Nihonshu no Hi (Sake Day)!

In celebration of Sake Day, and because the net is alive with the sound of sake day, I would like to give a little explanation I like to call: "what the heck is Sake Day?"

Sake Day (Nihonshu no Hi, 日本酒の日) Is much more than a party put on by True Sake SF, or a celebration at Sakaya NYC (although both of those are an awesome way to celebrate Sake Day!).

First "why October 1st?"
Two reasons:

1. The Kanji (Japanese symbol) for Sake 酒 is made up of two parts: the three lines on the right, representing water, and the covered box part on the left 酉, which represents a Sake jug or pot.  The progression from pot to Sake is believed to have gone something like this:

the symbol 酉 Can be read as "tori とり" which can mean bird 鳥. Tori or bird is the tenth animal in the chinese zodiac (which Japan uses as well), and when put to the Roman calendar becomes the tenth month of the year, October. Therefore the first day of the month of the bird is Sake Day! And:
2. In Japan we use a really confusing system (for those who are not used to it) for marking the date of production for sake. Some of you out there may be saying "Oh yeah, I've heard of that, the Imperial calendar, Heisei year 21 and all that, old news." That is only part of the story. In fact, just to confuse you Roman Calendar only people out there, the sake world uses three labeling systems. The Roman Calendar, the Imperial Calendar, and to top it off The BY Calendar (Short for Brewers Year).
   
   The Brewers Year calendar is about 6 months behind the Imperial calendar, so that the start of the brewers calendar is July (Meaning that the sake you have been drinking all year was made in BY 20 and the sake they are about to start brewing will be BY 21). Why is this important? Before 1965 the start of the brewers year was October 1st! In 1965 in order to better accommodate an earlier brewing season, as technology was Changing to allow it, the National Brewers Association of Japan Changed the start of the brewing year to July 1st.

The very first sake day was held on October 1st, 1978, as decreed by the national Brewers Association that year.

"So now I know why Sake Day is on Oct 1st, but what am I supposed to do for Sake Day?"

Well similar to St. Patties day in Ireland one should dress in red and make an ass of themselves, right?

Not exactly... Although I won't stop you.

Sake day is a day when we should all grab our favorite brew, relax and enjoy.

A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into the making of every bottle of sake, and we should all take a moment to reflect on the fabulous brew.

Going to True sake's event or stopping by Sakaya NYC is a good start too!

If you live in Japan it gets even easier!

Just stop by your local Jizake Senmonten (地酒専門店 specialty sake store) and grab your favorite brew.

Till next time

Cheers

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

Hiya-Oroshi PART 2!

"Back again with that smooth mellow taste that's always good to the last drop.
Yes folks, we're talking about Hiya-Oroshi, the smooth fall brew."
Thats what you would be hearing on the radio, 40 years ago any way....

But seriously I'm back again this week to introduce another great fall brew to keep you going until new years when the Shibori-tatte (fresh pressed) sakes come in.
Time is flying by; only about a month to a month and a half left until the start of the brewing season!
It's like waiting for the super bowl, except everyone still has their shirts on.

Now, without further ado I present to you, a first for this blog and one of my new favorites:

Ishidzuchi / 石鎚

Tokubetsu Junmai Hiya-Oroshi / 特別純米 冷や卸し

Alcohol: 16~17% / Polish: 55~60%

SMV: +6

Ishidzuchi Shuzo / Ehime Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very light, lots of rice, with a little bit of an almost fruity sweetness. Very mild and pleasant.

On the palate: very smooth and round. Medium to full bodied, lots of rice with an underlying fruity sweetness to balance out it's dryness. Very well balanced with a good finish.

Other notes:

• This sake comes in two sizes, 720ml and 1.8L.
• This is a Hiya-Oroshi sake, Ishidzuchi also puts out a whole line of great sakes including other seasonal brews. We also have five other types in the store (Only in 1.8L size).
• This brew is a good match to a wide varieties of food, it's fuller body gives it a good edge for heavier flavored foods including a wide variety of meat dishes. meat dishes.
• I enjoyed this one with a really good hand made tofu and edamame.

Well that's it for this round, I'll keep posting them as I drink 'em.

