According to José Martí, there are three things that every person should do during their life: Planting a tree, having a child, and writing a book. Trascendence is what we look for. A way to save ourselves from the irrevocable and fatal passage of time. As such, we strive to create important things, or to be memorable enough so that we shall remain in the minds of people, long after we ourselves have gone.

As for myself, I guess creating important things should be good enough. Martí was not wrong in mentioning trees, kids, and books, but there is one more awesome thing that we humans can create: Alcohol

And I believe that every person should, during their lifetime, produce at least one vial of any sort of alcoholic drink (even if by accident). It is our duty as sentient beings! It proves that we have not only mastered the chemistry and alchemy of nature, but that we have done it in style, and with ludic purposes. What else separates us better from the animal kingdom? (I thought sex for pleasure was that, but apparently lions do it too, as I’m sure dolphins do) And now you are sulrely thinking: “What kind of alcohol shall I create?", for truly, there is a vast universe of spirits and veberages out there.

For me this question was easy to answer: Wine: No. I’d need to own the land and know my grapes good enough to hear their whispers. Beer: No. I have good friends who have been brewing beer for a long time, and they’re quite good at it. Whisky: No. Dangerous business. Mezcal/Tequila: Heavens, no! I live in Canada! Where would I find the agave? Sake: …wait a second…it is well nuanced, full flavour complexity, there is great technique and tradition behind it, ample space for experimentation, and I actually love drinking the thing. Sake it is!

Nah, you can’t make sake at home – some ignorant guy who called himself a sake sommelier

So I started investigating suppliers and acquiring knowledge on the matter. Within a month, my first batch was already in the making.

This blog is here so that I can share my journey with you, both from the technical and the philosophical side of things. It will be full of rants, sake recipes, and all (or most) of the secrets that I engineer along the way.

And what about the name? So I needed a name for my sake, and because the first batch would be a genshuu, or “full strength” specimen (i.e., no alcoholic reduction, a sake with about 24% alc./vol.) the first thing I’d advice people who intended to drink it was: “Hey! No le saque!” which is spanish for “Dude! Don’t chicken out!”

After careful deliberation with some of my Japanese-speaking friends, we decided that the best name for the sake would be: 野恋酒, which can be read as “No-ren sake”, but the proper enunciation sounds like “No le sake”, and thus the name. However, the kanjis themselves have an important meaning: 野: Field, as in a field of flowers in spring. 恋: Love, as in love for nature, or your fellow human beings (or everything, for that matter) And so, noren means something kinda like “Love for nature”, very appropriate.

But wait, there is more! A Noren is that little door you see at the entrance of bars and pubs in Japan! Even more appropriate! In sum, the name of my sake is a triple play of words. One in Spanish, and two in Japanese. And I hope you’ll have the opportunity to try it out.