Funky Packaging: Maneki Wanko

Hello everybody. And welcome to Sake Revolution. This is America's first sake podcast. I'm your host, John Puma from the Sake Notes. Reddit's r slash sake community.

And I'm your host, Timothy Sullivan. I'm a Sake Samurai. I'm a sake educator, as well as the founder of the Urban Sake website. And every week, John and I will be here tasting and chatting about all things sake, doing our best to make it fun and easy to understand.

Hello, Tim. Good to see you.

Hey, hi, John. How you doing?

I'm all right. I'm all right.

I heard a rumor, a little birdie told me that someone is heading back to Japan. Is that true?

It is

Oh my god, you can't stay away, can you?

Nope, no, no, no. So yeah, so we were there last autumn obviously, you know this because we hung out with you and We have a prior commitment this autumn so we can't go This is coming autumn. So the logical move is to move the trip to spring. So we're going to be going in spring and just, uh, a few, well, just a few short weeks, really, uh, about a month and change.

blossom time.

I think we're going to miss him, but you never know.

you never know. Head up north, you'll have a better chance.

Well, unfortunately, the trip is going to be more down south. We're going to be visiting Kochi and, uh, yeah, and Tokushima. Yeah, it's going to be fun.

that's great. You guys love getting off the beaten path a little bit, don't you?

We do. So like, you know, like our, the way we always do it is like week one is a little off the beaten path. We'll go someplace, some other cities, hopefully discover something. Um, and then the second week we go up to Tokyo and do the Tokyo stuff. Uh, cause you know, you can, you can explore Tokyo forever. A wise man once said that Tokyo is like 15 or 20 manhattans and never get tired of exploring it. And, um, I think he's right. So yeah.

the person who said that has obviously never tried to find a good bagel in Tokyo. I'm going to stand up for Manhattan here.

All right. I don't know. All right. But, but I'm sure there are, there are things in Tokyo that you can't get good versions of in New York.

Touché.

Hmm.

Touché. All right. So have, breaking news. We are going to be starting another new series today.

Really? That's good. We hadn't, we hadn't started a new series in at least

at least seven days. Yes. So can I make the big announcement?

by all means.

So we are going to be doing a series I have dubbed. This was kind of a working title, but it's gone into the realm of actual title. Uh, we're going to be looking at sake that has Funky packaging.

funky packaging. Okay. Funky package. So this is it. This is the funky packaging show.

This is the funky packaging series. So this

And this is our first episode of funky packaging Sake Revolution. And that's officially what we're calling it, funky packaging.

I'm open to other suggestions, Puma.

No, no, I, I'm happy to have you lead. I just wasn't sure where we were going with the funky packaging.

Yeah.

And I think that after we talk about what we're doing today with our inaugural

Funk.

episode, our inaugural funk, uh, I think that people will, um, agree that funky packaging is probably the most accurate descriptor we could use.

So what's, what's traditional packaging? First of all. What's non funky? A bottle. Right. So we're going to be focusing on sake packaged in non traditional bottles, so

Mm hmm.

things like packs and pouches and all kinds of stuff. So we have a wonderful, fun, funky package to start with and I don't know any other way to describe this

No, please, Tim, go ahead.

well, it, it looks like a juice box.

Yes, it does.

Yes.

Yes, it

There's a straw. It's a small rectangular Tetra Pak box. There's a straw attached to the back in a little plastic sleeve. And there's a foil little thing on the top to punch the straw through and sip out of like a juice box. I think we've all had that experience, right?

Tim, this is, this is very much a, this is a juice box.

Yes, it is. It's It's a

pulling no punches. Tim, this is so much a juice box that I'm like shocked that they're allowed to sell it

yes.

in the U. S. because it resembles, it so closely resembles, you know, a juice box for, for, you know. Uh,

Yes. So John, this is, this type of packaging is what's known as a tetrapak. Have you heard of that before?

just now.