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

NEW: Hiya-Oroshi is here!!!

Well folks, Fall is finally here.
Well at least if you live in Sapporo Japan it is.
This time of year a lot of things happen.
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Pumpkin Pie, but most importantly: Hiya-Oroshi!

Just in case not everyone is familiar with Hiya-Oroshi (written 冷や卸し in Japanese), I will give a little bit of an explanation here.  First off, if you plug Hiya-Oroshi into one of those fancy pants online translators you get something around the lines of "Cold Distribution." Which although isn't the most elegant of terms, is more or less correct. Hiya-Oroshi stems from the many years before refrigeration, and pasteurization. In those long ago times, sake breweries would store their sakes in a cool place for the dreadfully hot summer months, until things started to cool off again in the fall and it was safe for the sake. The result of the extended storage was a rounder, softer, slightly fuller bodied sake. Now, with both refrigeration, and pasteurization, there is no longer a need for sake to be stored over the summer, however, the softer refined taste of a fall brew has become a seasonal favorite, and is continued to this day.

I would like to start off the Hiya-Oroshi season with bash, so I will be introducing two Hiya-Oroshi sakes in this post. The fall season in Sapporo is rather short, with the first snow fall looming just about a month away, but I will try and get in tasting notes of a few more fall brews before the season ends.

This season we have about 25 fall brews, Jammed like sardines into our already quite full fridges, so if you are looking for a good brew, feel free to stop by if you are in the area.

The sake behind the door on the right is all Hiya-Oroshi, and half of the sake on the left.

Well that's enough lip flapping for now, on to the tasting notes!

Yutaka Private Label sake

Third edition Hiya-Oroshi Junmai Daiginjo

Alcohol: 16% / Polish: 50%

SMV: Not Available

Daishinshuu Shuzo / Nagano Prefecture

Tasting Notes:

On the nose: Thick full nose, although not overbearing. Slightly yeasty with lots of rice and accents of fruit.

On the palate: Quite dry medium bodied with a solid acid structure. Dry but very smooth and fresh, with an underlying ricey fruity sweetness. Quick, clean, crisp finish.

Other notes:

• This is the third installment of private label sakes that has come into Yutaka.
• I designed the label myself.
• The first label had a blue bear (our stores mascot) the second an orange bear (still about 6 bottles left), and now in honor of fall, a green orange red gradation.
• The first two were Junmai Ginjo, although they could have been Daiginjo, and were lighter bodied and more fragrant. The third edition has more body and a less complicated nose.
• the third edition is available in both 720ml and 1.8L bottles.

Kenkonichi / 乾坤一

Junmai Ginjo Genshu Hiya-Oroshi / 純米吟醸原酒冷や卸し

Alcohol: 17% / Polish: 50%

SMV: +2

Oonuma Shuzou-ten / Miyagi Prefecture

Tasting Notes:

On the nose: Lots of Kome-Koji, light tangy nose.

On the palate: Medium bodied, medium dry. Very round with solid rice and Kome-Koji. It's mild acidity and round mouth feel make it very smooth, and before you know it half the bottle is gone.

Other Notes:

• Oonuma Shuzo-ten's style is a brew that is smooth, easy to drink, not overbearing but has good body and good flavor. Their Hiya-Oroshi takes this style to the next level by adding in a very round mouth feel and mellowed acid base. Kenkonichi sake is a sake made for drinking and enjoying with food or by itself, not for winning gold medals.
• This sake is available in both 720ml and 1.8L bottles.
• be carful of the slightly higher alcohol content as this is a Genshu (undiluted sake).
• Kenkonichi sake is one of my all time favorite sake brands, and I highly recommend any of the other labels, ranging from Junmai to Daiginjo, as well.

That's it for this time, I will be posting a bit more on the Hiya-Oroshi sakes before we head into Shiboritate (Fresh brewed fresh pressed winter brew) season.

This years brewing season is almost underway with most breweries starting their first batch in the beginning or middle of next month. This year I plan on going to several of the breweries during the brewing season to help out / learn the sake making process first hand. I of course will be towing my computer and email capable cell phone (blogger allows you to post by email, thank goodness), so there will be plenty of sake secrets coming in the nest few months!

