Pour One with Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale

The proprietor of The Koji Club discusses her ongoing passion for sake, being a lifelong student and why she thinks canned sake is cool.

WORDS Maia Gosselin

IMAGES Ally Schmaling

Alyssa Mikiko DiPasquale did not set out to become the proprietor of a sake bar. In fact, the former art administrator originally had dreams of opening an art gallery. But as so often happens, life had other plans. Finding herself unemployed­ in the economic downturn of 2008, DiPasquale landed a job working at legendary o ya in Boston, where she was introduced to the vast world of sake. For more than a decade, she immersed herself in the culture of the storied Japanese beverage, learning everything she could about its rich history. The more she studied, the more she came to appreciate that sake is not just an alcoholic drink made from fermented rice, but a form of art.

So in 2022, when DiPasquale opened The Koji Club, a dedicated sake bar in Brighton, Massachusetts and the only one of its kind in New England, her dream of opening a gallery really did become a reality, just in a different form. Her collection of sake is art, and she is the curator, showcasing beautiful creations from the artist brewers and telling their stories.

Today, The Koji Club is the largest seller of sake in the state, with a selection that tops 50 different labels (she is unsure of the exact number but it’s a lot). Capacity is a mere 16 seats with patio seating adding an additional 30-plus seats during warm weather.

In a few short years, DiPasquale’s passion project has become a sought-out destination spot for novices and enthusiasts alike and been awarded just about every coveted accolade one can receive, including being named one of the Best Bars in America by Esquire. As it happens, her timing was perfect: sake has broken out of its role as exclusive partner to Japanese food with more people discovering its delicious diversity and seeking to expand their palates.

We caught up with the enthusiastic entrepreneur for a great conversation about sake’s growing popularity, her philosophy on education, and what exactly a Cherry Blossom Disco is all about.

Sake has seen significant growth over the past few years; in 2024, the North American market saw a 27% year-on-year increase. What do you attribute this to?

I attribute this to several factors. First, the rise of craft beer, cider and natural wine movements are helping folks become more beverage curious, expanding consumer palates to funkier, more fermenty flavors. Second, the pandemic saw a surge in consumer exploration and curiosity. This, combined with a post-pandemic travel boom and yen weakness, has added to the growth. In 2024, the yen reached levels around 160 per U.S. dollar, something not seen since the early 1990s. And finally, the modern inclusivity of young beverage professionals creating more creative menus. Le Bernardin in New York has included sake on the menu for over a decade…but recently, sommeliers in NYC are including by-the-glass selections like it’s always been that way. Impressive selections. At Penny, Kru, Smithereens, Time and Tide.

Sake is often associated with Japanese fare, sushi in particular. This has been changing as consumers shift to enjoying it with non-Japanese cuisine as well as finer dining. The Koji Club has stayed away from a full menu with no sushi offered, opting instead for small plates. What drove this choice?

Our menu looks like a sake bar menu or izakaya menus in Japan. I was aiming for authenticity but also … I am certainly not a sushi chef. I was so privileged­ to work at o ya for over a decade, but totally humbled by the experience and know that it takes a lifetime of dedication and practice to pursue sushi. The popularity of Japanese food in the United States centers around sushi and ramen, but there are so many wonderful niche cuisine specialties. For example, I am a huge fan of Hannyatou in Seattle and Chef Soma’s soba temple next door called Kamonegi. But those are separate concepts. The Japanese wouldn’t combine those under one roof. Each has its own set of customs and traditions.

I wanted to make sure that every­body knew that we were a sake bar. Part of our mission is to get people to kind of reframe Japanese sake from an esoteric, exotic sushi companion to something that you would want to drink every day. That was really difficult. For our first year and a half, maybe longer, everybody was looking for sushi when they came in. They didn’t understand where the raw fish was. It became such a pain point that we partnered with Cafe Sushi, which is a very well-known, acclaimed sushi restaurant in Cambridge. You can pre-order a sushi bento box on Thursdays only with your reservation and we will deliver it to you over the bar. But beyond that you won’t see it. But it was so hard for people to disassociate sushi and sake when we first opened that we needed to offer it in some way. We do this but it certainly wasn’t part of the original mission.

Hot, cold, aged, young, in a cocktail,­ different grades (Honjozo-shu, Junmai-shu, Ginjo-shu, Junmai Ginjo-shu)—so many styles and ways to enjoy­ sake! How have you structured the vast array of options in terms of your beverage program?

By seasons! I joke all the time that the only folks in the world who are more obsessed with seasons than New Englanders are the Japanese. We like to highlight customs, like warming sake, styles and snacks based on what is happening outside and what our souls might be craving. Not only is this authentic, but it allowed me and the team to learn so much and represent so many more breweries than we would normally get to if we had a more static menu. This is very hard in 250 square feet!

Do you have more novices or more savvy patrons?

