Dear Sake Drinker,
Welcome to the March Issue of America's sake-centric newsletter. In
this edition read about how to make your "Green" St. Pat's Day a sake
drinking affair, learn about our latest effort to torture sake via a
temperature swing experiment, see how one sake soul always has 30
bottles of opened sake in his fridge, get your "Yuho" on, and catch a
glimpse of a sake store in Hokkaido.
In this issue:
Sake Season - Top Ten Reasons Why St. Pat's Day Is For Sake
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10)
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The three-leafed plant known as a Shamrock - despite popular
belief of it being used by St. Pat to explain the Holy Trinity -
actually is a visual aid for conveying the three milling grades of
sake - Junmai - Ginjo - Daiginjo.
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9)
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When St. Patrick was about sixteen he was captured by Irish raiders
and taken as a slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years
before escaping and returning to his family - (in Kobe).
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8)
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As a result of several typos legend has it that St. Patrick rid
Ireland of snakes, but in reality the letter should have read that
St. Patrick "hid" all of the "sakes" in Ireland - presumably for
his own personal consumption.
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7)
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Lent typically lasts 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Holly Saturday,
but the churches which follow the Byzantine tradition start on
"Clean Monday." And nothing is more "clean" than sake.
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6)
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The FDA has successfully proven that the over-consumption of beer
results in the eye's disturbing ability to change water fountains,
rivers in Chicago, ice sculptures, and beer from blue to green,
which has long lasting and detrimental effects that never occur
when drinking sake.
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5)
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At least 50% of the bottles of sake in the US are green - you do
the math.
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4)
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It has been said that The St. Patrick's Day parade was first held
in Boston in 1761, organized by the Charitable Irish Society. The
first recorded parade was New York City's celebration, which began
on 18 March 1762 when Irish soldiers in the English military
marched through the city with their music. Both accounts are
incorrect, as the first parade was held in Osaka, Japan on March
17, 1669 lead by Toshi Imai who was known as Sainto Paddy-san.
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3)
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The slogan "Everyone's Irish On March 17th" has been officially
changed by the U.N.'s "Committee on Cultural Redistribution" to
read "Everyone's Who They Really Are on March 17th And They Should
Be Pounding Sake."
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2)
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If you get "Pinched" for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day the
result of your sexual assault lawsuit should add more "pocket
change" to your libation purchasing program, which should wisely be
spent on more sake.
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1)
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It will take more than 6.5% alcohol to get you to don that
amazingly tight and quite frankly horrible smelling Leprechaun
outfit for the office party.
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Sake Knowledge - The Definitive Temperature Swing Experiment
Okay so we all have heard the line - "don't let it cool down then warm
up" or the other sage advice given - "keep from putting it on ice then
letting it warm up" - or the other more definitive - "wine - beer and
especially champagne never keep putting it on ice or in the fridge and
then let it warm up!" So robotically we don't! But why? How much
degradation occurs when you warm then cool warm then cool a beer or
wine or champagne? And of course what about sake?
So leave it to your True Sake specialists to conduct a rather cool
experiment that tests these principals. We decided to take three
bottles of the exact sake from the same batch with the same shipping
date from the same case! But what brew to choose? At first we thought
Daiginjo or Ginjo but then realized that these highly milled brews may
not show a significant enough of a change if there is one, so we
decided on a Junmai that most brewers recommend be stored in the
fridge. But which one? Basically we wanted a brew that we knew and
knew well.
Finally we settled upon Masumi Okuden-Kanzukuri from Nagano Prefecture
- the "Mirror of Truth." And yes we were hoping to shed some "truth"
on the subject of temperature swings and their direct impact on sake.
At first we wanted to do the experiment for 30 days only, but then we
decided upon 60 days to inflict as much "damage" as possible. Now
please recall our philosophy at True sake - a well-built sake will
stand up to all forms of damage from extra UV light to much shaking
from storage in heat to lots of movement. That is why we picked this
particular well-built Junmai! (Now please realize that the brew is
made with Miyamanishiki and is milled to 60% - so like most "Junmais"
these days it is actually milled to Ginjo standards.)
Okay so how best to get the desired result showing the "huge" impact
that temperature swings have on a brew? Well we needed three bottles.
The first stayed at room temperature in a cool dark corner of our
shelves. The second stayed in the fridge at the constant 40 degrees
level. And the third - ahhhh the poor third bottle was put in the
fridge every night and then we took it out during store hours -
bringing it to room temperature by roughly 3PM every day! Bottle C was
in fridge for 60 days - Bottle B was on room temperature shelf for 60
days - and bottle A was in and out of fridge every day/night for 60
days!
Let the games begin!
