Sake Mistress

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Sake Mistress Sharing the joy of Sake through industry and customised tastings, master classes, dinners and collab events, staff training.

Promoting Sake in Australia and beyond. Cert: WSET Level 3 and SEC Advanced Sake Professional

14/11/2025

Another fantastic night of sake and fun pairings with fabulous people!
Thanks for having me back 🙏🙌🍶🫶

Repost via
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Sake night, take two… and it did not disappoint 🍶

Our wine room transformed again into a journey through Japan’s finest, guided by the unmatched Simone Maynard — Australia’s very own Sake Samurai!

Same bottles, brand-new faces, and the vibes were immaculate. Surprising pairings (still not sushi… we’re consistent like that 😉), plenty of laughs, and a whole lot of kanpai shared around the table.

Huge thank you to everyone who joined us — you made the sequel just as unforgettable as the original.



Hello old friend.It’s been a while!Home, feet up, and enjoying a little reunion with one of my all time favourite sparkl...
13/11/2025

Hello old friend.
It’s been a while!
Home, feet up, and enjoying a little reunion with one of my all time favourite sparkling sakes after a delightful evening of talking sake with a wonderful group of ppl at

🍶🥂

Nice to be back on home turf and back at one of my favourite places to drink sake ~ A lovely catch up with 2 of my Melb...
05/11/2025

Nice to be back on home turf and back at one of my favourite places to drink sake ~
A lovely catch up with 2 of my Melbourne based sake pals, and and so nice to meet up with from and his lovely partner, Kim.
So great to be able to Kanpai, together with the staff, with a taste of Brooklyn Kura’s Nigori.
… , I hope there was some left for you!🍶.
Nice to be the one not travelling, but instead, welcoming travellers for a change.
… your turn to visit us next!

Repost via • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Dinner @ TANOKEWe concluded our Sake Samurai Series with an unforgettable...
04/11/2025

Repost via • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Dinner @ TANOKE

We concluded our Sake Samurai Series with an unforgettable evening featuring Adrian Goh@apgoh and Simone Maynard , both honoured as Sake Samurais by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

Guests enjoyed an exquisite dinner prepared by Chef Rio, paired with specially curated sakes as the Samurais shared their insights, experiences, and reflections on the artistry of sake.

It was a warm and spirited finale, filled with laughter, learning, and a deeper appreciation for this timeless craft.

A heartfelt thank you to our Samurais and everyone who joined us across the three sessions. Your support made this celebration of sake truly special!

Repost via Get • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Dinner @ TANOKEWe concluded our Sake Samurai Series with an unforgetta...
04/11/2025

Repost via Get • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Dinner @ TANOKE

We concluded our Sake Samurai Series with an unforgettable evening featuring Adrian Goh@apgoh and Simone Maynard , both honoured as Sake Samurais by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

Guests enjoyed an exquisite dinner prepared by Chef Rio, paired with specially curated sakes as the Samurais shared their insights, experiences, and reflections on the artistry of sake.

It was a warm and spirited finale, filled with laughter, learning, and a deeper appreciation for this timeless craft.

A heartfelt thank you to our Samurais and everyone who joined us across the three sessions. Your support made this celebration of sake truly special!

It was truly an honour to be a guest speaker at last month’s Sake Samurai Summit in Kyoto. Big gratitude to the Sake Sam...
04/11/2025

It was truly an honour to be a guest speaker at last month’s Sake Samurai Summit in Kyoto.

Big gratitude to the Sake Samurai Association for inviting me to be one of four guest speakers, alongside John Gauntner (USA/JPN), Åke Nordgren (SWE) and Micky Chan (HK).

This year was the second ever Summit held by the Sake Samurai Association. The first one was held in 2023, however, I was unable to attend. Speakers this year were asked to give a presentation on the development and status of the sake industry/market in their home country.

It was an honour to be representing the land down under and to have the chance to talk about the ever-growing and exciting buzz around sake in Australia - who is now the 8th largest global export destination for Japanese sake. Australia’s 2024 sake import volume was almost three times the amount imported in 2011.

In addition to giving a presentation, each speaker was asked to bring sake from 2 producers from their home country, or neighbouring country/countries - (essentially: sake produced outside of Japan). Thank you to Quentin at Melbourne Sake (AUS) and Dave at Zenkuro (NZ) for supplying me with the goods for this event.


With each speaker offering up sake from 2 different breweries, all guests had the opportunity to taste 8 different sakes from around the world - most of them I had never tasted before. It was a most interesting and insightful event and tasting. I must give a special mention to ‘Spirit Guide’, a Yamahai Honjozo - (yes, that’s right) - from America’s ‘Proper Sake Co’ in Nashville, Tennessee. A most impressive brew.


A big thank you to my fellow speakers for sharing the spotlight, along with their knowledge and insight. It was great to hear about the industry in 4 very different pockets of the globe.

Thank you also to the ever-lovely Cindy Bissig for these photos.
📸:

Repost via • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Afternoon with the Samurais @ TANOKEThe second day of our Sake Samurai Ser...
29/10/2025

Repost via • 🍶 Sake Samurai Series — Day 2: Afternoon with the Samurais @ TANOKE

The second day of our Sake Samurai Series continued with an intimate afternoon conversation featuring Simone Maynard and Adrian Goh , both honoured as Sake Samurais by the Japan Sake Brewers Association.

Guests enjoyed heartfelt stories of passion, perseverance, and discovery as the Samurais shared their personal journeys in sake, from humble beginnings to shaping the future of this timeless craft.

