Dassai Beyond Junmai Daiginjo

Yamaguchi, Japan

Dassai Beyond is the most extreme sake produced commercially — the polishing ratio is not disclosed ('beyond' numerical description, hence the name), production is in tiny quantities, and the price ($400+ CAD) represents the outer limits of what consumers will pay for a sake bottle. This is not a regular restaurant listing but a collector's and special occasion expression: the sake made with no constraint except perfection. When Dassai Beyond appears on a wine list, it signals a beverage programme with the deepest sake knowledge and most discerning clientele.

Pairing intelligence

• celebration: Dassai Beyond is Japan's most celebrated sake; a full kaiseki chef's table experience is the only worthy pairing
• fish course: Japan's most prestigious sake with Japan's most prestigious crustacean; the pairing is elemental — purity meeting purity
• celebration: Dassai Beyond as the beverage for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration moment; the sake is the statement
• pre dessert: The traditional pairing for premium sake: one wagashi, one sake; the reduction of pairing to its most essential form
• celebration: Dassai Beyond's extreme rarity and refinement matches the highest kaiseki; an apex pairing in Japanese gastronomy
• fish course: The Dassai yeast character complements sake-marinated tuna; both share the same fermentation provenance
• starter: Dassai Beyond belongs only with the most prized Japanese ingredients; fresh uni with freshly grated wasabi is the pairing
• amuse: Beyond's purity provides a neutral-but-complex ground for white truffle to express itself fully; rare and extraordinary