Okay, so Tetra Pak can be used, you've seen it, you've seen this style of packaging for juice boxes, but have you ever seen like the, um, milk or almond milk at the grocery store that's in this type of paper pack?

Yes, actually I

Yeah. So it's used for many different types of food. beverage. And Tetra Pak is one brand of this style of packaging. And I was wondering, like, I'd never even thought about Tetra Pak before. And I was wondering, like, what is it made out of? And I did a little research and went down a little rabbit hole and it's actually very, very interesting. So the layer that is On the inside of this package, the layer that actually touches the sake is polyethylene, which is a food safe plastic.

Okay.

And then they have a layer of paper, then another layer of polyethylene, and then in the middle, is aluminum, then another aluminum, like aluminum foil, and then another layer of polyethylene, and then cardboard, and then on the outside, another layer of polyethylene. So the polyethylene plastic is like the glue between the layers of cardboard, foil, and paper. So it's just like sandwiched layers that make this very food safe kind of packaging.

Yeah.

It starts out flat and they sealed at both ends and then they fold down the sides to make this rectangular

squared off.

Yeah. So, uh, I thought that was really interesting. And apparently if the contents, I think if they're pasteurized, you can keep things for a long time in this type of packaging.

Makes sense. So yeah, You mentioned that The outside is also polyethylene and that has that, that, that it's got that like kind of waxy finish that you, that again, you may associate with, with juice boxes and all these other, but yeah, like you mentioned also the, uh, like, uh, almond milk boxes and stuff like that. So. Yeah, I definitely, this is a, this is a familiar.

yeah, so I think if we were to cut this open, you would see very thin layers of these things kind of all sandwiched together, but it allows them to make kind of a tube out of this material and then they can seal one end, put the sake in, seal the other end, and then fold down the sides to make this rectangular shape. so it's very, um, low cost, weight as compared to a traditional glass bottle.

Mm-Hmm.

it, it's, it's environmentally friendly in that way that it's, it's not as heavy as a glass bottle would be to transport the same amount of sake. But I think there is a little bit of a bugaboo with this.

A bugaboo.

I've read, that these are not recyclable.

Oh, so you think cardboard, you think recyclable. Then you find out that apparently polyethylene cardboard, aluminum, polyethylene, cardboard, in a, sandwich may not be

Yes.

the most okay.

So it's a, it's a trade off, I think

I don't know. This last bottle is looking better and better.

you know, I, I've always heard that when it comes to like being environmentally friendly, like going more old school is always the way to go because those glass bottles can be recycled. They can be broken down and remade into glass. And it's like a truly reusable material and it's completely food safe. but. There's demand for these types of, juice box tetrapaks as well. Now let's talk about the particular, there's a few of these tetrapak sakes, and we picked one that was especially cute, right?

And, and especially available in the U.S. Yeah.

Which is something we, we really strive to feature

Yes, yes. And yes. We, we go for U.S. Stuff and we go for cute stuff. And we got both

Yes. Now this, package is called,maneki wanko o, or the lucky dog character. And there's an illustration of the dog and it says lucky dog sake. And it's on like a aqua greenish background. And if you want to see a photo of the lucky dog tetrapak sake, visit SakeRevolution.Com. And we looked online and we don't know a lot about the sake that's in here, but John, why don't you give us the stats that we do know? about the lucky dog sake. Yeah,

We do know that the Lucky Dog Sake is a, uh, Futsushu. So that's a table sake, regular sake. it is from Hyogo Prefecture, so this mystery brewery is in Hyogo Prefecture. Um, the brewing water is, Miyamizu and, uh, Tim, we want to refresh, the memories of our listeners on what Miyamizu means exactly.

Miyamizu is the most famous water source, I think, in Japan. It's in Hyogo Prefecture, and it's used by many of the breweries in the Nada neighborhood of Hyogo, and that's where a lot of big Sake brands are located, uh, like Hakutsuru, the biggest brewery in Japan is located there, for example. And, um, it is a water that's known for being higher in mineral content. So it's for the Japanese, types of brewing water they have, this is considered a harder water or more mineral rich.

