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

One heck of a double play!

Hot off the presses, so to say, well perhaps more like: slightly chilled off the floor of the store warehouse, I have some very hot news.

Just in through the doors of our warehouse yesterday, and much to my surprise, came an incredible double play from our friends over at Nishida shuzo.

Denshu / 田酒

Yamadaho / 山田穂

and

Tankanwataribune / 短稈渡船

Junmai Daiginjo / 純米大吟醸

Alcohol: 16~17%

Polish: 40%

At the risk of looking like a Denshu maniac (although a do hold a dear appreciation for the stuff), I decided to post this set (without tasting notes and the likes), because I thought it was just too amazing to not let my readers in Japan know about it.

It is a little hard to put my excitement into words as I write this post, however I will do my best.

This set of Junmai Daiginjo sakes, from Denshu, features the mother and father strains of Yamada Nishiki, one of the most famous and widely used sake rice today.　to me this is an amazing chance to not only directly compare the differences in rice type in sake, but also an incredible chance to better understand the origins of the famous Yamada Nishiki rice. Not to mention that this is some crazy good sake.

I am going to break off from my usual stance with this blog, a position I have taken in hopes of having this blog be a center for information, and not selling sake, and provide information on price and how to get this sake. I do this in the hopes that if this sounds appealing to you, and you can afford it, that you will try this sake out if you can.

I only hurry with this one because this particular set is limited to 30 sets. That's it. when these 30 are gone there will be no more until next year if at all.

The set runs for ¥10,200 and you can order by phone at: 011(716) 5174 or FAX: 011(716) 5175. We ship to all of Japan with payment on delivery by JP postal service money order. If you do not speak Japanese, ask for Carlin or Rie, and our store staff will pass the call on.

I really hope that you will take the chance to get in on this, as it is really to good to pass up. If I had the money to buy this set (spent it all on the wedding (^_^; ) I would be enjoying this set with all of you.

Sorry for the long post...this should be it for a little while.

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

Dewazakura Junmai Daiginjo "Ai Yama"!

Here to share the love, is a little bit of heaven called "Love mountain." Well.......really it's "Ai Yama (愛山)" and its a Junmai Daiginjo from our friends over at Dewazakura!

Dewazakura / 出羽桜

Junmai Daiginjo "Ai Yama" / 純米大吟醸愛山

Alcohol: 17% / Polish: 45%

SMV: +3

Dewazakura Shuzo / Yamagata Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Sweet, fruity, very clean with hints of honey.

On the palate: Very clean, slight bite on the start with a nice rounding sweetness from the rice. Hints of honey carry through to the tongue. Ending with a crisp, quick, and refreshing finish.

Other notes:

• Even though Ai Yama is not a genshu watch out for the high level of alcohol. this one is especially dangerous because it drinks so smoothly you may not notice the high alcohol content.
• Dewazakura is a larger brewery with a full lineup of sake (our store alone carries about 10 different kinds), So look forward to more posts on Dewazakura sake in the future!
• This Sake is pasteurized, so it is ok out of the fridge, but Dewazakura also has a good line up of Nama Sake (Unpasteurized sake) as well.
• The name Ai Yama refers to the kind of rice that is used. As best as I can tell, and there is a short explanation in Japanese on the bottle, Ai Yama is a decedent of both the Yamada nishiki strain and the Omachi strains of sake rice. *

Until next time,

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

*I am currently doing some research on this, but info in English on the lesser known strains of sake rice is rather limited. I would like to do a post on the Ai Yama strain of sake rice, and others as well, when I have enough info to make it worth while.