical order.
Inter Rice Asia (IRA) is a company that was founded in 2008 and originally focused on importing and distributing sake from Japan’s Niigata prefecture. That said, the company now visits breweries all over the country in search of delicious, high-quality sake to bring back to Singapore with them. The company’s sommelier, Adrian Goh, also devised “The Art of Sake”, an educational program focused on teaching those new to sake how to enjoy the beverage. This program includes seminars, pairing sessions, classes, workshops, and more.
Their selection of sake is also very hard to beat, as their catalog includes nearly 30 different brands of sake. Browsing IRA’s selection is also quite easy, as it is sorted by region and brand. After selecting a brand, interested customers can view information about the brewery behind the sake, as well as the various bottles of sake from that brand that IRA offers. Listings for each individual bottle include a description regarding the tasting notes and finish, as well as notes from their sommelier. Aside from their individual bottles, IRA also offers monthly “discover boxes” to help newcomers broaden their palate to different kinds of sake.
Inter Rice Asia Pte Ltd
Block 16 Kallang Place #03-19/20
Singapore 229156
(65) 6296 0073
Ishinomaki Grill and Sake was founded by Chi Pin Han in 2014 after he made a trip to Ishinomaki in 2013 and witnessed how the city had changed after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Chi Pin Han and his staff work closely with businesses in Ishinomaki to bring their freshest seafood and sake to the people of Singapore. While customers can visit the restaurant themselves can enjoy classic izakaya dishes, sushi, and sake, Ishinomaki Grill and Sake also has an online shop named “JUN” that offers food and sake delivery.
JUN’s selection of sake includes both year-round and seasonal bottles that can be sorted and filtered based on the style of sake, level of sweetness, region, or even the type of rice used. This allows visitors to quickly find the perfect bottle of sake for their personal preferences. In total, JUN has over 30 different bottles of sake to choose from, giving plenty of variety that can appeal to everyone.
https://ishinomaki.com.sg/
https://jun.com.sg/
Ishinomaki Grill and Sake / JUN
390 Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance, #B1-02/02A/03
Singapore 238871
(65) 6737 1065
NOKA is a restaurant run by the owner and chef of Tippling Club, Ryan Clift. Both NOKA and Tippling Club have a focus on Clift’s unique blend of gastronomy and modern, progressive cooking techniques to create a quirky fine dining experience. Their menu offers a wide range of dishes from chirashi bowls and sushi, to braised Japanese beef rib and pork belly. Much like Ishinomaki Grill and Sake, NOKA also offers delivery for some of their dishes and bottles of sake. Although their selection may not be as expansive as some of the others on this list, NOKA still has plenty of high-quality sake to try.
NOKA by Tippling Club
Funan, 109 North Bridge Road, #07-38 (Lift Lobby A)
Singapore 179097
(65) 6877 4878
Tanoke is a Japanese restaurant that specializes in grilled meat and sake and is located a short walk from the National Library of Singapore. Many of the dishes from this restaurant are made with delicious Japanese beef or Iberico pork that is grilled on a shichirin grill with binchotan charcoal. Of course, Tanoke also has plenty of sake to enjoy with their grilled meats. Tanoke’s sake list separates their various bottles by region and level of sweetness. Each kind of sake also has information that makes it even easier to make a selection, such as tasting notes and suggested pairings. Although it does not include their full sake list, Tanoke also offers a smaller selection of sake by the bottle for home delivery, making the process of obtaining delicious sake even simpler.
Tanoke
7 Purvis Street, Level 2
Singapore 188586
(65) 9106 3378
Tsubaki is one of three different sister restaurants of Shunsui, a Japanese restaurant that has been showcased in Singapore’s Michelin Guide three times. Tsubaki itself focuses on bringing Kappo and Kyoto kaiseki-style cuisine. Every ingredient used in the dishes made at Tsubaki is imported straight from Japan and its menu changes daily, depending on exactly what is delivered. When it comes to their selection of sake, their list is separated into categories like junmai, ginjo, junmai ginjo, and so on. Each category has a short description that explains what each type of sake is like, making it easier for newcomers to learn more about sake. Each individual sake includes other information like region of origin, the SMV (a unit used to measure the level of sweetness in sake), and tasting notes.
Tsubaki by Shunsui
5 Koek Road #04-02 Cuppage Plaza
Singapore 228796
(65) 6732 0192
The following list includes online shops that sell and deliver a variety of different kinds of sake around the Singapore area. These shops are listed in alphabetical order.
Sake Inn is an online shop formed in 2009 after its owner returned from traveling all over Japan for over a decade. They brought their passion for Japanese cuisine and beverages back with them to Singapore, resulting in the formation of Sake Inn. While Sake Inn certainly provides many kinds of sake, they also offer other products like shochu, umeshu, and beer as well as other popular Japanese soft drinks. The company also sells sakeware like carafes and cups to customers looking to improve their sake experience even more.
In total, Sake Inn’s catalog of sake includes over 100 different bottles with a wide range of flavors to dry and full-bodied, to sweet and refreshing. Their search feature also makes finding the perfect bottle easy, as visitors can filter out options based on the bottle size, flavor profile, type, and more. Individual listings of sake include a picture of the bottle and any relevant awards that a given sake has won. Sake Inn also offers a variety of different bottles, including a “Beginner Drinker” bundle that allows those new to sake to get a taste of what all sake has to offer.
Sake Inn
(65) 8778 1806
Sakemaru, like Sake Inn, is another online shop. That said, while Sake Inn offers a variety of different Japanese products, Sakemaru focuses solely on sake. As such, their catalog of sake is vastly greater than other similar online shops. In fact, Sakemaru lists nearly 700 different kinds of sake on their shop page. Furthermore, this shop also offers a personalized subscription service that allows customers to get a bottle of sake based on their preferences every month. After a year of being on a subscription, Sakemaru will also send a customer a free bottle of sake that was aged in their special snow-aging room. Sakemaru also runs a restaurant named the Sakemaru Artisan Sake Hideout that offers appetizers and light meals to enjoy with over 50 different kinds of sake that are stored on-site.
Sakemaru Online Shop
https://sakemaru.me/sg/hideout/
Sakemaru Artisan Sake Hideout
(65) 6513 2789
55 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058686
As mentioned before, Japan and Singapore have a long history with each other that can still be felt and seen to this day. Due to this unique relationship, many products from Japan make their way to Singapore every day. Of course, sake is no exception. With the list above, one can see that sake is by no means hard to come by. Whether one prefers a fine dining experience at a restaurant or simply ordering a bottle with online delivery, hopefully getting one’s hands on a delicious, high-quality bottle of sake is even easier!
