Kanpai 乾杯 to Akashi-Tai
Exclusive Inverarity Morton Sake Lunch – Featuring Akashi-Tai Saké in Glasgow
Thank you to all of our Inverarity Morton customers who joined us for our exclusive IM Sake lunch, featuring Akashi-Tai Sake. We experienced an extraordinary culinary experience, where South-East Asian fusion cuisine met the finest Sake! We discovered the rich, delicate flavours of Akashi-Tai’s premium Sakés, which were expertly paired with innovative dishes crafted by Ka Pao.
The Rise of Sake
The rise of sake’s popularity in the West, (especially in the US), can be attributed to several factors. A more globally aware consumer base has driven a growing interest in diverse culinary experiences. Sake, with its distinct flavours and cultural appeal, aligns with this evolving trend. No longer just drunk for courage at karaoke clubs, the ‘food-friendly’ rice drink is becoming a first choice of connoisseurs. Overall the UK Japanese cuisine market has risen from £797m in 2017 to £1.2bn in 2023. Notably, premium sake also contains no preservatives, tannins or sulphites, and the industry supports small craft producers and preserves a tradition of sake-making that spans over 2,000 years.
Handmade Sake
Akashi-Tai sake is handmade in small batches by Toji (Sake Master) Kimio Yonezawa and his close team of trusted craftsmen. It is a prime example of characterful sake from Hyogo – the birthplace of sake. The new design of the bottles proudly shows the Akashi’s iconic “Tai” (meaning sea bream in Japanese), the lucky symbol of the brand.
Akashi-Tai is brewed by hand in small batches. “We brew using traditional methods, by hand and in small batches, the way it has been for the last decades. Every stage of the process affects the final flavour. Each rice varietal, yeast and koji-kin selected offers our sakes their own unique character. Led by Toji Kimio Yonezawa, our whole team takes great care to choose the most perfect, flawless rice, which is then polished, rinsed, soaked, steamed and finally cooled under careful guidance. Each subsequent step of koji making, fermentation, filtration and pasteurisation is carried out with exacting attention to detail, overseen by a small and dedicated team of artisans who are committed to imbuing every batch with the same bodied and generous flavours the Akashi-Tai sake brand is known for.”