The Art of Sake at Moto-i and Black Frost Whiskeys
The Tulip and Schooner for Friday, February 14, 2025
The Tulip and Schooner is edited and written (unless otherwise noted) by Louis Livingston-Garcia.
While I’m still totally obsessed with beer, reading Stacy Brooks’ sake story – a longtime favorite beverage of mine – and writing about whiskey from Black Frost Distilling (co-owned by Jace Marti, formerly of Minnesota giant Schell’s), makes me want to have fancy glassware and spirits and sake around the house more.
I don’t often buy spirits unless it’s brandy, and sake is either super cheap varieties with a gimmick – like one packaged in a ramen cup – or super rare, expensive stuff I can share with a buddy. I don’t rate myself highly on sake and spirit knowledge when it comes to what’s what, but I have a generally solid palate (and you’ll see I nailed a tasting note Marti had with one of the whiskeys we reviewed, which felt good).
The last huge foray I had in sake was when I lined up 45 minutes before opening at Uncle Ramen in Denver. A flight of some cold, some hot, some fruity, some earthy, sake. Along with some ramen that gave me vibes of being in Japan years prior. More than anything, having food and drink transport us to a place in time, or feel something – that’s what I want. As I write this I am drinking the latest release of Toppling Goliath King Sue. It reminds me of the quality bottles they were putting out at the old taproom in what feels like a lifetime ago. I remember those trips, those friends, those shenanigans, and I can’t help but smile.
As for the spirits, brandy has always been an obsession. Curse (joy?) of the Wisconsinite. I’ve been so impressed with everything Black Frost has put out, and a lot of what Minnesota and Wisconsin distilleries are able to make, that I just want to keep exploring it all.
Anywho, this might not be a beer-forward issue, but I like having so much light shining on other drinks. I have an eye on a special bottle of sake in Madison. I have a feeling after this newsletter I’m going to buy it very soon.
RICE SPIRIT
Sake, ramen, steamed buns – Moto-i offers a slice of Nippon at Lyn-Lake
By Stacy Brooks
Moto-i is a Lyn-Lake staple, serving steaming bowls of ramen and house-brewed sake since 2008. Its long tenure makes it easy for locals to overlook just how unique Moto-i is — according to head brewer Nick Lowry (pictured below), there are only about two dozen independently owned sake breweries in North America, with the next-closest being over 600 miles away in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
When Moto-i opened, sake breweries were even rarer. Around 2002, Moto-i president and founder Blake Ricardson’s passion for sake was sparked by a pivotal sip of Miyasaka Brewing’s Junmai Ginjo at the venerable Fuji Ya, which closed in 2020 after a 60-year run. “I was just fascinated by it,” he recalls. As a brewer (he founded the Herkimer Pub & Brewery in 1999) he figured the easiest way to learn more about sake would be to visit a sake brewpub. But he couldn’t find one — the only U.S. sake breweries he could track down were large-scale facilities on the West Coast owned by Japanese companies.
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