Exports of sake are on course to break a record high for the first time in 11 years, thanks in part to strong demand from the United States and the growing popularity of Japanese cuisine, industry and customs officials said.

A man tries various kinds of sake at a tasting event in Beijing in 2006. KYODO PHOTO

Exports from January to October hit 8,931 kl, up 10.1 percent from the same period in 2006, meaning the annual figure is likely to eclipse the record of 10,400 kl set in 1996.

"People taste sake at restaurants, and begin drinking it at home as well," said an official at Gekkeikan Sake Co., a time-honored sake brewer in Kyoto.