Well so a bolder style sake with a with a sake meter value the measure of dry to sweet of plus four and The alcohol percentage is a thirteen point two. So again limited information, but that's what we've got now before we go into Any further, Tim. Um, so, uh, this, this, this label and this mascot here and the, the name here, the, the lucky dog, I'm not familiar with any lucky dogs. I am familiar with the, the lucky cat seen very prominently in, in many Japanese, establishments.

Yeah. If you don't know what a lucky cat is, the Japanese term is maneki neko, N E K O. Maneki neko is a lucky cat. It's. If you start looking for it, you're going to see it everywhere. It's a cat that is often a little statue of a cat that is called the beckoning cat. And usually one of the paws is either stationary and raised up, Or it's, it's bouncing up and down and it is beckoning you into the shop.

yeah. Oh, absolutely. They're everywhere. It's rotten with them.

Yeah, so this, the, uh, Mani Ko is a play on words actually from maneki Neko. So neko means cat, and that's the traditional one. Uh, the Japanese word for bark like a dog bark is w Wan wan wan. So, and ko is a suffix for something that's diminutive or

yeah. So little, little bark.

Little bark.

All right. So

little bark.

lucky little bark.

I

was a little concerned because when you said, you know, Maneki Neko, and then you were like, and this one, Wanko, and I'm like, well, that's not what I know the word for dog in Japanese. And that ain't it.

Right, so this is a Lucky Dog play on words from the Lucky Cats, and it is a very cute illustration on the label. Um, and it is a juice box and there is a little straw in the back.

There is a little straw. It is, when we tell you this is a juice box, like there's, you, there's no exaggeration. It is straight up a juice box.

Okay, before we dive into the tasting, John, I do have, I have, I have to ask this question. So this, it looks like a juice box. It has a straw like a juice box. Do you have any qualms about this appealing to kids or being like a, it's a kid friendly format. This is like what you would put in a lunchbox for your toddler to send them to preschool. What do you think about that?

think it's a little weird, Tim. I think it's a little weird. Um, yeah, I, I, the last time I used something like this was probably at that age and it's given me memories and it's not of alcohol and it's a little strange. Um, yeah, that's, it's just bizarre to me that this exists and I'm really happy it does cause it's so strange, but, but it's so weird. It's just, you know what I mean? It's just so like, huh? They made a sake juice box, didn't they?

yeah, yeah. I'll give you, um, I'll quote one sentence out of the promotional materials for this. It says, while this is an unusual format in the U. S., the sake juice box is very common in Japan for those eager to sip delicious nihonshu while taking a stroll in the park or a public place. And I think that that is true in Japan, but in the U. S., drinking alcohol in public parks is very often, like, illegal. In

Frowned upon.

yeah, so Uh, I don't know how that translates to the U. S. market very well.

yes. Alcohol being represented in child friendly containers and also being drunk in public are two things that are frowned upon here

with a cartoon dog on the,

with a cartoon. God, I didn't even add that caveat.

So I would, uh, I mean, we can put a pin in this and just say like, you know, Hmm, things that make you go, Hmm, but it's something that occurred to me that this is not usual packaging. It's definitely funky for that reason.

Yeah, it is. And, and it, but it's interesting, right? It is definitely something different is not something you see every day.

Yes. Now this lucky dog comes in this. 180 ml juice box, but it also comes in a 900 ml, um, like a milk, like a milk carton, you know, like an milk carton

Right, right. Does this have a straw?

no straw, but it has a screw. It has the spout on the side.

Mm hmm.

Um, you know what I mean? Like you screw off a little white cap and you pour it out. So that's a common, that's a common size in Japan for cooking sake. Like you buy, you buy like a liter and it has a little screw top. And it looks, the shape looks like a milk carton.