Until next time,

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka Staff

Carlin

Out with the new and in with the old!

In a first for this blog, I would like to introduce everyone to a kind of sake that not all of you may be familiar with: Koshu (古酒). Literally translated koshu means "old sake," wich although quite blunt is more or less correct. Koshu is in fact aged sake.

Aged sake is often compared to aged sherry, and shares many similarities (although is in no way the same thing). If a sherry comparison does nothing for you, keep reading, otherwise, keep reading.

Now, not all sake makes good aged sake, and there are many different styles of aging that make a huge difference in the out come of the Koshu. Some examples being: Aging unpasteurized VS. pasteurized, aging at room temp VS. rifrigerated, etc.

Aging a sake generally brings out a very distinct taste profile consisting but not limited to: earthy tones, cooked honey or sugar smell and flavor, added depth of flavor, and a lighter nose.

On that note I bring you (more information on this particular type of koshu after the tasting notes):

Daruma-Masamune / ダルマ正宗

Special Blend / 特別ブレンド

Alcohol: 15% / Polish: Blend

SMV: N/A

Shiraki Tsunesuke Shouten / Gifu Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Strong honey, and hints of almost a rice pudding. Very sharp clean nose for aged sake.

On the palate: Clean slightly sweet and minerally, with understated earthy tones. Caramel-honey notes round out a medium body balanced nicely by a clean mild acidity, keeping the slight sweetness in check.

Other notes:

• This is a blended Koshu, with a blend ratio of: 40% 4 year aged sake, 60% 14 year aged sake, and about 0.5% 30 year aged sake.
• "Why use a blend?" Blending aged sake give you more freedom to more or less craft your desired taste profile. Simply using straight aged sake leaves a lot open to mother nature.
• This particular Koshu was born from the idea of letting as many people know about aged sake as possible. in order to achieve this goal they have created an aged sake with a mild taste profile, lots of delicious flavor, and all at a very affordable price.
• This particular koshu was aged Pasteurizes at room temperature, giving it more earth tones and a deeper darker color.
• Daruma Masamune koshu is characterized by the big red Daruma doll of a guy named Masamune (name of unknown origins) who to me looks kinda like a pirate.
• Look for other great aged sakes out of Daruma Masamune, including a line up of age it yourself sakes (vintages starting from this year and going back as far as 30 years are available).

Well that's it for this time around, if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

Mansaku Mania PART 2!

Well something like that any way.

Part two is kinda catchy right?

I know what you are yelling at your computer screen right now,

"Part 2? What? You can't have a part 2 with no part 1! Are you crazy?"

Yes I am in fact crazy, but There is a part one to this story.

You just won't find it in this blog.

Part 1 came out about a year ago after the big earthquake in the northern part of the main Island.

You may remember it by the fiasco with the nuclear power plant leaking waste into the ocean.

At that time a lot of the Breweries in the area lost a lot of good sake, and didn't have enough to put out individual labels.

At that time Mansaku no Hana came up with the great idea of: "Hey, lets just blend all the leftovers together and sell it as a blended sake!"

The result: Mansaku no Hana "Jishin Saku" (Earthquake Bloom).

A beautifully blended sake that was a huge hit among Mansaku fans.

So this Year they decided to re-unleash the Jishin Saku blend upon the hungry fans,

And without further ado I bring you PART 2:

Mansaku no Hana / まんさくの花

Jishin Saku Gold Blend / 地震作ゴルドブレンド

Alcohol: 16~17% / Polish: Blend

SMV: +3

Hi no Maru Jouzou / Akita Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very fresh with lots of rice and Kome-Koji. Slight fruity sweetness balanced by a nice crisp bite to the nose.

On the palate: Fresh medium bodied, very dry, but balanced by a nice ricey fruity sweetness on the front of the tongue followed by an almost sour bite to the sides of the tongue on the after taste.

Other notes:

• Although there was no earthquake this time, Mansaku still pulled off one heck of a blended sake.
• This sake drank a little bit rougher than the average Mansaku no Hana sake, however, that is not to say that it wasn't still a mouth watering piece of work.
• Hi no Maru Jouzou has bounced back just fine after the earthquake, and is making some other killer sakes. Definitely worth checking out their other sake.
• I got a little behind with this post, and we are already down to our last bottle of this one at the store, so unfortunately if you missed out this year, they will probably be releasing a blended sake of some sort or another every year from here on out.

