Instagram story viewer> @epicurean_selection> Posts

Jonathan Read

@epicurean_selection

361

followers

239

following

Importer of Kikuhime Sake & Rites Of Passage Cask Selections

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Just a wonderful time last night at @sushinakazawa for the most epic Kikuhime lineup I have ever attended, or likely ever heard of. Many old vintages, large formats and rarely seen bottlings that had been pieced together over the course of years. The sake was showing so well and the food and service was top notch. My sincere thanks to @grandcrujew and the rest of the team at Sushi Nakazawa for sharing in my Kikuhime obsession and putting it all together, and of course to all those in attendance who made the night so special!

#kikuhime_official
#kikuhimesake
#skurnikwines
#sushinakazawa
#epicurean_selection by @epicurean_selection

28

3

7 months ago

Pouring Kikuhime today at Skurnik’s NYC portfolio tasting! #epicurean_selection #菊姫 #skurnikwines #kikuhimesake #kikuhimelover taken in Metropolitan Pavilion Events & Production Services by @epicurean_selection

55

5

4 years ago

Kikuhime’s iconic Kukurihime Daiginjo represents the peak of where the brewery's peerless ageability meets with their uncompromising standards. Only 2000 hand numbered bottles are released annually after a minimum of 10 yeas of careful aging in bottle, but it is built to gracefully age even longer. It has a golden hue and subtle depth of favor that only careful aging can produce and is a monument to the highest ideals and traditions of sake.

It should be treated in many ways like your best red wine… opening it in advance and allowing it to slowly come to temp and blossom over time.

Here is a beautiful bottle of 2009 Kukurihime from Epicurean Selection’s first importation from Kikuhime Sake in 2020, further aged by our friend @soildpimp for a very special evening @yoshinonewyork 🔥.

#yoshinonewyork #kikuhime #epicurean_selection #kikuhimesake #skurnikwines #菊姫 #aspectfinewinefl #sakesommelier taken in Yoshino by @epicurean_selection

98

3

4 years ago

A good while back I posted on a sample from a special cask of 1991 Bunnahabhain single malt we had aging in Scotland, finding it to be delightful and speculating as to the cask's fate.

Well two years and a lot of work later we have bottled it at the age of 30 years old. I am excited to say that it along with three other distinctive single malt casks make up the first official bottlings by Epicurean Selection. These four single cask have been released in a series named Rites Of Passage Cask Selection.

We just got our hands on some of these ourselves and we are thrilled to have @skurnikwines distributing the Rites Of Passage Cask Selection 🙏.

- 2009 Mannochmore 13 Year Old, Rites Of Passage 1st-Fill Bourbon Hogshead, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 54.0%

- 2006 Orkney 16 Year Old, Rites Of Passage 1st-Fill Oloroso Barrel, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 59.3%

- 2005 Williamson (or “Teaspooned" Laphroaig) 17 Year Old, Rites Of Passage 1st-Fill Oloroso Hogshead, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, 57.3%

- 1991 Bunnahabhain 30 Year Old, Rites Of Passage 1st-Fill Oloroso Barrel, Single Malt Scotch Whisky, 47.3%

#whisky #singlemaltscotch #singlemalt #maltwhisky #speyside #sherrycask #whiskycollector #whiskyporn #bourboncask #whiskylover #whiskygeek #independentbottler #caskstrength #islaywhisky #islay #singlecask #williamson #mannochmore #bunnahabhain #orkneywhisky #epicurean_selection #skurnikspirits #skurnikwines #ritesofpassagecaskselection taken in Northern Liberties by @epicurean_selection

33

18

4 years ago

We had a truly memorable and meaningful experience @naoemiami last night. Chef Kevin Cory and Wendy who co-own and run the venue could not have been more gracious, welcoming or practiced in what they do so well.

I remember some years ago first reading about NAOE, the small, almost secretive, bastion of Japanese cuisine serving carefully considered and creative Omakase in Miami to only four customers at a time and it stayed in my memory ever since. When Ferran Adrià says a Japanese restaurant is one of the best in the world outside of Japan, it's tough to forget. Making it even more interesting to me is that Chef Kevin has deep family roots and influences in the culinary traditions of Japan’s Ishikawa region, where the Kikuhime brewery is located.

It was an honor when I learned earlier this year that NAOE had selected a number of Kikuhime sake to serve along side their celebrated cuisine, further cementing its Ishikawa connections. We had some incredible pairings with Chef Kevin Cory’s cuisine and the following four bottles of Kikuhime.

- Kikuhime B.Y. Daiginjo
- Kikuhime Yamahai Ginjo Genshu Library Release - 2002
- Kikuhime Yamahai Ginjo Genshu Origarami
- Kikuhime Yamahai Ginjo Genshu Nama

Thank you again for a wonderful evening and your support. We hope to see you again soon!

#naoemiami #kikuhime #kikuhimesake #菊姫 #aspectfinewinefl #breakthrubevfl #epicurean_selection taken in NAOE by @epicurean_selection

44

1

4 years ago

Kikuhime sake… these guys get it!!!

Dear friends @soilpimp @reneepatronik out last night matching world class food @yoshinonewyork with world class drink @kikuhime_official 🔥

#yoshinonewyork #kikuhime #epicurean_selection #kikuhimesake #skurnikwines #菊姫 by @epicurean_selection

51

0

4 years ago

With all of the challenges with shipping internationally nowadays @nyc_maenad and I were particularly excited to have a much needed container filled with Kikuhime sake delivered to our refrigerated warehouse in NJ last week. We had zero bottles left in inventory there… nothing!

