EPISODE INTRO
In the 37th episode of the Japan Distilled podcast, your host Stephen Lyman has a wide ranging conversation with Elliot Faber of Sundays Spirits in Hong Kong. His journey from Calgary to Scotland to Hong Kong is a winding road of adventure, opportunity, and hard work.
CREDITS
Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)
Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://www.uncannyjapan.com/)
HOST
STEPHEN LYMAN discovered Japan’s indigenous spirits at an izakaya in New York City. He was so enthralled that he now lives in Japan and works in a tiny craft shochu distillery every autumn. His first book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks, was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Award.
Stephen has been communicating online with Elliot Faber for a long time. This was their first time actually speaking.
If you have any comments or questions about this episode or any other, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Twitter. We would love to hear from you.
SHOW NOTES
What is Sundays Spirits?
Sundays Spirits was born out of the long time collaboration between Elliot Faber, chef Matt Abergel, and Lindsay Jang. Matt and Lindsay’s izakaya, Yardbird, opened in Hong Kong in 2011 and they immediately brought Elliot on as their beverage director.
Elliot relocated from Canada to Hong Kong to join the team and since then they have all been relentlessly dedicated to expanding their restaurant group and eventually opening two different beverage alcohol companies. Sunday’s Distribution is a Hong Kong-based importer and distributor for world alcohols while Sundays Spirits is a brand portfolio of beverage alcohols created in collaboration with Japanese sake and spirits makers.
Sake Chops
In just a few short years, Elliot has become a globally recognized expert on Japanese alcohol, but particularly sake. His book, Sake: The History, Stories, and Craft of Japan’s Artisinal Breweries is one of the most beautiful books on the subject we’ve ever seen. In 2016, he was recognized as a Sake Samurai by the Japan Sake Brewer’s Association. He’s also founded Sake Central, a global community for sake lovers.
Continuing the Journey
Today, Sundays Distribution allows Elliot to share his passion with Hong Kong while Sundays Spirits gives him an opportunity to share his favorite drinks with the world.
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