Yes, very much so, uh, especially like the modern milk cartons that, like you mentioned, have like the screw cap on top instead of the fold out, uh, the fold out that was common when you and I were young.

Yes. I never liked the fold out,

Well, were you, were you bad at, were you bad at it? I found there's two types of people, people who are good at opening up that cardboard and people who did not like that cardboard.

Well, I didn't like the, the taste of cardboard with my milk. Because there are always little, little bits of cardboard. Yeah. Anyway, moving on now, I do want to say before one last thing, before we open this and get to sipping, uh, there is actually a Lucky Dog Sake Instagram.

All right.

So the Lucky Dog character has their own Instagram profile, and there's not a lot of content there right now, but if you'd like to, you can follow Lucky Dog sake on Instagram and we're going to tag them in this episode.

Oh, I love it. I mean, it's, you know, we're joking around and having a good time with it, but real talk though, we do see, juice boxes, sake is in Japan. All the time, right? If you go to a convenience store, it's, it is very normal to see it. It's not, you know, we're in America. It's a little bit different and it's literally like, aha, you know, kind of thing, but there it's very common.

All right. Well, I think the moment of truth has arrived, JP.

yes, it has. Are you ready?

So. We're gonna, I'm gonna remove the straw from the pouch.

All right. Ooh, that came off very easy.

Okay, and

Um, I got to get it out of the, so you know how you didn't like the, um, paper. Milk carton. I don't like getting the straw out of the little plastic, sheath that it's in. I am very bad at that. I'm struggling as we speak.

So you extend you extend the straw the straw kind of doubles in length and then there is a little Polyethylene

Yep.

thing and the straw has All right, here we

we have made, we have done it. Oh,

Okay,

the Foley artist gets paid a bonus today.

Okay. All right, here we go.

Tim. I think we have to skip the aroma portion. I don't think I'm going to stick the straw up your nose. I don't know what we're going to do with this.

we're not able to smell this. We are drinking out of a juice box with a straw.

Yes. All right, here we go.

Hmm. It tastes, syrupy and the aftertaste has some heat to it.

of like the aftertaste, I, I'm not, you know, no, no, no. Me all, but all things me. Well, like, um, little less, I'm getting a little bit less of the heat that you're describing, but I mean, the, now after, after the heat, after that, there's a nice little kind slide home and that I like, that's really nice. And I don't, I don't just like the, the initial flavor either. It is, there is some heat, um. Which is interesting because it's only 13 percent alcohol.

This tastes like a one cup sake. Inexpensive one cup sake. 180

Absolutely. I mean, it is, it is, it is that essentially, um, you, you mentioned this, this is 180, this is 180 milliliters. That's interesting. It feels and looks so small. Yeah.

13. 2 percent alcohol and by volume 180 ml.

Wow. All right. Yeah.

So this tastes very alcohol added to me. Aruten. This tastes like, yeah,

I agree. I mean, it's, it's, yeah, I, I'm, I'm with you. I think you're absolutely there. You know, I get a little, I get a little nervous about, Futsushu sometimes, especially, you know, what we get here. I think that I, I understand that in Japan, it's a very different story

I will say futsushu is hit or miss.

Ooh. All right. Yes.

if you have a well crafted futsushu, even though it's alcohol added and it's not at a premium level, it can be absolutely delicious. I've had more delicious futsushu in Japan than in the U. S.

Yeah.

But, this type of sake has a specific style to it, and I want to describe kind of some of what I'm tasting. Um, there's not a lot of complexity to this style of sake. Uh, I find that the, the pure rice flavor, like the flavor of whether it's gohyaku mangoku or whatever rice they're using, when you add a fair amount of alcohol, it kind of masks the true rice flavor to the sake. And we've, we taste a lot of sake where we say, Oh, this is like rice.

