"SAKE COMPETITION 2026," the contest that crowns the "world's most delicious commercially available sake," will be featured in a special program on BS-TBS this autumn. The SAKE COMPETITION Executive Committee announced the broadcast, scheduled for late September to early October 2026. It will cover the June 10 awards ceremony and a showcase of the winning sake to be held in Los Angeles in early August.
Chances to see the judging itself, and the moment of winning, on television have been rare until now. Viewers will get to watch from home how the top commercially available sake is chosen.
A contest judged only on sake you can buy
Now in its 12th year, SAKE COMPETITION is a sake competition with one defining trait: every entry is a sake actually sold in stores. These are not special bottles brewed just for the contest, so the winners can be bought and enjoyed exactly as judged.
Judging is done blind. Labels and brewery names are hidden, and the sake is evaluated on its contents alone. In 2026, more than 1,000 entries came in from 367 breweries around the world. The categories are Junmai, Junmai Ginjo, Junmai Daiginjo, SUPER PREMIUM, and Modern Natural, plus awamori as a special category.
The winners head to Los Angeles
One thing that stands out about the program is the showcase of winning sake in Los Angeles in early August. The best commercially available sake chosen in Japan will be introduced on American soil. A contest that used to stay within Japan is now reaching abroad, and the special program will cover the Los Angeles event as well.
As sake exports keep climbing, showing a competition's winners overseas feels in step with the times. How the program captures the response in America is something to watch.
The awards ceremony is June 10
The starting point, the awards ceremony and party, takes place on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 16:15 to 19:30 at THE LINKPILLAR 1 SOUTH, B2F, in Takanawa Gateway City. General tickets are on sale through Peatix, and the event is also a chance to taste that year's winning sake.
The broadcast follows about three months later. Even if you can't make it to the ceremony, this autumn the program will look back on the night. Which brewery's bottle takes the title of "world's most delicious commercially available sake" is something to wait for on air.