For the tasting we brought the brews out of the fridge for roughly 20
minutes and placed the room temperature brew in the freezer to meet
the other sakes in the middle. So let's say that they were between
room temperature and chilled. Then Miwa had the idea that one of us
should do the tasting blind and the other - in the know. We both used
different glasses - Miwa used a smaller glass (all three of hers were
identical) and I used the Ridel Chardonnay glasses (all three the
same). Then we went to work!
The great thing about playing with sake is that you discover far more
than you initially intended. This experiment was no exception. Miwa
went blind and I did the pouring. Going into this I thought for
certain that we would find very large differences in these brews - let
that be known. I decided to taste the "better conditioned" brew first
- Bottle C (the one in the fridge for 60 day where the importer
recommends storing it). Then I did Bottle B (the one sitting out in
room temperature for 60 days) next followed by Bottle A (the one in
and out of the fridge every day for 60 days). My thinking was that I
wanted to use the fridge bottle as the "basis." I poured Miwa B-A-C
in that order.
I don't want to go too deep here but the color of all three brews were
pretty close - clear - but the room temperature brew did have a golden
hue to it. That hue helped Miwa pull that sake. The aromas were also
pretty consistent. But I will say that the fridge bottle did have the
largest nose - really kept it's aroma profile - followed by the room
temp brew and then the "in and out" sake. So this tells me that the
fridge does help maintain the aroma components and of course preserves
the coloration of the sakes. (We all knew that right?)
So then it was time for the rubber to hit the road. I tasted bottle C
first - the fridge bottle. The brew drank very tight and compact.
There was a creamy finish that was also tight. The acidity was really
pronounced and the sake tasted drier than I recalled. The acidity was
pretty jumpy. Miwa tasted B first but I will give her C notes to
parallel mine. She too wrote that the acidity hit first with a drier
feel and a creamy finish. Our reviews were almost identical. The
"conditioned" fridge bottle C drink crisp and snappy and the acidity
controlled the over flavor and dryness.
I then went to bottle B (the room stored brew), which was softer and
more velvety with a touch of honey or rich sweetness. The brew felt
softer and more mellow than C, and the flavor was more gentle and
inviting. They were not vastly different. There were many of the same
components, but the overall texture and feeling play made the room
stored bottle drink more friendly and felt better in the palate. Miwa
said the brew drank milder and rounder than C with a touch of
sweetness and good balance. Again our reviews were almost spot-on. We
both agreed that the room-stored version had the better balance, the
better feeling and lastly just tasted better. This was shocking to us!
Lastly and ta-dah! I finally tasted the "tortured beast" expecting big
ugliness! But alas the brew drank on par with the other two. It was
dryer than the room stored brew with a tingle of tangy flavors. It
drank thinner than B, but not as tight as the fridge-stored brew. The
body was clean and the finish had a little twitch, but it was not even
close to a train wreck! It was drinkable and quite frankly drank
better than the conditioned brew (the fridge-stored sake.) Miwa said
that it drank with more tingle, lighter, tighter, and with a corn-like
flavor. Our reviews were pretty close, but we both agreed that the
brew did not go to the realm of "horrible." In fact the bottle that
was brought to room temperature every day and chilled every night for
60 days drank like a very good sake, and we both preferred it over the
fridge-conditioned sake.
I guess the best indicator of how "non-disruptive" the tortured brew
drank was the fact that Miwa did not identify it in the blind tasting
line-up. That speaks volumes! So what does this mean? I cannot speak
for wine, champagne, beer or whatever, but for sake temperature
variations did not have the horrific impact that many had lead me to
believe. A sake went from 40-70 degrees everyday for 60 days and it
drank fine. Did it change or alter a bit? Yes - to a degree it did,
but in this particular case it improved the brew in our minds. And
that is the truly amazing by-product of this experiment.
In summary let it be known that sake is durable. If it is built-well
it will stand up to the duress found in the shipping and handling of
sake. And like a river that you can never stand in the same place
twice, sake is always changing - albeit in the fridge or on a dark
room temperature shelf. But change in many cases can be a good thing
- as both of our preferences for the room-stored version of this
particular sake pointed out. By storing the bottle in room temperature
we feel that it improved the sake. And this is great news for the
makers, the exporters and distributors, and of course for retail
outlets such as True Sake.
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Sake Spotlight - Alex Vanderburgh and 23 Opened Bottles of Sake
So did you here the one about a guy who goes into a sake store every
Monday and ........ sort of sounds like the beginning of a joke
doesn't it? Never mind that he doesn't have a limp, monkey on his
shoulder, eye-patch, no pants on or is with a rabbi - priest - or a
monk. No this "non-joke" is a beautiful story about the evolution of
one of our favorite True Sake customers who has dedicated himself to
understanding sake in the only way that speaks to him - by trying them
all! And yes he has made a brilliant go of it so far! (He actually
drank the 50 brews mentioned in my book as his starting goal - then
blew past that and has now tried to drink the store - you go boy!)
