Where rare whisky meets Omakase
Now in its third triumphant year, Sushi Yūgen continues to show a restless desire to add to the culinary pleasures it offers. Great food is already covered. As a master of both Edomae sushi and of kaiseki cuisine, Chef Kyohei Igarashi presents an exquisite omakase tasting menu at his eight-seat counter, and also oversees an entirely different experience at the restaurant’s main sushi counter. Drinks are also well in hand. The restaurant has an extraordinarily dynamic sake program, with rare and exclusive bottles constantly arriving from Japan, to be selected according to the season and served in tasting flights. It is also famous for its deep exploration of the resonances between sushi and top-quality white Burgundy, with the wines of Pierre-Vincent Girardin prominent on its list.
Now Kamen Sun, part-owner and manager, has begun a careful expansion of Sushi Yūgen’s collection of Japanese whiskies. For her, it’s a personal passion, fanned years ago by a visit to Suntory’s Yamazaki Distillery near Osaka, Japan’s first and oldest single malt distillery. She also loves the elegance and etiquette of Tokyo’s tiny, counter-style whisky bars. “The bartender guides guests through rare bottles with incredible care and knowledge,” she says. “Enjoying whisky there feels almost like appreciating an art form.”
Among the masterpieces currently available at Sushi Yūgen are various iterations of Yamazaki, including the “Islay Peated” and “Golden Promise” single malts. The “Spanish Oak” and venerable 25 Year Old will be arriving later this year. Suntory’s other two distilleries are also represented, with Chita Single Grain and Hakushu 18-year-old Peated Malt Special Edition attracting considerable attention from connoisseurs. All of them reflect the particular qualities that Japanese whiskies share — in Sun’s words, “an expression of restraint, where balance, subtlety, and harmony are valued over intensity.”
Sun has a gift for putting together creative collaborations and finding new ways to showcase Sushi Yūgen. Curated tastings of these rare spirits may well be on the horizon.
Rare Expressions
With over a dozen rare and premium expressions, Sushi Yūgen has quietly built up one of the most extensive Japanese whisky collections among sushi and kaiseki omakase restaurants in Toronto. Integrating them into the overall guest experience can involve the creation of cocktails precisely calibrated to specific dishes and also tasting the spirits during or after the omakase presentation. With their delicate textures, unique waters, grains and wood-ageing programs, each of these whiskies tells a story of traditional craftsmanship and intention.
