It was a post-karate-class drink with a good friend in Brooklyn the place Kiki Austin had her first style of sake. That curiosity bloomed right into a full-time profession, and at present, Austin—the sake sommelier at Mujō, a Michelin-star Japanese restaurant in Atlanta—is worked up to contribute to the enormously under-reported Black sake scene in the USA. “Black individuals are already within the [sake] trade, we simply want to spotlight them and their nice work,” Austin says. “That can encourage different Black individuals to be extra interested in sake and get into the trade.”

Austin launched into her academic journey into the world of spirits via the Culinary Institute of America. A transfer to Atlanta and back-of-house restaurant work pulled Austin’s curiosity within the route of sommelier coaching. When the pandemic compelled a pivot, Austin took a job in wine retail that serendipitously served to additional her sake training. Within the years that adopted, Austin grew to become a Licensed Japanese Sake Advisor whereas additionally working as a sommelier in fine-dining institutions like Empire State South after which Piedmont Driving Membership.

Whereas Austin is at present one among a handful of Gen Z sommeliers, she actively encourages others to enter the trade, willingly sharing assets and answering questions. “Discover what you’re interested in,” she says. “Go to your native store, ask about tastings or training alternatives. …Hit up your native library or bookstore and seize a ebook about sake or wine.”

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