Sake fan, Cate Blanchett is creative director of the brand – 03/10/2024 – Market

Cate Blanchett says she has been a long-time fan of sake, discovering her love for the drink while working with Japanese skincare company SK-II. For more than a decade, the two-time Oscar winner was an ambassador for the brand, which uses a yeast found in the fermentation of sake in its products.

“I went to the sake district in Kyoto and I could see the fermentation process and all the by-products of sake, with the different ways of making it. So I thought how huge this activity is,” the actress tells Bloomberg.

Blanchett says she loves the ritual and intimacy of people pouring sake for each other — and drinks it cold. Now her new role is creative director of Toku Sake. The rice drink is produced in one of Japan’s coldest cities, Asahikawa, and fermented in the frigid conditions of Hokkaido prefecture.

It’s light and easy to drink, with crisp apple notes, hints of peach and melon, and a subtle umami finish. The ideal is to serve very cold, and the bottles are transported in equally cold conditions. Toku retails for 155 pounds sterling ($200 or R$996.32), placing it firmly in the premium end of the sake market.

The product usually sells for around US$30 to US$40 per 720 ml bottle, according to Sophia Sioris, manager of sake and wine store Bin Bin, in New York, USA. Her store sells bottles from US$18 (R$89.67) to US$350 (R$1,743.56).

“We’re seeing more sakes now that are a little more expensive,” says Sioris, adding that in New York now, more people are broadening their horizons about sake. The store’s tastings, for example, are sold out.

Blanchett says there is a real opportunity to grow the sake market in the West and change people’s perceptions of the drink.

Data from the Japan Sake and Shochu Brewers Association shows that the sake market in 2023 was 1.8 times larger than in 2019, with more countries importing it than ever before. Export prices have also reached a record high above 1,000 yen ($6.80), a price that has doubled over the past decade. Most sake sold is of a lower standard. The largest export market is China, followed by the USA.

The premium sake market is also growing, especially at restaurants like three-Michelin-starred The Fat Duck, which offers guests an extensive list of options for the high-quality rice drink.

“I think a lot of people here (in London) think they can only enjoy it in a Japanese restaurant with Japanese cuisine,” says Blanchett, but that’s not the case. She points out that Toku is now being served at Californian cuisine restaurant Sola in London and The Newt resort in Somerset, both known for their produce focus. “The sake market is more dynamic than people initially realize,” says the actress.

Blanchett’s partnership with Toku came about when she was looking to create her own sake brand. Celebrity-owned alcohol brands have taken off in recent years, with some of the most successful being George Clooney’s Casamigos tequila and Ryan Reynolds’ Aviation gin, both of which were purchased by drinks giant Diageo Plc for as little as $1 .6 billion. Bruno Mars also bet on rum, while Woody Harrelson announced that he is producing drinks from artichoke leaves.

“My palate was educated through the experience of meeting master brewers,” says Blanchett of her initial foray. “And when I tried Toku, I thought, ‘Why am I trying to create something when this liquid already exists?'” she closes.