There’s something about a Thursday evening in Shoreditch that always feels a little bit electric, especially when sake is involved. To celebrate International Sake Day, I joined a group of fellow enthusiasts at Sticks’n’Sushi inside One Hundred Shoreditch for an immersive masterclass hosted by Sake ONO, a brand quietly redefining what sake can be. Equal parts educational and effortlessly cool, it turned out to be one of those nights that lingers with equal parts learning and indulgence.
Meet Sake ONO
Before we started shaking cocktails, we were introduced to the star of the evening: Sake ONO Junmai Daiginjo. The brand’s philosophy is rooted in both Japanese tradition and global modernity. Its name translates to “small fields” in Japanese and “delicious perfection” in Hawaiian, a nod to its cross-cultural vision.
Crafted in partnership with Yoshi No Gawa, a family-owned brewery in Niigata dating back to 1548, Sake ONO is made using locally grown rice, pristine mountain spring water, and koji that’s meticulously cultivated on-site. The result? A sake that’s bright, crisp, and elegant. Think honeydew, lemon peel, white blossom, and just the right touch of umami. It’s versatile enough to pair with food or serve as the base of a low-ABV cocktail, something we were about to explore firsthand.
The First Sip: The Ono Spritz
To ease into the evening, we started with an Ono Spritz, a cocktail made from Sake ONO, grapefruit juice, soda water, lemon juice, and a touch of simple syrup. It’s everything you want in a welcome drink, light, zesty, and a little bit flirty. The grapefruit added a refreshing bite, whilst the sake brought a silkiness that made it feel more refined than your usual spritz and paired nicely with the spicy miso edamame, a sign of the good things to come.
The Ono Sour: Bright, Zingy, and Full of Character
Our first hands-on cocktail of the night was the Ono Sour, a clever twist that combined Sake ONO with tequila, lime juice, and a touch of syrup. Think of it as a lighter, more floral cousin of the margarita, it was smooth and aromatic with just enough acidity to wake up the palate. The sake added a velvety finish, giving the drink depth without heaviness. It was the kind of cocktail you’d want on a late summer evening, refreshing yet sophisticated.
The pairing of mushroom croquettes with miso aioli and truffle dust were spot-on. The earthy richness of the dish pulled out the umami notes in the sake, creating a perfect harmony of creamy, savoury, and citrusy. It’s rare for a cocktail and a small bite to feel that balanced, but this one nailed it.
The Ono Martini: Clean and Complex
Next up was the Ono Martini, made with six parts Sake ONO, premium gin, a splash of dry vermouth, and two dashes of bitters. My guest took a turn behind the bar for this one, and it quickly became the standout drink of the evening. The martini had all the classic structure you’d expect, but the sake gave it a beautiful softness, cutting through the sharpness of the gin and vermouth with a subtle floral note. It felt luxurious, the kind of cocktail that instantly slows down time.
It was paired with tempura tenderstem broccoli in shiitake-tentsuyu sauce and an indulgent spread of sushi rolls, such as the Crispy Ebi with tempura shrimp and spicy sauce to the Pink Alaska with salmon, avocado, and lumpfish roe. The crisp, clean finish of the sake perfectly complemented the richness of the tempura and sushi, bringing out both freshness and flavour. It was one of those pairings that felt almost intuitive.
A Balance of Culture, Craft, and Fun
As the night unfolded, it became clear that Sake ONO isn’t just another premium sake brand, it’s a bridge between old and new. It celebrates craftsmanship whilst inviting people to explore sake in a way that feels current, inclusive, and, frankly, very London.
By the end of the evening, we’d learned more than we expected about sake. From rice polishing ratios to the art of koji fermentation, we left with a bottle of Sake ONO and cocktail recipe cards to keep the experience going at home.
Sake might be ready for a new chapter, but I’d say Sake ONO is already writing it. It’s now firmly on my radar, and the next time I see it on a menu, whether at a five-star hotel or my favourite sushi spot, I’ll be ordering it without hesitation.
For more information, visit Sake ONO
Images courtesy of Sake ONO Instagram (@sakeono) and Design My Night / Sticks’n’Sushi Shoreditch event page.