WISHING YOU A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR <
WHAT A YEAR!
2022 was full of change for us. With the support of our Community and Team, we began building our new brewery and have come such a long way. A few of our friends moved to and from the city this year, meaning lots of going away parties and many welcoming ones. Our exceptionally talented design couple, Ryan & Michelle, were married this year. We got to share our sake with some of our favorite beer bars and restaurants throughout NY and we took part in our first collaborations. But with all the changes, we’ll still welcome in the New Year with our Otoso tradition together at the brewery, drinking our favorite drinks and eating the food we’ll cook for one another. As we continue to grow and change, coming together to enjoy life will remain at the core of KSW. Thank you for being a part of our journey!
If you’d like to make your own Otoso on New Years Day, we’ll be handing out the tea packets of spices (that we made) today 3-7pm and tomorrow 1-7pm! If you’re not familiar with Otoso, it’s a blend of medicinal herbs and roots that you steep in sake+mirin on New Years Day to rid yourself of demons at the start of the year- you can read all about it in a previous December Newsletter here!
AYAKO BROUGHT SOME NEW LUCK FOR US FROM KYOTO
A note from Shinobu:
Kamidana is a small household altar enshrining Shinto gods. Usually it’s hung on the wall and literally means "god shelf". Our brewery has one made by our friend artist, Allister, from recycling materials (hint: junk) he found on the Bushwick streets.
In Shintoism, there are eight million gods (in a figurative way) for everything from the God of Business to the God of the Bathroom to the God of Weather Forecasts (Koenji has its shrine.) The god we enshrine on this small shelf is (surprise, surprise) the God of Sake making from Matsunoo Taisha shrine in Kyoto. I travelled there in 2016 right before I moved to Brooklyn and got an "ofuda" or the talisman. Matsunoo-sama, or the Sake God, has been protecting our tiny brewery for the past 3 years.
It is said Shinto Gods’ Blessings only last one year and need to be "renewed" every year. You bring the old one back to the shrine and get a new one in return. (It sounds similar to the subscription model to keep steady annual revenue…) We had been unable to go back to Matsunoo shrine and pushed its blessing expiration date, but finally Ayako made a trip and did our overdue renewal. We are very thankful that we’re still able to enjoy making sake here.
In the new year, our shrine will be relocated to Troutman. We pray for Matsunoo-sama's continuous protection of us for the years to come and blessings on the sake we will make. We hope you too have a Happy New Year and drink some good sake!
SHINOBU’S SUCCESSFUL KFC CHRISTMAS
Keeping with Holiday traditions, Shinobu and Ayako prepared for Christmas by taking to the streets of NYC in hunt of a proper KFC feast. While this particular tradition is not new to them, my Mom (shoutout Tracy Payne!) introduced a new element to the holiday a few years back. Now, as does my family, the Kato couple wears matching pajamas all day, haha and in public. This year was actually not too outrageous (especially compared to our chewbacca pjs a few years back)… but I’m asking my mom to find some very goofy onesies next year. Happy Holidays, everyone!!
PS: It’s a good time of year to warm up your sake! Here are some directions on how to do so :)