Everyone knows cheese and Champagne are delicious together, but you might be surprised to learn that sparkling sake and cheese are also perfect partners! Pairing cheese with sake is actually easier than with wine, thanks to the high levels of umami naturally present in sake; this savoury “fifth taste” creates a delicious flavour synergy when cheese and sake meet.

To celebrate National Sake Week here in the UK, we have a very special event coming up for guests to experience firsthand why sake and cheese are a match made in heaven. Join sake and cheese expert Sarah Stewart on Tues May 7 for a guided sake & cheese tasting at Paxton & Whitfield’s historic Jermyn Street shop, featuring the UK’s own Sparkling Sake Brewery!
'Awa', meaning bubbles in Japanese, is a hand crafted, limited edition, naturally sparkling sake produced in the Cambridgeshire countryside by master brewer Naoki Toyota using traditional Japanese ingredients and craftsmanship. Awa gets its sparkle via secondary fermentation in bottle like the finest Champagnes and English sparkling wines, and is made completely by hand: each bottle is hand riddled and disgorged by Naoki himself.

On the night guests will enjoy four special ‘Awa’ cuvees:

• Classic Awa
• Nigori Awa (cloudy)
• Rhubarb Awa
• Haru no Awa – this limited edition ‘bubbles of spring’ sparkling sake is co-fermented with Japan’s famed indigenous koshu grapes

The sakes will be paired with delicious seasonal cheeses selected by Sarah and Daniel Iliev, Paxton’s Jermyn Street store manager and the 2024 Young Cheesemonger of the Year.

Space for this event is strictly limited to only 12 guests, and tickets will go fast - act now to avoid disappointment!

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Sarah Stewart is a WSET Certified Sake Educator at West London Wine School, where she teaches WSET qualifications alongside her own original classes covering a wide variety of sake and food pairing topics.
She is one of only four instructors globally who can teach the Sake Scholar advanced regionality course, judges sake for the International Wine Challenge, and volunteers with the British Sake Association helping to organize sake events and promote this special beverage within the UK. Sarah lived in Japan for two years and returns annually for further hands-on sake training. You can find her @sakestudies on Instagram.

£58 per person