“Baller Sake” – Mantensei 1989
In January 2024, I went on a trip to Tottori with a truly epic group of sake restaurateurs around the country: Alyssa Dipasquale and Claire Makley of Boston’s Koji Club, Mutsuko Soma of Seattle’s Kamonegi and Hannyatou, and Dean Fuerth of Sushi Nakazawa, which is now in NYC, DC, and Beverly Hills. At dinner that night, the President pulled out an astounding lineup of koshu, ranging in vintage from 1986 to 2002. We all quietly took our own notes as we experienced aromas of sesame oil, espresso, butterscotch, pistachio ice cream, sea salt, sansho, clove, birch beer, and on and on. We eventually were ready to put down our pens and share our top pick. It’s not often that this happens, but everyone unanimously agreed on the 1989. Those of us who were lucky enough to taste the evolution of this sake were incredibly excited to introduce it to those who would appreciate it, and one tiny order after another, it slowly gained attention in those select cities. And apparently gained attention in Tottori as well! The fact that this one 1989 vintage kept getting orders when the rest weren’t moving had nothing to do with Taylor Swift and everything to do with the complex, rich layers of umami and caramelization and an unexpectedly decadent mid-palate. This brewery recently appointed a new CEO who recognized the opportunity we had identified with this 1989 sake and respectfully cut us off from receiving future orders, as he saw an NFT opportunity with this sake that would aggressively change the value of the sake to a price we simply couldn’t take on. We have just a few bottles remaining in the country of this unicorn koshu, and we have made them available to the TS team in honor of this Takeover Launch. This bottle is best stored chilled after opening, but once open drinks beautifully for months and months. But when these bottles are gone, they’ll be gone forever!