A gaggle of ELEVATE attendees had been handled to dinner at Dragon King’s Daughter, a Louisville sushi restaurant named after the primary girl to achieve enlightenment.
The meal featured three cocktails crafted with spirits by Home of Suntory, which is celebrating a century of pioneering Japanese whisky.
To begin, visitors loved a Fall Highball, made with spiced apple shrub, Domaine de Canton, soda, and Toki, a Suntory Whisky. Corey Galotta, model supervisor of Courvoisier and Home of Suntory East, defined that the revolutionary spirit is developing on its 10-year anniversary, because it launched in 2014.
“We had been on the lookout for a option to carry a blended whisky to the remainder of the world, past simply Japan,” Galotta mentioned.
“We needed to take an old-meets-new strategy with Toki, [which] is what we take with all our spirits. We wish to respect custom however push the boundary ahead.”
He added that every one Home of Suntory spirits are made by way of a collaborative course of. Chief blender Shinji Fukuyo and his mixing workforce mix varied whiskies from totally different pot stills and barrels to supply one-of-a-kind creations.
For the primary course, ELEVATE attendees loved tuna tataki, veggie gyoza, and stuffed wontons with a Haku Blossom. The mix of Tozai Blossom of Peace sake, Cointreau, white cranberry, saline, and lime featured Haku, a vodka made from 100% Japanese white rice.
This was adopted by a second course of assorted sushi rolls, paired with the Bees Knees, a cocktail made from lemon, honey, yuzu bitters, and Roku. The craft gin is a balanced mix of six distinctive Japanese botanicals — therefore its title, which implies “six” in Japan — mixed with eight conventional botanicals.
On the finish of the meal, the Home of Suntory workforce shared pours of Hikbiki 30, a whisky that was launched in 2022. Galotta defined that solely 200 bottles of Hibiki 30 had been launched within the U.S., every one retailing for $5,000.
“We’ve been very selective about the place we introduced this,” Galotta mentioned, including that they had been completely happy to share it with everybody at ELEVATE. “Hibiki is all about concord, and concord is all about what we do at Suntory.”
Suntory additionally offered visitors with a parting reward: a bottle of Kansha 2023, Suntory’s a centesimal Anniversary whisky that isn’t available in shops. Offered in a sublime reward field with a commemorative glass, the particular deal with is certain to be savored and remembered by everybody at ELEVATE.
