Shochu Tengumai Style!

I know what you are all thinking

"Shochu? I thought this was a sake blog...You traitor!"

Well maybe not quite those words, but hear me out.

This is not your average Shochu.

Tengumai / 天狗舞

Jiroukaja / 次郎冠者

Shochu / 焼酎

Alcohol: 41% / Aged 5 years

Shata Shuzo / Ishikawa Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very fragrant, lots of Ginjo-ka (that beautiful fragrance you get from a good Ginjo Sake!). Hints of dark honey, and a little bit of a fruity sweetnes.

On the palate: Very round, Explosive flavor. Dark honey and Fruity notes carry through, Sake like characteristics, strong bite from alcohol. Very fragrant inside mouth.

Other notes:

• Shata Shuzo has played around with making shochu in the past, but this is the first time I have encountered anything of this high a level under the Tengumai shochu label.
• This is a Kome Shochu, or Rice Shochu, and is made using the "Sake Kasu" (pressings left behind after the solids are seperated from the liquids in the sake making proccess) from a Ginjo class sake, so You get a lot of the characteristics of a Ginjo sake coming through in both the Nose and the Palate.
• This Shochu was made using two distillation methods, the first creates a depth of flavor and a sharper taste profile, while the second creates a much rounder mouth feel and a smoother taste. The two are then blended until the desired taste and smell are achieved.
• This Shochu has been aged for 5 years, giving it an extra layer of complexity and making it slightly smoother.

If you have a chance I highly recommend trying this one out. It is a new creation from the masterminds of Shata Shuzo, and I for one look forward to more shochu out of the Tengumai Label.

I didn't have a chance to update from America as I had planned (T_T) but I will be posting updates about what happened in the coming weeks.

Thanks for sticking around,

Until next time,

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

A little bit of Born Special!

This is the first post I have done on a Born Sake, but the lack of posts does not translate into a lack of love for the brew. About a week or so ago, we received a shipment of Born's 180ml Nama-Genshu. This isn't something we get all the time, although we carry the 720ml and 1800ml, so I was a bit excited. In all of my excitement, I ran over and grabbed a bottle for myself, and drank it that night. In one word: Delicious!

Born / 梵

Naka-dori Junmai Daiginjo Muroka Nama Genshu

中取り純米大吟醸無濾過生原酒

Alcohol: 17~18% / Polish: 50%

SMV: +4

Brewery: Katou Kichibee Shouten / Fukui Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Sweet, very fruity, HUGE NOSE, with lots of melon and Koji rice.

On the palate: Full bodied, lots of rice and Koji rice up front, with hints of melon. Good subtle finish, with a slight bite from the high alcohol content.

Other notes:

• Katou Kichibee Shouten has been around for a long time, and thus has established itself as one of the most famous breweries in Japan. They also make really good sake.
• Born's president, Mr. Katou himself, is the only person I have ever seen who looks exactly like his cartoon caricature.
• (Image taken From Born's Website born.co.jp)
• This sake comes in three sizes: 180ml, 720ml, and 1800ml.
• This is a genshu, so be careful of the high alcohol content.
• This is a Nama Sake (unpasteurized sake) so keep it in the fridge.
• Born is really famous, although due to it's fame, I think it doesn't really gets all the respect it deserves. Under the Born label you will find just about any class of sake you want, most very good warmed or chilled.

I apologize for the delay in postings. The store's news paper / flier will be released in the middle of this month, so we were going like crazy to get it done (finally finished it today! (^_^)V) You can find it on our website Here around the 15th.

On another note, I will be heading over to the United States (San Francisco bay area) from the 9th to the 21st of July!

We (myself and Staff Rie) will be stopping in to visit our friends over at True Sake as well as Yoshi's in San Francisco, not to mention the obligatory Napa wine tasting!

I will continue to update this blog while I am in the States.

Drop me an email @ contact.yutaka@gmail.com if you are in the area and want to talk SAKE!

That's it for this time!

'Till next...

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin