The proprietor of America’s first sake specialty shop has used carrots, sticks, and sometimes just plain bull-headedness to get Americans to understand and appreciate sake. Two decades in, we look at his progress and how the pandemic is impacting the industry.
Saying Beau Timken’s sake boutique in San Francisco got in on the ground floor of globalized sake is an understatement. Since 2003, True Sake has been on the frontlines of sake’s expansion in the USA and, through hard work and ingenuity, the shop has helped sway public opinion in sake’s favor one customer at a time.
While sake continues to expand across the globe, it’s found a unique relationship with the people of France. One of the trailblazers raising awareness of the drink in the European nation for decades is Keiichiro Miyagawa, co-founder of the influential Kura Master sake contest.