We are delighted to introduce one of the newest additions to our portfolio: Toku Saké. This exceptional Junmai Daiginjo saké redefines the saké landscape, offering consumers access to one of Japan's finest sakés.
"Enotria&Coe is delighted to add Toku Saké to our portfolio. Toku Saké’s dedication to tradition and quality aligns perfectly with our values. As the UK’s leading wine and spirits supplier, we pride ourselves on our obsessive product knowledge, strong partnerships and commitment to excellence in everything we do. We are excited to bring their remarkable Junmai Daiginjo to a broader audience and to support the growth of the saké category in the UK." Ants Rixon, Enotria&Coe Managing Director
We talk to co-founders of Toku Saké, Anthony Newman & Peter Hudson, about what makes Toku Saké special and unique and why Saké should be enjoyed with more than just Japanese dishes.
What drew you to be interested in Saké in the first place?
Toku is a brand born of passion, it is a delicate fusion of East & West, Japanese made, British owned, a coalescence of cultures. Through our travels in Japan and exploration of Japanese culture we developed a keen interest in saké. The desire to create beautiful liquid, to share with saké lovers everywhere, particularly in the West, where it's less understood, was born.
When and how did you go about starting your journey into brewing your own Saké?
Toku Saké and our inaugural launch of Junmai Daiginjo is the result of an eight-year journey. At Toku, our journey is rooted in Hokkaido's unique allure - the cold, the snow, the wildness, and the scarcity of its saké.
Driven by a commitment to quality and innovation, we embarked on a journey to create a superlative saké that would cross the boundary from Eastern to Western palates. We never looked beyond Hokkaido, drawn to the distinct character and the unparalleled craft found in this northern prefecture, partnering with one of the region's oldest breweries to create our debut liquid, a Junmai Daiginjo.
Toku is made using time-honoured techniques, developed over 120 years, by our partners at one of Hokkaido’s oldest breweries. We launched in the UK market in late 2022, and quickly went about building lasting and meaningful relationships with our stockists, particularly with the UK's leading sommeliers.
What makes Toku Sake special and unique?
Toku has firmly established its position as a preeminent educator and trade collaborator in the Saké category, alongside our super premium positioning. We are deeply focused on our liquid, and want to share it with people! The liquid is exceptional, it’s brewed exclusively in the bitingly cold winter season and is matured in tank at minus 4 degrees for up to 6 months prior to bottling. This gives Toku Saké its wonderful luxurious mouthfeel and complex finish.
How sustainable is Toku Saké?
Toku Saké has a continued and sustained commitment to the environment, as such we work hard to ensure our impact on the planet is minimised. We work with Treeapp to plant one mangrove for every bottle sold, sequestering far more carbon than the business produces in operations and from all of our scope 1-3 emissions.
Every Mangrove tree planted absorbs six times more carbon than a bottle of Toku produces across its entire production and shipping process, and we will extend that pledge for the life of the Toku business.
Can you tell us about the label design and how that came about?
Toku is a modern saké with tradition at its heart, seamlessly celebrating the contemporary culture of Japan whilst honouring its ancient heritage with a carefully designed dual label, developed in partnership with some of the UK’s leading sommeliers, bartenders and restaurateurs through a series of incredibly insightful workshops.
The labels are designed to be used interchangeably, reflecting the dichotomy of Japanese culture, seamlessly representing modern and traditional.
How did you join forces with Actor Cate Blanchett?
Testament to the quality of our liquid, and the intrigue of our brand story, in 2024, Double Academy Award-winning actor and producer Cate Blanchett joined Toku Saké as Creative Director, playing a pivotal role, overseeing creative strategy and direction, product development and innovation. Our journey has been serendipitous. Cate is a saké lover from her time in Japan, and had hoped to develop her own, but we were introduced via mutual friends and when Cate tried Toku she exclaimed: “Why am I trying to create something when this liquid exists?!”
What food match would you recommend, outside of Japanese food?
Saké can be paired with a wide range of foods because of the building blocks that make up saké. It contains much lower acidity, iron, and sulphites compared to wine, meaning it pairs far more easily with a wide variety of seafood dishes, as it does not enhance or highlight any of the unwanted flavours.
Toku Saké pairs extremely well with dishes with more pronounced acidity such as salads and pickles, and its rich amino acid content helps bring out food’s flavours, as these amino acids react with the umami components, giving it a deeper and richer flavour.
Japanese cuisine may be the most common saké food pairing, however saké often surprises with how well it pairs with different cuisines from across the globe. The options are endless. From fresh (sashimi, salad), to savoury (noodles, fried chicken), to spicy (curry, chorizo), to sweet (desserts, fruit), whatever you’re enjoying eating, Toku Saké will make it sing.
From The Newt in Somerset: Lamb shoulder with charred heritage vegetables, summer slaws and pickles and black garlic mayonnaise served on a brioche roll.
Toku Saké’s gentle sweetness balance the richness of the meat, and its clean, crisp taste provide a delightful contrast to the savoury elements in the dish.
From Dinings SW3 (Created by Masaki Sugisaki, Executive Chef): Ike-jime Welsh brill sashimi - Served with fresh yuzu, yuzu juice, British fresh wasabi and Himalayan salt.
Try Toku Saké
M07611NV | Toku Junmai Daiginjo Saké | £80.00 per bottle ex VAT Duty Paid List Price (72cl)