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Sake Appreciation Thread 2012/2013


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Sake is just like water flavoured with the gift of life. Have it cold, but never on the rocks, the melt would corrupt the taste.

on an oishii program, they just say oishii all the time. Anybody could do that.

I'd like for one person to just screw their face up and bellow....."SHITE!!"

  • 4 weeks later...

Tsumugi Bijin Gokukara Genshu:

gallery_10844_227_4868.jpg

 

From Joso-shi, Ibaraki.

 

Vital stats:

 

Alcohol strength: 20-21%

Rice: Chiyonishiki

Nihonshudo: +10.0 (!)

Acidity: 1.6

 

This is a genshu, bottled straight from the fermentation process with no water added.

 

This is not for people who don't like sake: it is very strong, and very acidic. Nothing sweet about this puppy.

Hits your mouth like battery acid, which then gives way to a burnt, caramel-textured (but not caramel-flavored) aftertaste.

 

Holy cripes. This stuff is not fooling around.

Very satisfying.

 

7.5, my highest score yet.

 

(I hope my teeth enamel is still ok.)

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  • 1 month later...

Okunomatsu Zenmai Ginjo:

gallery_10844_104_273255.jpg

 

From Nihonmatsu, Fukushima.

 

From the label:

"At the foot of Mt. Adatara, high quality water and air have produced a traditional taste since 1716."

 

Also from the label:

全米吟醸。純米酒ではありません。

 

So this is not your ordinary junmaishu. It is zenmai ginjo. What is the difference?

 

Apparently, despite the years of tradition behind this brewery, this particular label has some modern refinements applied, such as pasteurization (which is claimed to preserve the flavor better) and even some kind of distillation of rice alcohol involved according to the back label. May be worth some net research to find out what exactly is going on with this label. Tomorrow.

 

Whatever it is, though, it has apparently won 3 gold medals in a row from the Monde Selection in Brussels, in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

 

Alcohol: 15%

Rice polishing level: 60%

Nihonshudo: +5

Acidity: 1.3

Culture: Okunomatsu Kobo

 

Anyway, fairly dry, and with a rich smell, almost perfume-y. Not as dense on the tongue as in the nose, but not weak. No clunky notes.

 

Overall, quite good. Perhaps a 7-ish?

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After extensive minutes of online research, I have come to appreciate how little I knew about sake brewing. But as a follow-on to the last review, here are some notes cribbed from Wikipedia.

 

The fermentation and brewing process is much more complicated than I had been thinking, and the importance of water mineral content comes from the flavors different minerals encourage the development of. So brewers talking about their water supply are not simply blowing smoke, it really does matter. Fair enough.

 

After brewing, one ends up with this big, soggy mass of alcohol-soaked rice solids, moromi. The rice solids are filtered out to make the actual sake (less filtering in the case of nigorizake). Sometimes a small amount of distilled alcohol is also run through the rice solids to draw out extra flavors for the sake (this is also mentioned on the Okunomatsu label). However, this is NOT done for junmaishu (純米酒). In the case of the Okunomatsu zenmaishu (全米酒) above, distilled alchol IS used, BUT it is made by distilling junmaishu. (I suppose ordinarily, grain alcohol might be used?) Hence their distinction between "zenmaishu" and "junmaishu."

 

Pasteurization seems to be nothing new, and is in fact standard, except in the case of namazake (生酒). Not sure why it is mentioned on the Okunomatsu label -- maybe the way they do it is different? (For Okunomatsu, it says it is done after bottling. Don't know at which stage it would ordinarily be done.)

 

Whatever the process, the taste is of course what counts!

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Koshi no Hatsu Ume Karakuchi Genshu:

 

gallery_10844_104_48487.jpg

 

From Ojiya, Niigata.

 

Alcohol: 19-20%

Nihonshudo: +8

Rice polishing level: 65%

 

This is a genshu, similar to the Tsumugi Bijin Gokukara Genshu I rated previously. Fairly dry (+8), not quite as strong tasting as the Tsumugi Bijin (but still pretty strong), but more fragrant. Strong, yet subtle.

 

Interestingly, this is made by Takanoi (高の井) brewery, which I have tried in the past and not really cared for. Their ordinary sake (the one wrapped in newspaper, not genshu) is just too watery for my tastes. Come to think of it, I have had that same complaint with Tsumugi Bijin regular sake, but loved their genshu.

 

However, in karakuchi genshu style, it seems to hit all the buttons I like.

So, I think I am figuring out that I like genshu, and should go hunting for more of the same.

 

Anyway, verdict: 7.5, tied with Tsumugi Bijin Gokukara Genshu for my highest score.

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Fuzzy memories actually, I'm afraid.

 

Can't say I'm a person who can distinguish much between sakes, but that day I was not helped by the volume of other liquids I had consumed!

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Tanigawadake Junmai Ginjo Second Challenge:

 

med_gallery_10844_104_415966.jpgmed_gallery_10844_104_343565.jpgmed_gallery_10844_104_364483.jpg

 

From Kawaba-mura, Gunma.

 

1800 yen

 

Bought it for the intriguing label. What's the story?

 

According to the label, this is the second "practice batch" by trainee Tsunoda Takayuki, at the Nagai Brewery in Kawaba. So don't expect to see this again.

 

Nihonshudo: +2

Rice polishing level: 60%

Alcohol: 15%

 

Rice: From Kawaba-mura

Label paper: Made of recycled wooden walkways from Oze National Park.

 

Verdict: not bad! Not bad at all. Not too dry, not too sweet, but with a definite character. The label describes it as "fruitiness," which could make sense, if the fruit in question is something like lychee or biwa. Not a syrupy flavor, more aromatic.

 

Not as developed as, say, Okunomatsu, but this trainee shows great promise. Gambare, Tsunoda-san!

 

Score: 6.5

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Where do you find all these Metabo Oyaji?

 

I have several places I go regularly, and am always on the look-out for new labels. But mostly sake shops and supermarkets.

 

I also have a couple of small-scale brands I have been told about by connoisseurs, and am on the look-out for. Hopefully will be able to report on some of them at some point.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hakushika Honjouzou Genshu:

gallery_10844_104_174891.jpg

 

From Ishioka, Ibaraki.

 

Was stocking up on Smart Cheese at the supermarket, and spied this bottle that I had never seen before.

1290 yen for 720 ml.

 

This is the genshu version of the brand by which I have set my rating system, with the standard Hakushika being defined as a 5 (minimum acceptable level). Since I have discovered I like genshu, it seemed incumbent to give this one a try.

 

Alcohol level: 19%

Rice polishing level: 65%

 

Labels says it is a cold-process (寒仕込み) karakuchi, to be served on the rocks (!) or cold. I opted for the latter.

 

First splash in the mouth has a bit of a perfumy, aromatic flavor, slightly reminiscent of Okunomatsu Zenmai Ginjo.

Followed by a slightly syrupy mouthfeel, reminiscent of Shiragiku. But it is neither as good as the former, nor as bad as the latter.

Not terribly dry, but with some sourness.

 

Better than regular Hakushika, but not as good as other genshus I have tried recently.

 

So let's say:

 

6

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