The National Tax Administration announced earlier this summer that convenience stores accounted for 36% of all alcoholic beverage retail outlets. All 55,082 of them combined.<\/span><\/p>\n Regular liquor shops were but 18.6% of all such outlets. Convenience stores are hardly at the top of anyone\u2019s list when it comes to buying premium sake, however these stats may suggest this might need some changing. While you can occasionally find some local-only gems when popping into rural convenience stores, most of the urban located \u201c<\/span>conbini<\/span><\/em>\u201d rarely stock the styles of sake that would interest the discerning connoisseur. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It might sound outrageous to suggest bringing in sake of a more premium nature into these retailers; however, it was not so long ago that it was impossible to get craft beer in a 7-11 or Family Mart. These days however, while it isn\u2019t quite standard, it is also not uncommon to find a few craft beers in the fridge. So there has been a precedent for convenience stores to get with the times, which makes the idea not so inconceivable.<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s no signs of change yet, but you never know. One thing is for sure, we need more access to better sake!<\/span><\/p>\n
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