Raise a glass at Oban sake tasting

The seated tasting took place on Sunday March 2 inside the George Street shop and was hosted by owners Simone and Jean-Pierre.

The couple want to bring the quality of city-based masterclasses, which often involve an overnight stay for west coasters, to Oban.

In the past, they have offered wine and gin tastings for the Oban Winter Festival, but they wanted to do something more “quirky” with their sake experience and push against misconceptions of the fermented rice drink being sour, similar to Japanese whisky, or too strong.

They hope to hold another sake tasting in the future, as well as casual opportunities for customers to give it a try.

Simone said: “We aim to reach people with these tastings that would usually not come.

“We want to highlight the versatility of Sake and break some of the stereotypes. We are not asking people to drink 70% alcohol!”

The tasting involved four sakes of different varieties, sweetness, and origin, with a glass of hot sake served too. 

Simone took attendees on a detailed journey through the sake-making process and each glass came with a delicious food pairing whipped up by experienced sommelier Jean-Pierre.

From a fresh tuna salad, to melon with Parma ham, different cheeses and a venison pasta, the pair intentionally chose to subvert attendees expectations of Japanese-inspired pairings such as sushi.