Alex Vanderburgh is a man on a mission - he reeks of dedication and
discipline, so it is a lot of fun to speak with him whenever he comes
to True Sake. Besides trying to taste as much as possible - to broaden
that drinking comprehension - he has discovered a new way of profiling
sake that amazed us.
Alex once brought a bottle of sake up to the counter on a Monday not
long ago. He pulled out his "hit list" and crossed it off - per usual.
Then he said something that made me apply the "what the hell did you
say?" breaks! Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Alex said that he would compare
the Ginjo that he bought to 8 that he had opened in the fridge. Huh?
Actually is was a big HUH? That is when Alex told us about the 40
brews that he usually keeps open in his fridge to compare against. And
they are a week old? No! A month old? Some! Two months old? More! And
so on and so on. He basically described his theory about keeping brews
open to benchmark the flavors so that he could actually compare sakes
side by side - no mater how long they were in his fridge. Buy a Junmai
- take it home and try it against 9 others! Damn! He's nuts - and of
course we love that! So herewith is Alex Vanderburgh who I asked to
write a quick intro about himself followed by his truly impressive
technique of understanding sake the "Alex Way."
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Here goes:
About me: I have been studying Japanese martial arts for 30 years
and Sake for about 2, and therefore have no good excuse for being
illiterate in the japanese language, and really can't blame the Sake
either! My goal is to taste every brew that I can find imported
into the US, and find some way to get back to Japan to drink sake
and study Aikido, (but wiser to reverse the order- go to Aikido dojo
first, then drink sake after class.) Unfortunately I spend way too
much time teaching martial arts and emotional intelligence to
children in after school programs through a concept I have developed
called Martial Play- which readers can find out all about at
www.martialplay.com. This little obsession will most likely put off
the Japan trip until my next life.
WHY MY FRIDGE HAS 23 OPEN BOTTLES OF SAKE
It used to be 40, but I drank them. Against the usual advice, I keep
many open bottles of Sake in my fridge, and enjoy tasting them over
time as the flavors change. I do not find that they go stale or
flat, even the isshobins (1800 ml) - I find that they change,
deepen, and even mellow out. Conventional wisdom has told me that
open bottles of Sake should be consumed within a few days, did I
mention that nothing about my life is particularly conventional?
Alrighty then- here is my experience. After a bottle sits in my
fridge for a few days I find that the character of the flavor widens
and deepens, some of the subtle and distinct note come forward and
other attributes, like dryness, fruitiness fade a slight bit. Even
over months in the fridge I have not found a Sake that I liked when
I opened it that I wanted to pour out as bad. Only a few have ever
seems to lose their flavor and became flat or lifeless. In general
as a sake oxidizes I find that it gets more interesting. I do make
an exception on Namazake- Sake that is completely unpasteurized. I
have found that I have to be careful with Nama sake- sometimes my
digestive system can't take it- so when I find one I can drink I
usually don't let too much time pass for "interesting microbiology"
to take place. But Namachozo or Namazume, Sake's pasteurized one
time, rather than the usual 2, I don't have a problem with. Now I am
getting over my head with technical details I am probably
unqualified to answer, so ask the experts for more info on that!
Back to the fridge- and the 23 bottles- although I am originally
from Boston, a town known for hard drinking and brawling, I find I
am a lightweight drinker. Therefore, I can only taste a few sakes at
one time. With my goal of tasting and comparing every sake I could
find in the Bay area, I realized it would take forever to get through
the inventory at True Sake- although finally, almost two years later
I have purchased at least one bottle of all the Sake there I could
afford.
To compare I have several tasting options, the usual flight tasting,
a Junmai, a Junmai Gingo, and Junmai Dai Ginjo. I also like to
compare like grades, say, three different Junmai, or three Tokubetsu
Junmai. If I can, I occasionally like to put together the full crazy
grade experience, a Honjozo, a Junmai, a Junmai Ginjo and a Ginjo
(not Junmai) and a Junmai Dai ginjo along with a Dai Ginjo. Not to
mention throwing in a Yamahai and/or a Kimoto. So, you see, all
these bottles have to be opened at the same time. I know, it is a
tough life researching Sake, but someone has got to do it. We can't
just make Beau, Miwa and Lynette do all the hard work! There are a
few more bottles always open in the fridge- those are my favorites
for each grade. Since I have already taken the Sake Specialist level
one class, I have one more taste that I attempt each week in
preparation for someday getting back to Tokyo for Level two- blind
tasting. With all the open bottles I simply pour a bunch in
identical glasses, mix up the glasses until I can't remember who is
who, and then try to figure it out. And that is the story of the 23
open bottles in my fridge. Okay- I have to run off to teach classes
now- if I can remember the proper order- teach class, then go to the
Aikido dojo and train, then come home and taste Sake- not the other
way round.
