Jay McInerney’s 1992 novel Brightness Falls features hedonistic New Yorkers approaching middle age. You can tell they’re no longer young because they’ve moved from taking drugs to fussing over wine. It’s a common progression.
One loses interest in the drugs and rock n’ roll, and start developing an interest in Bordeaux or Single Malt Scotch. For rock stars, though, it’s slightly different. They can buy a vineyard to fill the yawning void in their lives. Cliff Richard (not the best example of excess, I know) owns an estate in Portugal – Vida Nova – and his wines are available at Waitrose. Mick Hucknall produces a wine in Sicily called Il Cantante (“the singer”).
It’s not just wine: Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden produces a beer called Trooper in conjunction with Robinsons Brewery of Stockport. I found it a bit bland, which you wouldn’t expect from the band behind Run to the Hills. Still, at least real ale and heavy metal seem an obvious fit; you couldn’t say the same about, say, techno and sake.
You might, therefore, be surprised to hear that techno pioneer Richie Hawtin, aka Plastikman, has a range called Enter Sake made by different producers from all over Japan. It turns out that Hawtin is something of an expert. He holds Advanced Sake Professional Certification and was made a Sake Samurai in 2014 by the Japanese Sake Brewers Association. I’m no expert, but I was impressed with the Enter range. My favourite was also the most expensive – £44 a bottle – a rich, creamy, nutty number called Shuhari made by Matsumoto Sake Brewing Co. It’s Junmai Daiginjo, which means, I think, that it’s pure rice wine with no added alcohol made from at least 50% polished rice.
There’s a slightly surreal video of Hawtin talking about his love of sake with producer Masaaki Fujioka. Instead of its vaguely zen backing soundtrack, I think it would be better with minimalist techno. Hawtin certainly thinks they’re a harmonious pairing; he puts on techno and sake nights at Space in Ibiza. It’s a far cry from a club night put on by Hawtin called Lost that I went to about 15 years ago. The last thing anyone was after then was a £44 bottle of sake. Perhaps clubbers have more refined tastes nowadays.
Henry Jeffreys’ first book, Empire of Booze, will be published by Unbound in 2016. @henrygjeffreys
