On August 26, I participated in the Asian Festival held at World’s Fair Park in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
The organizer of the event hails from Iwakuni, the same place where DASSAI comes from, therefore we were given this opportunity.
This year was the 10th year for this event, and attracted more than sixty thousand people annually.
I arrived the day before from New York.
Scorching…! It was really hot in the southern part of the US. It was 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit when I arrived.
In such a situation, there were few Uber and taxi services from the airport, and I could not catch one at all.
Because I’m an inexperienced driver, I was nervous that the time finally came for me to rent a car and drive on America’s highway, but I managed to get an Uber an hour later.
(A miracle, according to the locals.)
Believing that someone will come to pick you up anywhere and anytime can lead to a painful experience, right?
The areas are divided by country, and Dassai was located in a booth in front of the park entrance.
The Dassai booth, adorned with a large banner and barrel, caught everyone's attention, and many people became interested and thought, "Sake!? I want to try it!"
Dassai 45 and Sparkling sake was served.
Everyone received their drinks and said "Kanpai!" - the Japanese way of toasting.
However, the small cups of sake were chugged down in one go, much like spirits.
Sake is meant to be savored slowly, enjoying its aroma and taste, so please savor it slowly. (sob)
While saying this, I taught them the joy of enjoying sake.
There were many people who had never tasted sake before, and everyone's eyes lit up as they asked how rice and water could make sake taste like this. I was impressed by the way they said, "Is it really possible for rice and water to create such a flavor?"
At this event, we only offered sake tasting, and there were no sales of alcohol.
Additionally, Dassai was not distributed in the southern United States, and we were unable to direct visitors to nearby stores that carry the sake. However, we handed out many business cards related to rice, which attendees took and brought home. These rice cards were always well-received at events.
Currently, Dassai can only be purchased online from other states in this area, but we will strive to make it available in the southern United States soon.
Thank you very much to the local volunteers who helped on the day, and to Kumi-sama for inviting us to this wonderful event.
