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The way Patrick Ellis describes his first encounter drinking saké, it was love at first sight—or, more accurately, first sip. It was the mid-1980s, and his UVic Japanese professor, who had already introduced him to sushi, filled Ellis’s tiny cup before his own (as is tradition). They raised their cups, said "kanpai” and downed the rice-fermented alcohol in one go. It wasn’t a top-shelf saké and was served warm to tone down any harsh flavours—but he was immediately smitten. 

“Because saké is completely ensconced in and representative of [Japanese] culture, for me to imbibe was to take in the whole culture and go on these imaginary trips… It wasn’t long before I’d go down to Willows Beach by myself with a bottle and just sit there.”

That world-shifting experience set Ellis on a path that would take him across the Pacific more than a hundred times as Canada’s leading importer of premium saké. In 2018, he received the prestigious title of “Saké Samurai” from the Japan Saké Brewers Association. is given to individuals who’ve demonstrated an “outstanding contribution to the understanding, appreciation or promotion of saké” and Japanese culture as a whole and who continue to promote Japanese saké around the world “with pride and passion.” Ellis compares the honour to a lifetime achievement award given out at the Oscars except there’s an expectation that your work will continue.  

“It’s part of the ceremony… the commitment to continue to drive forward,” he says. “That responsibility is part of my compass.”

Culture club

Ellis grew up in Kincardine, ON, and was always interested in Japanese culture. His family later moved to Ó£»¨Ó°ÊÓ, where he started a general arts degree at UVic. Two years in, Ellis realized that he wanted to study Japanese. Entering his third year at UVic, he dove into every Japanese class available through the Department of Pacific and Asian Studies, which at the time was called Pacific and Oriental Studies. “The intent was to immerse myself in Japanese culture.”

At the time, UVic had an exchange program with Keio University in Tokyo. Ellis managed to get accepted, which changed his life. “When I got the call that I’d been accepted, I still remember what the weather was like, where I was, that kind of thing. And I knew that this absolute long shot, particularly because of the competition, was now a gift that was up to me to take responsibly.”

During his time at Keio, he joined a university club where he would spend his lunchtimes listening to Japanese students talk with one another. “I couldn't understand anything… But after about three or four months, it started to break through.” The rest of the time he soaked up the culture—the language, the customs, the sights and sounds, the food and drink. “I became such a sponge for it.”

Upon graduating from UVic, he was determined to return to Japan. After a stint in Toronto as a consultant for a joint restaurant venture with a Japanese company, Ellis signed on with an engineering firm building Japanese automotive facilities in Ontario. Because of his fluency in English and Japanese, he later joined the purchasing department of a General Motors and Suzuki joint venture.

“Often weeks would go by that I wouldn't speak any English at all. My environment, my suppliers were Japanese. Everybody I reported to right up to the president was Japanese.”

He eventually realized however that no matter how much of his role involved being a conduit between two countries and cultures, his job would always be in Canada. “I learned later on that I was not able to get back to Japan through Suzuki [because] they had a rule that they would not siphon off local employees for their own.”

So, he pulled up stakes and joined a small trading firm in Tokyo that imported Canadian food, beer and wine. But his real education would begin when he went out at night with his Japanese colleagues.

Saké 101

Although it originated in China, saké production in Japan dates back more than 1,400 years, with an estimated 1,000 brewers currently in operation across the country.

Because of its unique method of production, which involves fermenting rice, koji mold and yeast, saké is neither a wine, a spirit nor a beer, and occupies its own alcohol category. This past December, UNESCO recognized Japan’s traditional process of saké brewing by adding it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Ellis is quick to point out that even though rice is the key ingredient in saké, it’s not “rice wine” as many people assume. There are parallels, however. With more than 100 saké rice varieties, each with a unique flavour profile akin to wine grapes, saké comes in a range of styles and tastes. Alcohol levels in saké are also in line with wine, ranging from 12 to 18 per cent ABV. Good saké should also be served chilled in a wine glass, says Ellis.

