Otoko’s New Sake Is Available at Watertrade, and Watertrade (and All Its Pleasures) Is Available for You

Of course it’s tricky getting a reservation for chef Yoshi Okai’s 12-seat omakase experience at Otoko in the South Congress Hotel.

The popular itamae “blends tokyo-style sushi and kyoto-style kaiseki into a unique tasting menu based on ingredient availability and seasonality,” and he does it in such a way that keeps people jonesing for a spot at the multicourse table – and that’s why reservations are released (and booked) three months in advance. Good luck with that, citizen. But –

But, see, the Watertrade cocktail lounge that’s attached to Otoko and is serviced via the same kitchen? That intimate and elegantly appointed venue (open Tue.-Sat., 5-11pm) is much easier to snag a spot in – there are even, sometimes, a seat or two at the bar available for walk-ins – and we’re reminding you of this because Otoko now has its own private label sake.

We’re reminding you of this because we wouldn’t want to frustrate you, at the start of this new year, by telling you about something you’ll have to wait and wait to try, y’know?

What we mean is: You can also get the superlative elixir at Watertrade.

This new sake – it’s called Revenge of the Third Son – is included in the pairing set during the omakase service at Otoko, yes; but it’s also available by the glass in that adjoining Watertrade lounge. And there are bottles available for purchase.

And we wouldn’t be telling you about that –

Well, no, hold on. The idea of Otoko branding a sake of their own is enough of a thing that we would tell you about it anyway, tbh – and we did, in one of our weekly Food News Buffet columns a while back.

But, listen, we finally had a chance to try this Revenge of the Third Son for ourselves, amid the array of delicious noms and inventive cocktails of Watertrade. And, in a word?

Wow, is the word.

Revenge of the Third Son, conjured for Otoko by the artisans of Kyoto’s Higashiyama Brewery, is described in all its promotions as having “gentle ginjo aromas and a dry, crisp, yet matured aftertaste.” And we’re not going to argue with that – hell, it’s accurate and admirably reserved as far as promotions go – but our own experience, hedonistic journos that we are, is beyond such a demure adjectival gloss.

Because you could speak of sipping this Revenge of the Third Son and perceiving within a depth that evokes currents near the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, some dark hint of benthic immensity … or you could whisper to your drinking companions of how the sake’s top notes are brisk and delightful like the dapplings of light upon the surface of a swiftly running stream in the middle of some hidden forest … but, the amazing thing is, those notes occur simultaneously with every sip.

Reckon that’s what’s usually meant by the word “complex,” right? But, holy shit, that word only begins to encompass this sake.

No wonder chef Yoshi saw fit to have the bottles’ labels decorated with one of his own tattoos: You always want a tattoo to evoke some portion of your soul, right? And one can only hope that their own soul would taste as sublime as this Revenge of the Third Son.

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BONUS TIP: Next time you’re at Watertrade, try the hamachi, but be warned – by the time that exquisite amberjack has melted itself across your tongue, you’ll be making reservations for Otoko if you hadn’t already. (And, if you’re even half as passionate about escargot as we are, consider ordering the snails at Watertrade as well.)