- This event has passed.
RITA Sake Tasting: From Tokyo to New York
The tasting will feature four different sake from the RITA brand of Toshimaya. Each sake is unique to the brewer and most of them have not yet been sold in the United States market (so it’s a rare chance to try them here!) The president of Toshimaya Corporation will make a special visit from Japan and provide a presentation on each unique sake. During the event, we’ll also hold a “blind tasting” game in which participants will get to guess which particular sake they’re tasting. Lastly, the tasting will be paired with food served by a professional Japanese chef to enhance the taste of the sake. The sake pairing selections include:
- Braised duck breast
- Scallop carpaccio
- Tuna with sansho zuke (picked vegetables)
- Bamboo shoots with wakame (edible seaweed)
Featured Sake
Junmai Shu “RITA” Pure Green
Pure Green is loved by sake fans as it has a gentle rice fragrance but also a refreshing aftertaste. This unique sake is known to match any kind of food you’re eating and is often paired with side dishes.
Junmai Dai Ginjyou “RITA”
Junmai Dai Ginjyou has a delicious yet delicate apple aroma especially loved by women. Its unique and slim “Planet Blue” colored bottle is popular among females as well and is currently the best sold sake in the RITA brand. Since Junmai Dai Ginjyou has relatively low alcohol percentage, it gained a good reputation as an alcohol that is easy to drink, especially for those who don’t drink often.
Junmai Dai Ginjyou “DAI-RITA” (26BY)
Okunokami
Okunokami has a distinctive natural sweetness which blends in with its juicy umami and gives the taste a fine clarity. The sake is usually recommended as aperetif or as alcohol during the meal.
Featured Chef
Mitsuru Kita was born in Osaka, Japan. He enjoyed his life with his close friends but always had dreamed to spread his wings outside of his small world. When he was 23 years old, he decided to fly away from his comfortable world and immigrated to US to look for stimulation. He became a Hibachi chef at Inatome Japanese Steak House in Long Island. He cooked food on hibachi grill in front of customers and entertained them with his knife-wielding and shaker performance. After working at Inatome for 8 years, he became a chef at Hakubai Restaurant, one of the best high-end Japanese restaurants in New York City. He was introduced to Kaiseki cuisine and trained under Executive Chef Yukihiro Sato for 10 years. Now, he is an owner of Cook de Kita LLC and works as a Japanese food consultant.