Shochu Rocks!! | June&July

GET READY TO SHOCHU ROCK AND ROLL
with FOUR amazing guest speakers.

Join us for live, virtual shochu tastings and cocktail demonstrations for the months of June and July!

Hosted by Sake School of America’s Toshio Ueno. He will introduce you to shochu, go further in-depth about the featured shochu of that day, and more exciting information! Then our guest speaker will share their thoughts on shochu, how more people can utilize shochu in their cocktails and restaurants, followed by a cocktail demonstration. Learn their inspiration behind the cocktails shown and get some top tier tips from experts in the trade. All sessions will be followed by a Q&A section.

—-WIN the Shochu Adviser Class for FREE!—-

At the end of each session, we will have a mini quiz and if you’re able to answer all the questions correctly, you will have a chance to win our Shochu Adviser Class! We will have one winner per session. Those who answer the quiz correctly will be entered into a randomized drawing and winners will be announced the following day. That’s FOUR chances to win!

See the Recipes | See the Winners

About Our Guests

Jaymee Mandeville | Trade Education Director @ Bacardi
Shochu: Towari Soba, Satsuma Shiranami Kuradashi Genshu
Register for Jaymee’s session!

Jaymee Mandeville is the Trade Education Director for Bacardi.
Mandeville is a demonstrated trainer with five years of experience as a Tales of the Cocktail seminar presenter and has also developed and executed seminars at SACC, AZCW, Midtown Cocktail Week, Golden State of Cocktails and Life is Beautiful. Combined with a decade of experience working behind the bar for awarded hospitality groups SBE and One Group as well as awarded chefs Celestino Drago and Michelle Bernstein, she brings a wealth of on-premise insights.  

Mandeville is an LA native and worked in both fashion and entertainment prior to making her name in the spirits industry. This January, she moved her family east to make New York City her new home. As a proclaimed jet setter, Jaymee will continue to travel the nation (virtually for the time being) and share her knowledge, experience and creativity.  She also sits on the board for Another Round Another Rally, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources for the Food & Beverage Industry.

Pamela Wiznitzer | Beverage Consultant
Shochu: Iichiko Frasco, Tenshinoyuwaku
Register for Pamela’s session!

Pamela Wiznitzer has a true passion and zest for the industry that is seen and tasted in every drink she serves and also transcends the bar. Since 2006, Pamela has been working throughout NYC at many notable venues and currently oversees the beverage programs for the iconic Big Apple Circus and The Lookup – a rooftop bar in midtown. She was nominated as one of the top 10 bartenders for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 “American Bartender of the Year” award at Tales of the cocktail and was named the “2014 Bartender of the Year” by the Village Voice. Additionally, she was named as one of Food & Wine Magazine’s top 10 Rising Star Mixologists, an inductee to the “Dames Hall of Fame” in 2015 and one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2015.

Pamela has a Master’s degree in Food Studies, with a concentration on spirits and alcohol, at NYU’s Steinhardt School. Additionally, she presents her research at seminars and conferences around the world. Pamela is a dual BA graduate of both Barnard College and the Jewish Theological Seminary as well as the Beverage Alcohol Resources 5-day program earning top honors by passing the course “Bar Ready.”

Pamela has been featured in multiple publications including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Tasting Panel, Travel & Leisure, Bar Business Magazine, Zagat, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Shape, Self, ABCNews.com, Bloomberg and Esquire, as well as reoccurring media appearances on the Food Network, Vh1, NBC, LXTV, Fox & Friends, and BetterTV. And be sure to catch her frequently as the bartender in residence on Build Series’s “MonetXChange Rate” program. 

Diliana Lee | Beverage @ Tao Chicago
Shochu: Ginjo Shiro, Kintaro
Register for Dila’s session!

Thirteen years ago, Dila Lee moved to the United States from Turkey, where she was born and lived until she was 22 years old. She studied the Japanese language while in school for her bachelor’s degree and received her master’s in Education in Japanese. When Dila first moved to the United States, she worked in a small Japanese restaurant in Chicago where she learned about the cuisine from a very traditional Japanese family.

Dila’s next move brought her to San Francisco where she landed a job at a restaurant facing the Bay Bridge that also happened to be one of the most well-known Japanese restaurants in the city – Ozumo on Embarcadero. There she navigated the largest sake program in the country.

After some time at Ozumo, Dila continued her career within upscale Japanese dining at a San Francisco restaurant called Alexander’s Steakhouse. There, Dila worked under Claude Le Tohic, a James Beard Award-winning and a three Michelin-starred chef who led the kitchen at the legendary Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas for more than 10 years. Dila ran the Japanese Wagyu program with Chef Le Tohic in which she consistently featured 17 different cuts from 17 different prefectures of Japan. She worked with one of the most impressive wine lists in San Francisco, which was mostly Bordeaux and Burgundy driven. These experiences elevated Dila’s fine dining service skills to another level.

Upon moving back to Chicago, Dila was eager to utilize the experience she had gained. She decided to balance her extensive knowledge of sake and Japanese cuisine with high-end service and a fun, approachable atmosphere. This brought Dila to Tao Chicago, which has allowed her to focus on purchasing, inventory, and everything beverage-related while still having the opportunity to host curated dinners, teach, train, and sell. The nightclub component of Tao has been one of her favorite aspects of the company. The unique business concept provides her access to allocated products that aren’t readily available in the market. This has expanded her education to include one-of-a-kind champagnes, sake, and throwing the best parties in the city!

Satoshi Kimijima 君島 哲至 | President @ Kimijima Shoten Co., Ltd., Vice President @ Japan Sommelier Association, Vocalist and Lead Guitarist @ ROCK’N ROLL BAND, MYSTIC WATERS
Shochu: Sakurayamakawa, Meiji Hatouka, Akayane Sansho
Register for Kimijima-san’s session!

Satoshi Kimijima, is the fourth-generation owner of Yokohama Kimijima-ya, a long-established liquor shop which started business in 1892. Their style of business was completely different until Kimijima-san became the president. It was originally a liquor store but also an establishment where one could enjoy drinks while standing. The liquor sold there was not curated at the time. However, Kimijima-san transformed it into a shop that only sells liquor that he, himself, has acknowledged as good tasting, including those with unknown labels.

Kimijima-san travels all over Japan and the world to find good sake and wine. His knowledge and connoisseur has earned him a number of titles in wine-producing countries. Restaurants and hotels trust his selection of wine, sake, and other alcohols. He also holds events such as seminars on sake in cities like London, Paris, and New York with sake brewers to introduce sake both within Japan and abroad. He is actively involved in the growth of the sake industry.