When you think of a master brewer or a sommelier the first image that pops into your head almost instinctively would be of someone over the age of 21. Well, that’s not the case in Japan as Akane Niikura, only 10 years old, is the youngest certified sake connoisseur ever.
Akane doesn’t go around sake bar hoping, her skill is actually quite special and involves no tasting of the sake. With her acute sense of smell and knowledge of what to look for as the sake flows down the side of the glass she’s able, without even one sip, to pick a sake that will perfectly accommodate your entree. She passed Japan’s Sake Service Institute test without a single drink of sake.
Yukio Oyake a sake store owner in Japan calls this 4th graders talent “Amazing!”
Her mother is the owner of a sake bar and that’s how Akane first learned and became fond of the rice wine known as sake. She helps her mother in the bar after school, recommending sake to the customers. If you’ve heard of Akane before it’s because she’s also famous in Japan for her cooking skills.
With the Japanese food & drink world in the palm of her hand all this cultured 10 year old wants when she grows up is to own a sake bar like her mom. When that day comes they’ll be sake bombs for everyone!
source : japanprobe