Dassai Beyond the Beyond 2022 Asahi Shuzo (1 BT)

Dassai Beyond the Beyond 2022 

Asahi Shuzo 

Bottle no. 1 of 23, bottled in titanium

1 bt (owc)

Sotheby’s is honored to offer Dassai Beyond the Beyond 2022, a groundbreaking saké pressed in June of this year and the first bottle of saké ever to be sold at a Sotheby’s US Auction. No. 1 of only 23 produced, Beyond the Beyond was bottled using advanced metalwork but also cutting-edge freezing technology. Indeed, hand-bottled in titanium and rapidly frozen in an alcoholic solution at -30℃ to preserve its utmost freshness and prevent liquid expansion along with the separation of water and alcohol, it is the first saké of its kind.

The origins of this saké lie in the paddy fields of Takada Farm and in the award-winning grains of Yamada Nishiki produced there. Located in the Okayama Prefecture, this fourth-generation farm claimed top prize at the The Yamada Nishiki Project’s Grand Prix Auction and was declared the number one saké rice in Japan, each grain possessing a notably delicate shinpaku–the starchy core responsible for producing deep and rich flavor.

3,600kg of this award-winning rice was purchased by Asahi Shuzo and entrusted to its team of 170 brewery artisans, who used their combined experience to craft the very best saké with the aim of going beyond tradition. A collaborative effort in all respects, the titanium bottles hail from a metalworker in the Niigata Prefecture, while the cap of each bottle is hand-painted, urishi lacquered and decorated in the maki-e technique at the famed Takeshi Ito’s Nagano Prefecture boutique. A true piece of craftsmanship, no detail was spared in the production of this rarity.