Sorry for the long lag in posting...

The store is one person short for the month, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to post in my 12 hour workday. I will try and take a little more time out soon to post again.

If not the start of next month will be back to posting as usual.

Thanks for hanging in there.

On another note if anyone out there ever feels like talking sake, please feel free to give me a call at the store or email me at contact.yutaka@gmail.com!

Untill next time...

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka Staff

Carlin

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

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

Celebrating this year's Utou with a toast to last year's!

Coming back full circle, back to the same brewery as the very first sake posted in this blog, we find ourselves back at Nishida Shuzo, makers of the famous "Denshu."

What I would like to present to you today, however, (not Denshu) is one of the lesser known labels produced by Nishida Shuzo: Utou!

This years Utou was just just released a couple of weeks ago, and to celebrate it's release, I would like to do a spot on last year's Utou, which has aged beautifully over the last year.

Utou / 善知鳥

Daiginjo / 大吟醸

Alcohol: 16~17% / Polish: 40%

SMV: +3

Nishida Shuzo / Aomori Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very clean, slightly sweet, light, and fruity.

On the palate: Light to medium bodied. Dry with an underlying fruity sweetnes that rounds the mouthfeel. Quick clean finish that leaves you reaching for another sip.

Other notes:

• Utou is a much lesser known label from Nishida Shuzo; meaning that it may be a little bit harder to find stores that carry it.
• Utou is a sake for the more serious sake aficionado, as it is a far more complex sake than your average table sake. you will also find yourself digging a little bit further into your pockets as well.
• This post is on last year's Utou, but look forward to (hopefully) a posting on this year's Utou in future posts.
• Look for other great sake from Nishida Shuzo under the Denshu and Kikuizumi labels.
• I don't think you fine folks over in the states will be able to find the Utou label in stores, but if you have the chance, and the interest, ask your local Sake shop, you never know.

Playing a little bit of catch up here, but I would also like to up the pace of my posting a little bit. Please feel free to post any suggestions or requests for reviews of sakes you have seen, or have caught your attention. I will be attaching an email address to this account pretty soon, so I will also start accepting questions and comments by email!

Thank you to all who have been reading, and I hope that this blog can eventually become a one stop sake notebook for all!

Cheers,

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin

Another great from our friends at Heiwa-shuzou!

After a short hiatus here (Busy getting married), It's back to blogging! (See Mansaku no Hana's blog {5/24 posting}, or Nanbu Bijin's blog for pictures!)

But back to business...

Heiwa-shuzo's brain child, the Tsuru-ume series, hits yet another home run!

Tsuru-ume Kanjuku Nigori / 鶴梅完熟にごり

Liqueur

Alcohol: 8% / Distilled Alc. base

SMV: N/A

Heiwa Shuzo / Wakayama Prefecture

Tasting notes:

On the nose: Very sweet with a bit of a bite that makes your nose tingle. Strong plum with hints of peach.

On the palate: Sweet but not overly sweet. Strong peach up front with plum bringing up the rear. Good acid base gives it a nice roundness and slight depth of flavor.

Other notes:

• Now, when I heard the word Nigori (unfiltered, or cloudy) in combination with liqueur, the first word that came out of my mouth was "WHAT?" Nigori, often associated with Nigori sake, or unfiltered sake, isn't a word you hear too often when talking about liqueur, but it does pop up now and then. This is however, the first time, in any of our memories, that we have had a liqueur labeled "Nigori" in the store.

• I took the above picture to illustrate the differences in clarity between the Normal Kanjuku and the Kanjuku Nigori. The Nigori coming in the cool reverse label on the left.
• Being unfiltered gives the Nigori a much stronger palate of peach, one of the ingredients (Kanjuku is a plum peach mix), although the nose doesn't change all that much.
• We just received our sample bottle a day or two ago, and it will be available in about a week or so in store.

Untill next time!

Cheers!

Meishu no Yutaka staff

Carlin