Turkey Sake – Looking Back Ten Years To True Sake Turkey Facts and Fun

• After the female turkey mates she prepares a nest under a bush in the woods and lays her tan and speckled brown eggs. She incubates as many as 18 eggs at a time. It takes about a month for the chicks to hatch. Baby turkeys are known as “Poults.”
  • After a month of fermenting, sake gets “filtered.” But in the west this use of the term “filtered or unfiltered” sake is a misnomer. When people call Nigori sake “unfiltered” sake, they are actually missing the point that the sake was charcoal filtered, thus it was filtered. If a sake is not run through a charcoal filter system it is called “Muroka” or “unfiltered” sake.

• Wild Turkeys are covered with dark feathers that help them blend in with their woodland homes. The bare skin on the throat and head of a turkey can change color from flat gray to striking shades of red, white, and blue when the bird becomes distressed or excited.
  • The true color of fermented sake is a mild yellow or golden color. As it ages it turns to a more amber shade and eventually goes to a hue along the lines of maple syrup or soy sauce. The charcoal filtration process strips the natural colors away producing an almost clear fluid. Nama or “unpasteurized” sake has a green tinge to it.

• What do Turkey (the country in the Middle East) and the American bird have in common?  A case of mistaken identity resulted in the American Turkey being named after the country.  When the Spanish first found the bird in the Americas more than 400 years ago they brought it back to Europe. The English mistakenly thought it was a bird they called a "turkey" so they gave it the same name. This other bird was actually from Africa, but came to England by way of Turkey (lots of shipping went through Turkey at the time). The name stuck even when they realized the birds weren't the same
  • The name of specific sakes can be a brand name, a family name, a brewery’s name, or a marketing name. For example a brewery in Nagano sells sake under their brand name (Masumi) and under their family name (Myasaka) and under a brand name (Yumadono).

• The Turkey’s gizzard is a part of the bird’s stomach, which contains tiny stones that help to grind up food for digestion.
  • Brewing rice is milled or polished to achieve certain size levels. To mill or polish rice large milling machines are used. Rice is dropped on millstones that grind away layer after layer of the rice. The rice powder that is removed then gets sucked away by large vacuums, and the now smaller rice grains go back through the process.

• The Turkey’s “Snood” is the flap of skin that hangs over its beak.  The “Snood” turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.
  • Tsumami is the name for foods that go very well with sake. Usually folks either love these types or foods or hate them, as the flavors are very intense and are often quite salty and or pungent.

So there you have it, some seriously goofy Turkey and sake facts. (Thanks to kidzone.com for some of the turkey bits). Why did I write this? It’s easy; we want to subliminally remind you to think “sake” when selecting your Thanksgiving Day dinner libation. Did it work?

What about some specific brews that work well with Turkey? And why do they work?

This comes from a True Sake Newsletter piece I wrote in year’s past:

“I look for a robust acidity when I pair with meat, game or fowl. Add to that butter and other mouth filling flavors I like sakes that have some staying power in terms of flavor. I select fatter sakes that fill the mouth, rather than the light clean ones that fire right through the palate. Think meaty sakes for meaty flavors, and also use a larger glass than usual to mix up that acidity. Go with your big reds glasses, and don't worry about the next day big reds hangovers.”

2010 Thanksgiving List:

Kiminoi Yamahai Junmai Ginjo
Kamoizumi Junmai Daiginjo
Tengumai Yamahai Junmai
Kikuhime Yamahai Junmai

Narutotai Nama Ginjo Genshu

Born Muroka Junmai Daiginjo Nama Genshu

Tsukasabotan Junmai Daiginjo

Wakatake Junmai Genshu

2020 Thanksgiving List:

From Turkey Beau –

• Kaze no Mori Tsuyuhakaze Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu "Black Label Wind of the Woods"
• Tamagawa Yamahai Junmai Muroka Nama Genshu "Red Label"
• Takacho Bodaimoto Muroka Genshu "Regal Hawk"
• Takachiyo Junmai Origarami Nama “Green”
• Wakatakeya A Zen Ai Koshu "Love"

From Turkey Mei –

• Shirataki Noujun Uonuma Junmai "80%"
• Choryo Yoshinosugi Omachi Taru Yamahai Junmai "Cedar Country"

From Turkey Shin –

• Fukunishiki Bansyu Kimoto Junmai “Old Style”
• Mutsu Hassen Kijoshu

From Turkey Hiromi –

• Masumi Nanago Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo "Seventh Heaven"
• Kenbishi Kuromatsu Honjozo "Black Pine"

From Turkey Chika –

• Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai "Southern Beauty"
• Tamanohikari 94 Junmai Ginjo "Kushi"