Dassai, one of Japan’s most famous brands, is joining forces with Mos Burger, Japan’s best burger chain, for a non-alcoholic milkshake.
As Asahi Shuzo, the makers of Dassai, point out, this is the first time Mos Burger has ever collaborated with a sake brewer. It’s based on the fast-food chain’s vanilla shake, but with a decided sake twist.
The shake is made with the brewery’s alcohol-free Dassai Amazake, which is made with Japan’s most famous sake brewing rice Yamada Nishiki. It’s made by polishing the grains down to 50 percent, removing fats and proteins in the outer layers, and leaving the rice’s starchy center core. This costly technique, according to Asahi Shuzo, makes the beverage “smoothly sweet.”
Several years back, while writing The Japanese Sake Bible, I visited Asahi Shuzo and profiled the brewery in my book. Have a look inside the brewery:
I’m also a big fan of burgers, especially those from Mos Burger, a fast-food chain for which Kirby recently sold burgers. So yes, I am interested in this “never seen” before snack collaboration! It also seems like a neat opportunity for those who don’t drink to experience Dassai.
“We believe this product to be unique and surprising, as it allows for a combination quite peculiar and never seen; the worlds of Japanese sake and hamburgers,” wrote Asahi Shuzo in an official statement. “Please enjoy the uniqueness of this product, born from a Japan-born hamburger company, which has a long history of respecting Japanese food culture and ingredients.”
Priced at 334 yen ($3.20) for a medium and 399 yen ($3.83) for a large, the Dassai Shake will be available at Mos Burger locations across Japan from December 26 to early February 2021.