In a previous life, I used to be reasonably fluent in spoken Japanese. This paved the way to be a promoter during the Sake Appreciation Week. My job was to enlighten the visitors about the fine properties of the sake sold by the manufacturer I was attached to. Besides extolling the virtues of sake, I was also required to gently persuade the guests to buy a bottle (and then some).

The pièce de résistance about this gig? The manufacture said it best. “Of course you will get to drink. You can’t jolly well sell something that you haven’t tried before.”
So, there you have it. I basically drank sake and serenaded customers the entire night