It was also a meaningful afternoon of connection and conversation, as guests exchanged ideas and new friendships over sake.

A big thank you to our Samurais, our moderator Olivia Chey, and everyone who joined us for this special session!

If you’d like to host your own private sake experience at TANOKE, you can find out more at tanoke.sg/private-events

Thank you Singapore 🇸🇬🙏🙇🏻‍♀️🍶Packed a lot into 5 nights in SG.Huge thank you to everyone who made these past 5 days so m...
27/10/2025

Thank you Singapore 🇸🇬🙏🙇🏻‍♀️🍶
Packed a lot into 5 nights in SG.
Huge thank you to everyone who made these past 5 days so much fun.

Big, big gratitude to and the team for inviting me to host a handful of wonderfully enjoyable and engaging events.

Another big thank you to for not only being an awesome co-host for a couple of the events, but for playing host for some of my time in SG.

I’m sad to be missing Matsuri and SSC, but 🍶duty calls in 🇦🇺

Thank you to everyone who attended the Tanoke events.

Big thank you also to 😘

Big love and gratitude to everyone for your warm hospitality and kindness.

🙇🏻‍♀️🙏 .drinks.sake .sg

Repost via • 🥂 Sake Samurai Series — Day 1: Lunch @ TANOKEA beautiful start to our three-session Sake Samurai Series w...
24/10/2025

Repost via • 🥂 Sake Samurai Series — Day 1: Lunch @ TANOKE

A beautiful start to our three-session Sake Samurai Series with Simone Maynard , one of only six Australian Sake Samurais. Guests gathered over a four-course menu by Chef Rio, discovering the craft, culture and heart behind sake through stories and pairings.

Simone also shared her inspiring journey to becoming a Sake Samurai, a path shaped by passion, perseverance, and deep respect for Japan’s brewing traditions.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this meaningful first session! For those attending, see you this Friday. Our dinner is fully booked, but there are very limited seats left for our Afternoon Conversation with the Samurais.

🔗 Register for free now (link in bio)

Living in mode of late…In between Japan visits and prior to Canberra Sake Festival, another massive year of Sake Festi...
20/10/2025

Living in mode of late…

In between Japan visits and prior to Canberra Sake Festival, another massive year of Sake Festival Sydney took place at Carriageworks.

I managed to share a few photos from what was a huge 2 days, but this is a belated and most heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended one or more of the seminars over the weekend of the 27/28 October.

A big thank you to .mouse.cheese and for their help and support with my Sake & Cheese seminars.

Thank you also to all the other seminar hosts and speakers, including (pictured) Matt Froude from , Kuramoto san from , and Hirashima san from , and many more. Thank you to everyone who helped out with interpretation, including the lovely

Lastly, thank you to everyone who entered the Sake Tasting Challenge.

It was an honour to MC, and host the seminars at this year’s Sake Festival in Sydney.

Photos by for

Via • Ever wondered what it takes to become a Sake Samurai? 🍶Meet two global Sake Samurais — Simone Maynard and Adrian...
20/10/2025

Via • Ever wondered what it takes to become a Sake Samurai? 🍶

Meet two global Sake Samurais — Simone Maynard and Adrian Goh — in a relaxed, inspiring afternoon chat at TANOKE.

🎟️ Free admission | Only 20 seats
📅 24 October, 3PM | TANOKE @ Purvis Street

Only a few seats left — register now at tanoke.sg/sake-samurai
or click the link in bio.

18 hours in OsakaThe last night of the most recent trip to Japan was spent in Osaka, (my old stomping ground). I lived i...
19/10/2025

18 hours in Osaka

The last night of the most recent trip to Japan was spent in Osaka, (my old stomping ground). I lived in Osaka for the best part of 2007 but it hasn’t been on my Japan travel itinerary much since then.

A short stop on the way back to Kyoto (after the Bishucon Sakaguraka Tour) to catch up with friends for dinner in September and back again during this months visit for a whirlwind 18 hours before driving to Tokyo.

Big thanks to Julian for his wonderful recommendations, and so glad he was able to join us for a drink at the final ‘bar-hop’ stop.

Visited 5 of Julian’s recs, (as his bar was closed), but 2 of them were at capacity.

Kicked off the evening at ‘Soba + Mutton pub’ (yes, that’s the name… Google it). Great little venue tucked away at the end of a narrow side alley - or ‘eel bed’, as I have recently learned. Great vibe, friendly and attentive staff, delicious food, a good sake selection and a playlist that pays a generous homage to Prince.

Next stop was ‘Bar Chocotto’ for more sips and snacks. Sobering lighting, super friendly staff and regulars, tasty oden and other small dishes, and a few favourites on the sake list.

Last stop was Nihonshu Naka. Google had it listed as opening at 5pm, but when we got there a little after 5, it was closed. Before calling it a night, we thought we’d walk past again - just in case… and I am so glad we did.
The owner, (who was a maths teacher for over 30 years, and last year decided to open this bar), is incredibly passionate about sake and has a most interesting and eclectic collection of new and old brews - (with his collection swaying a little more towards aged sake, many of which he has aged himself). He also gave us a taste of his garlic infused shochu, which I think might have helped me stave off a cold! Food offerings were well thought out and clearly designed for pairing with the sake on offer. So great to share the last drink of the evening with

Thanks for the recs, Julian.

All 3 bars are in the Juso area
1. See Google for Soba + Mutton pub
2.
3.

Juso is right next to Umeda, where you’ll find Julian’s bar 🍶🍶

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