It is such a wonderful range. We hope our robust menu keeps our more educated guests totally delighted but we are here to help the folks who are novice. My favorite times are when sake industry folks come into the city for trade tastings or special events and share that they are impressed with the diversity of our list. We try so hard in its structure and design to be sure everyone is represented—we have a pie chart to show this—but also to be sure we are paying homage to the season well. It’s a dance.

I think in the summer this becomes­ more difficult because our patio­ opens and we go from 16 seats to closer to 50 potential seats. The outdoor seating is counter service and while we do our best to be storytellers, the volume dictates how much we are able to engage. Winter is different. The bar contracts to a capacity where we can guide and focus.

Your values are “Celebration, Education, and Access”—can you talk about the importance of this philosophy and what it means to you?

Inclusivity begins with the design of the club. The vision was to mimic a wine bar, so that when guests arrive they are familiar with the style of service of the space. We even serve sake in traditional wine tasting glasses. The only element in which we are pushing folks out of their comfort zone is what we are pouring in the glass. We serve tea immediately when folks are seated to help them feel comfortable, satiated, and to allow them time to digest the menu. I feel as though this allows guests to decompress and melt away whatever was happening before they walked through the door.

There are no “dumb questions”—we often hear people say that “they do not know anything about sake” when they start to order. That’s why we are here! We love to help you find your favorite­ glass as we have lots of ways to guide. We are students, too. I feel like I am still learning more and more about sake everyday through the bar and because the industry is growing at such a significant rate. There are no experts, there are just students.

You are passionate about spreading the word of sake through education and tastings. How do you enjoy teaching people?

Traditional education doesn’t belong with drinking. Drinking and the ritual of drinking is always meant to be fun. Our mission from day one: “The Koji Club is a safe space to celebrate, learn about and drink really good sake.” Our goal is to reframe Japanese sake from a hangover-­inducing sushi companion—­insert sake bomb here—to an approachable, everyday beverage choice through nontraditional partnerships, unique learning experiences and New England’s first and only dedicated sake bar.

Our Annual Cherry Blossom Disco is a great example of a unique learning experience. In the spring, when the sake brewing season ends, we get a special allocation of unpasteurized sake called namazake. This sake is meant to be drunk as fresh as possible, so we throw a huge 100-plus guest tasting and disco. Guests taste pasteurized and unpasteurized sake side by side from four different sake breweries and then land on the dance floor. Our annual sake tasting is a good example of a unique learning experience. We host 100–150 guests for a tasting at the Museum of Fine Arts and then guests are allowed to roam the art galleries until 10 pm. The MFA has one of the largest Japanese art collections in the world. It’s a seamless experience and non-traditional partnership.

The No/Low trend continues to grow, appealing to a broader audience. How has The Koji Club beverage program adapted to cater to this?

Tea! Our menu has an “ANA” section which is where our adult non-alcoholic beverages live. It’s a constantly evolving list including producers like Muri from Copenhagen and Hakkaisan in Niigata to house made items. We are also seeing this trend in Japanese sake production. Newer styles include low-ABV genshu sake, where the sake is fermented low and slow to keep the alcohol percentage low but also then not diluting the sake post-fermentation to allow for flavor intensity that can compete with any style. They are gorgeous! We love them. A good example is Kojimaya Sohonten’s Untitled at 13% ABV.

Canned and one-cup sakes: fan or foe?

I’m a big fan! When I helped to open Hojoko, I wrote a list that had the largest cup and can sake menu in the country. I don’t think there’s nearly as much today as it was when we first opened, but there were about 25 options on the menu originally. We were next to Fenway Park, so it felt appropriate and they were so cute. Actually, canned sake was invented for the 1964 Olympics. Ozeki Sake created the One Cup and it was so popular that it ended up going into all the all the vending machines in Japan. Actually, someone once told me that the real reason it was invented, which is not the public-facing reason, is because they’re all a bunch of ski bums and snowboarders and the cans fit better in ski jackets and stayed cold because of the metal. I think we’re seeing more of it in the United States now because it’s really good for off-premise. The little cups and cans are adorable and beautiful and they drink so well.

In 2024, the category saw the registration of “Traditional knowledge and skills of sake-making with koji mold in Japan” as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. Can you speak to the significance of this?

UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage designation has been pivotal in elevating sake’s status from a regional drink to a living cultural practice. I hope that this designation also helps to protect Japanese sake as it evolves internationally.

You’re chatting with a stranger at a party.­ What one thing would you say to convince them they should try sake? And what would that “beginner” bottle be?

It really depends on them and their personal preferences. I begin each sake tasting at the bar discussing how taste is rooted in our sense memories and how it’s totally subjective. I would probably ask them what they generally enjoy­ drinking and work backwards from there. It’s a fun flex for me and usually helps them to try more than one bottle over time.

What’s in your glass right now?

Brooklyn Kura Lake Effect Nigori.