MIRAI SAKE INTERNATIONAL, LTD is running a series of free sake tasting events called YUMMY SAKE from February 9th and until the end of the month. The tastings will take place at SAKE COLLECTIVE (144 Commercial Street, E1 6NU, London), a new shop and bar specialising in limited and rare Japanese alcoholic beverages, officially opening in March 2nd, 2022 and temporarily operating as a pop-up shop for these events.
YUMMY SAKE tastings are a wonderful opportunity for anyone to understand what kind of sake they may like, even without any prior knowledge of the drink. Participants simply need to blind taste 10 mini cups and rank them with an online app only according to their own individual sense of smell and taste. The cutting-edge AI software behind the app will then link the users’ personal preferences to the chemical composition of the beverages, eventually building a personalised tasting profile unique for each user, telling them which of 12 “sake types” they are. Participants of these February events will not only be able to test this incredibly innovative tasting experience for free, but will also receive a complimentary gift glass of sake according to their personal type.
These tastings have been taking place in Japan since 2018, hosted by MIRAI SAKE INTERNATIONAL’s Tokyo-based sister company, MIRAI SAKE BREWING, LTD. In the home country of sake, this fresh tastings’ format has encountered huge success–with more than 11,500 participants (until February 2020, when the pandemic stopped most activities) and a satisfaction rate of 92%–, allowing more people to approach this traditional drink, unfortunately no longer as popular as it used to be. The National Tax Agency of Japan has, thus, decided to subsidise them in the UK for the first time, both to increase awareness of sake abroad and to have a grasp of which among its different types can be more popular.
YUMMY SAKE free events in London will continue for the duration of February (Wednesday-Sunday, 30 minutes per session), with only 1000 places available. Bookings are accepted on this Eventbrite page, with further information about the venue on SAKE COLLECTIVE’s official Instagram page.
