Drinkers in Hong Kong have tasted Japanese sake brewed from rice with several kinds of yeast that traveled to outer space and the ocean depths.

A promotional event was held on Sunday, organized by a restaurant in Hong Kong and a sake brewery association in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan.

Beverages featured in the event were made with yeasts that went into space on board the Russian spacecraft Soyuz in 2005. The yeasts were later sent to a depth of 6,200 meters under the sea.

Representatives from five breweries in Kochi joined the event online to give briefings on the characteristics of the sake they produced with the special yeasts.

Participants said the sake tasted different from the ones they usually drink, and that they learned a lot about the Japanese liquor. Some said they want to visit Kochi someday.

Japanese sake's popularity is growing in Hong Kong, which imported sake worth about 70 million dollars last year, up about 50 percent from the previous year.

The restaurant owner who organized the event said the local market is open to new items, expressing hope to introduce a wide variety of sake.