World Sake Day is Saturday; Sushi Roku at Forum Shops offers local celebration

It’s a 1,000-year-old tradition as World Sake Day kicks off Japan’s new production season, and Sushi Roku in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace celebrates in style. Sushi Roku is offering a pair of sake samplers at a 10 percent discount Saturday to honor World Sake Day.

Each sampler features three 1 1/2-ounce pours curated by Sushi Roku’s sake expert, Gary Min — one with premium selections for the sake connoisseur and the other more playful featuring fruit-forward options:

* Premium Daiginjo Sampler ($39): Wakatake Onikoroshi, Dassai 23, Kubota Hekiju. Daiginjo is the most premium classification of sake.

* Flavored Sake Sampler ($21): Ty Ku Cucumber, Lychee Nigori, Plum Sake.

“For the flavored flight, we wanted to include sakes that are different from what we usually have on our list,” said Gary. “The cucumber sake presents a clean and crisp, yet slightly sweet flavor that pairs with sashimi and lighter dishes. The lychee Nigori offers a milky texture and sweetness that stands up to sauced and fried dishes, and plum sake is bubbly and sweet, which goes nicely with dessert.”

I had five questions for general manager Johnny Seo since I know a lot about champagne but little about the rice wine:

How do you drink sake properly?

The older generation of countryside sake drinkers prefers hot sake and unfiltered, but I recommend sake served cold, especially premium sake.

What do I look for on the Sushi Roku sake list?

We try to offer a list that contains the best quality sake at the best price representative of all regions with different sake rice and variety of flavors.

What do you recommend and why?

To experience the best sakes that we offer at Sushi Roku, I recommend the Premium Daiginjo Sake Sampler. It’s the perfect selection of Daiginjo Sake (the most premium grade) made from two major sushi rices. Dassai 23 and Wakatake are made from Yamadanishiki, and Kubota Heikiju is from Gohyakumangoku. Kubota is drier, Wakatake is medium, and Dassai is smooth and has medium sweetness.

What are your thoughts of respect for this 1,000-year-old tradition?

Rice is a very important ingredient for Asian cultures, especially Japanese, Korean and Chinese. That’s why the Japanese developed rice to improve its quality and size. Sake was created 1,000 years ago by fermentation from Kuchikami-no-sake, which was essentially chewing rice and spitting it out, before they found a better process with yeast and koji.

Back in the day, most sake was unfiltered and cloudy, but with improved, modern methods, they are more filtered and taste much better.

Do you have a favorite?

Rihaku “Dreamy Clouds” is one of the most famous sakes and my personal favorite. Rihaku is from the Chinese poet Li Bai, who couldn’t write poems without drinking sake. His life has taken on a legendary aspect, including the fable that Li drowned when he fell out of his boat to grasp the moon’s reflection in the river.