Yesterday I drove to the warehouse to collect some of what just arrived and I opened a bottle of the Kikuhime Yamahai Junmai Genshu Nama it within 30 min of returning home. I was quite excited as I have only had it once previously and that was in Japan about five years ago. It was killer! Rich and densely packed with flavors of pear and red apple, both fruit and skins, as well malt and pine all deftly balanced by the possibly the brightest shimmering acidity I have ever found in a sake. A power house that is incredibly light on its feet and a truly benchmark yamahai sake from the masters of the style.

We brought in only a few cases of it this year to see if has a place in our new, more accessible, Kikuhime Junmai offerings or if we just just load our walk-in cooler in Philly with it. While not part of the official line up of the Kikuhime we’ll be pouring at the Skurnik Grand Portfolio tasting in NYC next Tuesday, we'll be pouring some great stuff that day, a bottle of this may find its way there. If you are also planning to attend the event, please let us know and stop by!

#kikuhime #nihonshu #kikuhimesake #菊姫 #namasake #skurnikwines #epicurean_selection #yamahaisake #sakesommelier taken in Northern Liberties by @epicurean_selection

53

0

4 years ago

Sake was first added to London’s International Wine Challenge, the world's largest wine competition, in 2007 and out of 227 entries it was Kikuhime’s 2005 Tsurunosato Yamahai Junmai took the top prize for the entire category. Only a small amount of Tsurunosato (meaning, "home of the crane”) is made every year being made available only to those sake shops in Japan that are part of the club known as the Kikuhime Kai. It is vintage dated with the colors of the labels cycling in the order of (red→black→blue→red→…) each year. Despite is rarity, my understanding is the member shop in Japan only gets a two case allocation every year, the Tsurunosato is sold at a relatively low price to reward the most dedicated supporters. As such it is released with some excitement every year in Japan where it is collected and often aged for multi vintage tastings.

It is my hope that in coming years Epicurean Selection will be able to bring a very small amount of Kikuhime’s Tsurunosato Yamahai Junmai into the USA. In the meantime, over the weekend @nyc_maenad and I had the privilege to sit down to an exceedingly rare Nama Genshu (unpasteurized and undiluted) bottling of this year’s Tsurunosato. In anticipation we had some fun putting together a rich a flavorful noodle soup of wood-fired Vietnamese pork chops, intensely concentrated meat/miso broth with various Asian spicing and garnishes (see the recent post from @nyc_maenad on the soup for more deals, she is much better at this stuff than I am). The chops and soup were pretty great, but it took a back seat to the sake.

The 2020 Tsurunosato Yamahai Junmai Nama Genshu was opened for about an hour before serving it to give it air and some warmth. With all that was being thrown at it with the soup, the sake stood its own effortlessly. It had thick red apple skin, pine needles, banana and a beautiful sour back. Round and bursting from the glass as a fresh Nama Genshu does at its best. We just couldn’t keep our hands off of it. What a treat! Thank you Kikuhime!

#kikuhime #namazake #nihonshu
#sake #kikuhimesake
#菊姫が好きな人と繋がりたい
#tsurunosato #epicurean_selection taken in Northern Liberties by @epicurean_selection

74

3

5 years ago

Happy Sake Day! お酒の日おめでとう!

In honor of the day we have a fresh 16 pound Kagoshima A5 Wagyu Strip Loin that will be a match made in heaven along side Kikuhime's Yamahai GInjo Genshu sake. Kampai to all of you enjoying sake today.

#kikuhime #nihonshu #sake #kikuhimesake #菊姫が好きな人と繋がりたい #wagyu #epicurean_selection taken in Northern Liberties by @epicurean_selection

50

2

5 years ago

A lot has happened since our Kikuhime event at Brooklyn’s @thirdsbk in March. The incredible support we have received from some of the top shops and restaurants in the country now carrying and pouring our sake has been deeply gratifying and appreciated.

We had all but sold out of everything when our refrigerated container of bottled reinforcements finally arrived from the Kikuhime brewery last month. Now with great sake once again in hand with we are able to focus on getting to those who have been, or will soon be, wanting it. We have been in NYC for the past couple of days and it has been so meaningful to be pouring our sake for sake professionals and patrons as well as see it being poured at some of our favorite spots in the city. Thank you @skurnikwines for all you have done to get us here!

One such stop was an incredible meal at @torien_nyc , where along with some other Kikuhime sake, the stunning 2008 B.Y Daiginjo is being poured (pictured above). Hands down the best yakitori I have had outside of Japan, check it out! Thank you @atsushiganaha_gourmand, Akio and the rest of the team at Torien for a very special evening!

#kikuhime #namazake #nihonshu #sake
#kikuhimesake #epicurean_selection
#菊姫が好きな人と繋がりたい taken in Torien-nyc by @epicurean_selection

62

5

5 years ago

Thank you to everyone who made it out to @thirdsbk this afternoon to taste Kikuhime sake with us! The day was beautiful, the food paired perfectly, and the sake was singing. We are thrilled at the reception, and couldn't be happier that so many of you shared our love for these very special sake. Thank you to @skurnikwines and @thirdsbk for all your support. #kikuhime #namazake #nihonshu #sake #kikuhimesake #epicurean_selection by @epicurean_selection

52

1

6 years ago

So yesterday morning I had my day packed with things that I wanted to get done, and then this gorgeous cross cut of a wild bluefin tuna caught in northern Atlantic, USA was delivered just before noon. This is only the second time I have been able to get a cut like this in the USA. So understandably, this amazing fish pretty much cancelled my to-do list and became my focus for the rest of the day. Well it and Kikuhime ;-). The bottle of the 2008 Kikuhime B.Y. Daiginjo, Library Release we had with it was stunning! It really benefited from being opened and left at room temp, as you might a red wine, for a couple of hours ahead of serving. What a treat! #kikuhime #kikuhimesake #sake #skurnikwines #nihonshu #epicurean_selection taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by @epicurean_selection

41

6

6 years ago