But that’s where the similarities end. Saké’s lower acidity compared to wine makes it more suitable for food pairing. Ellis often recommends burgers as the perfect gateway food to showcase saké’s versatility.

Then there’s the matter of umami—considered one of the five basic tastes, alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter, and means “delicious savoury taste” in Japanese. Saké is chock-full of the stuff. “[Saké] is a umami explosion in my mouth,” Ellis says. “It is an absolute symphony. And it takes me on a tour.”

Evenings out in Japan also opened Ellis’s window to the wider world of saké, especially those produced by small brewers dotting the country. Unlike the heated saké he was introduced to in Ó£»¨Ó°ÊÓ, these sakés were an entirely different beast, says Ellis. “Premium saké was just starting to become somewhat of an entity even though they’ve been making sakés for a hundred years… And because of the bullet train… people could do day trips to [these regions that made local, premium sakés]. That really helped give a boost to the image of what we call local, craft saké—what I call premium saké.”

He shoots, he scores

At this point, Ellis wanted to share his passion for Japan’s national drink. So, he moved back to Canada and hatched a plan to import premium saké. Ellis named his import company , a nod to the esteemed jazz label and the deep reverence Japan has for the musical genre.

“The first shipment comes in seven cases, and I sold the first case right away, but it was to me—I was my first customer and probably still my largest customer.”

The other six cases gathered dust as he pestered restaurants across Vancouver only to get rebuffed at every turn. Eventually, his persistence wore down one restaurant owner, who agreed to take a single case if Ellis promised to leave him alone. A few weeks later, the owner called Ellis asking if he had more for sale. The New York Rangers had been in town to play the Vancouver Canucks who had recently acquired former Ranger Mark Messier. In New York, Messier and his former teammate Wayne Gretzky, who had joined the Rangers, would always go out for sushi after the game. When Messier and his former teammates showed up, including Gretzky, they asked the owner to bring them his best saké. He sold the entire case that night.  

‘Sweethearts of the ball’

Inroads into the Canadian market have been slow but steady. Blue Note currently carries approximately 120 products from more than a dozen producers. Since he started the business more than 25 years ago, Ellis estimates he’s introduced two million bottles of saké to Canadians.

“It began with the Japanese restaurants, but as I built it out from there, my vision is to literally see a bottle of saké in every fridge in Canada.”

Achieving this requires a considerable amount of outreach, says Ellis, who has organized saké festivals, tasting events and seminars around his beloved beverage. It appears to be working. Over the past decade, sophisticated imbibers have noticed saké making its way onto an increasing number of cocktail menus and fine dining wine lists. You can find saké brewers in Vancouver, Oregon, California, even temperance hot spots like Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as England, France and New Zealand. In 2022, Asahi Shuzo, the company behind popular saké brand Dassai, struck a sponsorship deal with the New York Yankees baseball team. And in December, the same company to blast saké ingredients to the International Space Station to ferment a special brew that would retail for 100 million yen, or about $653,000 US, for a 100-ml bottle. 

“Right now, we are the sweethearts of the ball,” Ellis says of saké’s status on the booze barometer. “We are kind of the cool kids, but still very much below the radar.”

Saké ceremony

Every year, the induction ceremony for Saké Samurais takes place at a sacred shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

The ceremony takes three hours and is attended by the media and Japanese dignitaries including priests and priestesses and is followed by a press conference.

“In my acceptance speech, I opened with a favourite quote of mine by Mark Twain: 'The two most important days in a person’s life are the day you were born, and the day you find out why,’” Ellis says.

“I am blessed to have discovered that at an early enough stage. I do not believe I get to do what I do.”

—Michael Kissinger, BEd '94

This article appears in the UVic Torch alumni magazine.

For more Torch stories, go to the UVic Torch alumni magazine page.