Inter Rice Asia - The Art of Sake

bottle shop — Bugis · Singapore

About Inter Rice Asia - The Art of Sake

The Art of Sake is the retail venture of sake specialists Inter Rice Asia, operating from a warehouse unit at 16 Kallang Pl, #03-19/20 in Singapore. The shop recently celebrated its 18th anniversary, and the depth of its catalogue shows it: hundreds of bottles from breweries across Japan, arranged with unusual clarity by grade, style, taste, price and region, and backed by a full online store with next-day delivery.

Beyond the bottles, The Art of Sake treats sake appreciation as a genuine practice. Onsite tastings run biweekly, including a Meet the Brewery series that has recently spotlighted houses like Amabuki Shuzo and Manotsuru, while companies and private groups can arrange bespoke tasting events of their own. A Discovery Box programme — monthly bundles or a three-month subscription — makes an easy on-ramp for newcomers, and a dedicated shochu collection plus sake accessories round out the offering.

Whether you arrive hunting a specific junmai daiginjo or simply curious, the team's eighteen years of focus make the world of sake feel welcoming rather than intimidating — one carefully chosen bottle, and one tasting, at a time.

The Art of Sake: Kallang's Specialist Sake Warehouse for Bottles, Tastings and Discovery Boxes

The Art of Sake, operated by sake specialists Inter Rice Asia, has quietly become one of Singapore's most trusted addresses for Japanese sake. The shop recently celebrated its 18th anniversary, and the depth of its range tells you those years were well spent: hundreds of bottles from breweries across Japan, arranged with a clarity that makes the often-intimidating world of sake feel genuinely approachable. The operation runs out of a warehouse unit at 16 Kallang Place — part working cellar, part browsing space — with a full online store delivering across Singapore.

A Cellar You Can Actually Navigate

What sets The Art of Sake apart is how thoroughly browsable it is. Bottles are sorted by grade, from futsu-shu up through junmai, ginjo and junmai daiginjo; by style, covering nama, yamahai and kimoto, sparkling, nigori, aged, kijoshu and fruit sakes; by taste, from light and clean to rich and full-bodied, fresh, sweet, dry or complex; by price point; and by region, sweeping from Tohoku through Kanto, Chubu, Kansai and Chugoku down to Shikoku and Kyushu — with a French outlier from Wakaze for the curious.

Curated collections add another layer: award-winning sakes, an IWC Sake 2026 – Hiroshima selection, a line-up dedicated to female owners and brewers, 1800ml magnums for a crowd, warm sakes for the colder months, and a Warehouse Exclusive range tied to this Kallang space. The shelves read like a brewery atlas — Dewazakura, Daishichi, Homare, Senkin, Tengumai, Manotsuru, Imayotsukasa, Kiminoi, Nihonsakari, Tsuki No Katsura, Kamoizumi, Gozenshu, Sanzen, Keigetsu, Ishizuchi, Kikubijin, Amabuki and many more.

Bottles Worth Knowing

The seasonal shelf rewards repeat visits. In winter, Daishichi's Yukishibori Honjozo Namagenshu arrives — a young sake that skips maturation entirely and is shipped out immediately after brewing. From the daiginjo tiers come Manotsuru's Miku, Ishizuchi's competition-minded Vanquish, Hourai's playfully nicknamed "Lady Killer" Iro Otoko, Keigetsu's Cel24 and Hideyoshi's flagship junmai daiginjo, while Ishizuchi's Yamadanishiki anchors the junmai ginjo shelf. If labels feel like a foreign language, the by-taste categories meet you where you are.

Sake is not the whole story. A dedicated shochu collection spans Japan's distilling heartlands — Amami, Kagoshima, Okinawa, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Fukuoka, plus Hachijo in Tokyo — with names like Nishihira, Tensei, Chuko, Toyonaga, Ochiai and Craftsman Tada. Sake accessories round out the cart for anyone building a proper home-serving setup.

Tastings, Nomi-kai and Discovery Boxes

The Art of Sake treats appreciation as a practice rather than a transaction. Biweekly tastings run onsite, including the Meet the Brewery series, which has recently spotlighted Amabuki Shuzo and Manotsuru through its Nomi-kai sessions. Companies and private groups can arrange bespoke tastings of their own, and the shop's blog extends the learning at home, from a cheese-and-sake pairing guide to coverage of the latest IWC results.

For exploring at your own pace, the Discovery Box programme delivers a curated monthly selection — either as one-off bundles or a three-month subscription — an easy on-ramp when the wall of labels feels overwhelming.

Visiting and Ordering

Ordering is refreshingly simple: next-day delivery is available, and it is free for orders of $200 and above. New newsletter subscribers receive a 5% site-wide voucher, along with first word on promotions and tastings. Restaurants and bars can get in touch through trade enquiries to pour these bottles professionally.

Whether you arrive with a specific bottle in mind or nothing but curiosity, The Art of Sake makes eighteen years of sake obsession feel like a warm invitation rather than a test.

Signature items

  • Daishichi Yukishibori Honjozo Namagenshu (Winter)
  • 3-Month Discovery Box Subscription
  • Biweekly Sake Tasting
  • Award-Winning Sake Collection
  • Corporate & Private Sake Tastings
  • Japanese Shochu Collection

Menu

Shochu

  • Amami — Nishihira Distillery — Shochu from Nishihira Distillery on the Amami islands.
  • Tokyo — Hachijo Kohatsu — Shochu from Hachijo island distillery Hachijo Kohatsu.
  • Fukuoka — Craftsman Tada — Shochu from the Craftsman Tada distillery in Fukuoka.
  • Kagoshima — Tensei Shuzo — Shochu from Kagoshima's Tensei Shuzo.
  • Okinawa — Chuko Distillery — Distilled spirits from Okinawa's Chuko Distillery.
  • Miyazaki — Ochiai Distillery — Shochu from the Ochiai Distillery in Miyazaki.
  • Kumamoto — Toyonaga Brewery — Shochu from Kumamoto's Toyonaga Brewery.

