This sounds awesome — Bar Otsukare, the Japanese whiskey pop-up from local cocktail experts Eddie Kim and Jesse Selvagn, is hosting a sake-focused pop-up this weekend at Crane & Turtle on Upshur. They’re pouring a number of nama sakes, the first sakes made in Japan each spring. The event is called Sake Akachōchin, the word for the red lanterns outside bars in Japan.
The event will also feature Japanese beers, cheese “bento” boxes, Japanese pickles and shochu, plus DJs on each night.
Saturday’s music is by Eau Claire (who is awesome) and DJ Brian Billion, and Sunday is DJ Ayescold and DJ CYD.
The pop-up is part of Crane & Turtle’s Passion Project Pop-up Week, where staff host pop-ups in the restaurant on topics they’re passionate about. As you may recall, Crane & Turtle closed last week, but the Room 11 folks still own the space.
Bar Otsukare co-organizer Eddie told me they plan to host more events in the future too.
Here’s more from their Facebook page. Sounds really cool:
Come celebrate the return of Spring and Bar Otsukare with a night of nama sakes — Japan’s first sakes of spring — art, and music to cap off Crane & Turtle’s Passion Project Pop-up Week. Fresh, lively, vivacious, they’re as close as you can get from drinking straight from the tanks.
When: Saturday April 30 & Sunday May 1
6pm – 2am
Where: Crane & Turtle
828 Upshur Street, NW
Open to the public. NO reservations necessary
Named after the red lanterns (akachōchin) that mark the entrances to Japan’s bars and restaurants, Sake Akachōchin is inspired from intimate sake bars in NYC and Japan — sometimes tiny establishments where some hundreds of sakes are served in the most unpretentious and unassumingway possible. Throughout both nights there will be live DJs and visual art to accompany the nights’ festivities
In addition to the 25+ varieties of nama (unpasteurized) sakes that will be available by the glass, shochu and beer will be available upon request. There will be food offerings as well in the form of cheese bento boxes, curated with the help of cheesemonger Angelica Ames, and served with Japanese pickles and accoutrements to taste alongside the sakes.
I’ve written about Bar Otsukare before a few times, they’ve done some neat events at Crane & Turtle and elsewhere. Definitely worth a visit.