I understand what you're saying, and, um, and I agree. Uh, I will say, you mentioned that, like, sometimes, like, uh, futsushu can be hit or miss. and I think this, this one's pretty good. It's, it's, it's pretty hit for me. It's not, uh

Yeah, this, oh my gosh. There are a lot of other futsu

I've had some very unfortunate experiences with other futsushu and the fact that I'm sitting here sipping Out of a juice box was true. It's I'm still kind of wrapping my head around that

Yeah.

But it's yeah, I feel again. I just I want to have some salty snacks with this. That's my pairing notes Like when I say salty snacks, I mean like I want like potato chips That level of salty snacks. We're not, we're not getting fancy here. This is,

This is not fancy and it's not bad either. It's like, it's a very serviceable. futsushu, sake, and I, I think this would be very good, even colder. Like I got it out of the fridge and it's in the tetra pack. If you have a sake, if you have a futsushu, I've found that sometimes over chilling it, getting it nice and cold makes it Taste a little crisper on the palate. It's a little trick you can do with, uh, some futsushu sakes.

Hmm. Uh, I did the same thing you did. We took our juice boxes out of the fridge before we started recording. So it's kind of been sitting here for probably about like 20 minutes until we got to it. so it probably had a few minutes to, to catch up and get a little warmer.

Yeah, but to be, to be honest, I, I feel I won't be drinking a lot of juice box sake in the future.

Tim.

I'm very fancy. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, It is fun. It's funky. It's interesting. And this is a, this is a really serviceable futsushu.

Yeah. I think that, I think you're right there. Um, and think that if you're, you know, find yourself in a situation where this is, This is what's around. You've got some, some fun food to go with it. I think it's, it's gonna, it's going to be a fun thing to drink. I just, you know, don't be too overt with the, the nice police officers when they walk by, but maybe just do this in the privacy of your own home. That might be the. Safest thing to do.

So, any, any final thoughts on Lucky Dog,

Lucky dog. The dog is lucky. This is a lucky dog. I'm lucky that this turned out and tasty. Um,

you're lucky to have a new series on

and I'm lucky to have a new series. I'm dying to see where this goes because like the first one Alright Tim, we're doing a new series. Wonderful. What is it? So there's a juice box and what? So I'm you know, I thought you're gonna be like, all right, we're gonna start with something, then not everybody's seen but is It's not the usual bottle.

Of course,

okay.

I was not good with getting the, caprice on getting the straw

No, nobody was, no. And, and the, and you can easily, with Capri Sun, you can easily overcompensate and stab straight through to the other side. And then your Capri Sun juice is all over your lap and the floor. And then, you know, maybe it was just me, but,

Yeah. Well, I, I don't think that the lucky dog has that problem. This was easy to use and easy to get the straw in and it's, it's functioning very, very well.

Yeah. I, you know, this is, you know, I, I put that straw in, I thought I was going to get some orange juice and, and, um, and I didn't.

Have you ever had that experience where you, you pick up a glass and you think it's milk and it's orange juice and you sip it? That's, That's, kind of where you, did you have that experience?

I have had that experience.

Yeah. All right. Well, this was a lot of fun and I think a very successful launch to our funky packaging series.

I think so. I cannot wait to see what else is funky out there.

All right, John, it was great to taste with you. Thank you so much for getting funky with me here with this packaging.

Oh, anytime, Tim. I love getting funky with you.

All right. All right. And a special thank you to all of our listeners. Thanks for tuning in. Do let us know what you think about this new series. We'd love to hear from you. And a special hello and thank you as well to all of our patrons. Thank you so much for supporting our show. Without you, we would not be able to make Sake Revolution happen. And we're so grateful to you. If you'd like to learn more about supporting our show, please visit Patreon.com/SakeRevolution to learn more.

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you're not going to say raise your glass.

Now I'm not.

All right. I'm ready. I'm ready.

All right, Tim, raise your cup. Nope. Raise your juice box. Remember to keep drinking sake out of a straw and Kanpai!

All right. Keeping it funky. I like that.