Discovery Box

  • Monthly Sake Bundle — A rotating, curated sake bundle refreshed each month.
  • 3-Month Discovery Box Subscription — Recurring three-month plan delivering curated sake monthly.

Sake By Grade

  • Daiginjo / Junmai Daiginjo — The most highly polished rice grades — refined, aromatic, top-tier bottles.
  • Ginjo / Junmai Ginjo — Aromatic mid-tier grades between junmai and daiginjo.
  • Junmai — Pure rice sake — the everyday heart of the range.
  • Futsu-shu & Others — Table-grade sakes and styles outside the premium classifications.

Sake By Style

  • Nama — Unpasteurised sakes kept for maximum freshness.
  • Yamahai & Kimoto — Traditional slow-starter methods with deeper, more savoury character.
  • Sparkling — Bubbly bottles for celebrations.
  • Nigori — Cloudy, coarsely filtered sakes.
  • Aged — Matured sakes with mellow, deeper notes.
  • Kijoshu — Rich, concentrated sakes brewed with sake in place of water.
  • Fruity Alcohol — Fruit sakes and fruity alcohol drinks.

Featured Bottles

  • Daishichi Yukishibori Honjozo Namagenshu (Winter) — Young honjozo namagenshu, unmatured, shipped out immediately after brewing.
  • Sakari Junmai Daiginjo — Top-grade junmai daiginjo from Kansai's Nihonsakari.
  • Hourai Junmai Daiginjo "Lady Killer" Iro Otoko — Junmai daiginjo from Tohoku's Hourai brewery.
  • Keigetsu Junmai Daiginjo Cel24 — Junmai daiginjo from Shikoku brewery Keigetsu.
  • Sanzen Junmai Daiginjo Omachi — Junmai daiginjo Omachi from Chugoku's Sanzen brewery.
  • Manotsuru Junmai Daiginjo Miku — Junmai daiginjo from the Manotsuru brewery.
  • Hideyoshi Junmai Daiginjo — Junmai daiginjo from Tohoku's Hideyoshi brewery.
  • Ishizuchi Junmai Daiginjo Vanquish — Flagship junmai daiginjo from Shikoku's Ishizuchi, in the award-winning line.
  • Manotsuru Daiginjo Maho — Daiginjo from Manotsuru, part of the award-winning collection.
  • Ishizuchi Junmai Ginjo Yamadanishiki — Junmai ginjo brewed from Yamadanishiki rice.

Sake Accessories

  • Sake Accessories — Gear for serving and enjoying sake at home.

Curated Collections

  • Award Winning Sake — Competition-recognised bottles including Ishizuchi Vanquish and Manotsuru Maho.
  • IWC Sake 2026 – Hiroshima — A collection tied to the IWC Sake 2026 edition set in Hiroshima.
  • Female Owner/Brewer — Bottles from breweries led by female owners and brewers.
  • Magnum 1800ml — Party-size 1800ml magnum bottles.
  • Warm Sakes — Bottles chosen with gentle warming in mind.
  • Warehouse Exclusive — Bottles reserved for the Kallang warehouse range.

Sake Tastings & Events

  • Biweekly Sake Tasting — Onsite tasting sessions held every fortnight.
  • Meet the Brewery: Manotsuru Nomi-kai 70 — Nomi-kai tasting session spotlighting the Manotsuru brewery.
  • Corporate & Private Sake Tastings — Bespoke sake events for companies and private groups.

Frequently asked questions

Where is The Art of Sake located?
At 16 Kallang Pl, #03-19/20, Singapore — a warehouse-style sake specialist space with a full online store.
Do you offer delivery?
Yes. Next-day delivery is available, and it is free for orders of $200 and above.
Can I taste sake before buying?
Yes. Biweekly tastings run onsite, including the Meet the Brewery series featuring specific breweries.
I'm new to sake. Where should I start?
Browse by taste or grade, or begin with a Monthly Sake Bundle or the 3-month Discovery Box subscription to sample a curated range.
Do you host private or corporate events?
Yes. Corporate and private sake tastings can be organised through the shop's event service.
Besides sake, what else do you sell?
A shochu collection spanning Japan's distilling regions, plus sake accessories for serving at home.
Can restaurants or bars stock your sake?
Yes. Trade enquiries are welcome for businesses that want to carry these sakes.

Tips

  • {"body":"Check the Sake Appreciation page for biweekly tastings and Meet the Brewery sessions before you visit.","title":"Plan around a tasting"}
  • {"body":"Online orders of $200 and above ship free, with next-day delivery available.","title":"Clear $200 for free delivery"}
  • {"body":"The monthly bundle or three-month subscription is a low-risk way to find your preferred style.","title":"New to sake? Start with a Discovery Box"}
  • {"body":"Browsing by taste — dry, sweet, rich, complex — is far easier than decoding Japanese labels.","title":"Use the taste filters"}
  • {"body":"New subscribers receive a 5% site-wide voucher plus first notice of promotions and tastings.","title":"Join the newsletter"}