Kampai,
Alex
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I thought that given our little experiment for the temperature swings
above that Alex's story would make a good Spotlight for this issue.
Thank you Alex. Again - we at True Sake love sake so much so that we
torture it - beat it up - smack it down - and call it names all in the
realm of trying to gain further comprehension. I am proud to call Alex
- one of our own! His efforts cut right to the heart of our often
spoke rule that well-made sake lasts well! And he is right about
keeping sake in the fridge or even out and tasting the fact that it
never goes putrid - in most cases. I love how he looks for compliments
and themes within categories - themes that can really only be pulled
by comparison. I too keep bottles of sake for looooooong durations in
the fridge - but the opened ones only get left un-consumed because
they are usually hiding behind the mayo and take-out.
Really cool stuff Alex - thank you!
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True Sake In the News - Philip Harper in LA Times, Sebo at 3, La Mar
Philip Harper in LA Times
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I emailed Philip Harper immediately after this LA Times piece to
explain that for the umteenth time a "reporter" got my words wrong -
again.... And again. He casually replied - they always do! But the
gist of the piece is okay! (Well done PH)
A foreigner hopes to revive Japan's flagging spirits
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Sebo at 3
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Congrats to Mike and Danny at Sebo - they turned 3. And as many and
most have a "comment" or two about this sushi restaurant I would
like to say that they do it right. I am usually there in the
afternoons watching them prep the fish right off the plane. I have
seen it all - from the first rough months of trying to get the lease
and converts Powell's Chicken into a sushi spread to watching the SF
market wake up and listen to some people who will talk directly to
you about fish. Not some muffled or quiet response - but a long
explanation on the delicacies of fish in all of their wonders. Does
your sushi chef tell you all? They do and it has been a pleasure
working with Sebo for the past three years! Congrats.
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La Mar
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And also congrats to La Mar the killer Peruvian restaurant down on
the Embarcadero. If you know ceviche then you should go because they
do "cebiche" which is far more Japanese influenced and clean - not a
citric overkill found in ceviche fun houses the world over.
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Editor's Pick Best New Restaurant: La Mar CebicheriŽa Peruana
I recommend La Mar because I did their sake menu. (It has been a
unique experience because there has been the old language barrier
issue - you know Spanish speaking guys dealing with a white guy
dealing with a Japanese beverage.) But it's all good and by 7x7
standards I have done sake menu's for the last several year's most
inspired restaurants from 415 (now deep-sixed) to Sebo to La Mar.
Maybe one day soon I will do the menu at my own restaurant!
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Sake Exclusives - Urakasumi Honjozo Genshu
Yes, buried deep in the text of this Newsletter is this little blurb
about a brew that I asked for and received and will drink all of if
you do not steal a bottle first.
Long story short - was at a "whale" restaurant in Tokyo and this
little beauty was the "bring in the e-coupon for a free glass of sake"
free sake at a killer Izakaya in Shinzuku. The owner is from Miyagi
Prefecture and is very good friends with our friend Koichi Saura owner
of Urakasumi brewery. When I received my free "glass" which was
actually a masu of a brew in a really cool gold foil wrapping I saw
the friendly and comforting words Urakasumi. I had never tasted this
Honjozo before and as soon as the masu hit my table I called Saura-san
- but quickly hung-up noticing that it was after 10pm. Long story even
longer - I liked it so much that I called both Saura-san and his
exporter and said let's get this to the US immediately! They heard me
- they felt me - they made me very happy! The sake was registered and
I received two cases in the last two weeks. Apparently that is all!
But I will try my best to "score more". We may have a bottle or two
left. Maybe!
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Sake Selects - Team True Sake Select Monthly Brews
Welcome to "True Selects" - featured sakes that are selected and
championed by Miwa and Lynette - our two resident sake studs. As we
can only stock so many different brands of sake - think limited space
- this effort is a way to offer sakes that we wouldn't usually carry.
They will select by price-point, uniqueness, availability, and other
factors that make these selections unusual for the store.
For March: WE ARE OVER STOCKED! COME GET SOME BREWS AT REDUCED PRICES!
Miwa's Pick:
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Shimeharitsuru "Jun"
From Niigata Prefecture
Junmai Ginjo
SMV: +5 / Acidity: 1.5 / Rice: Gohyakumankoku, milled to 50%
$32/720ml
In response to good feedback, I am continuing the sake from last
month. Elegant, expansive, and clean. Smooth texture with bright
fruity tone.
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Lynette's Pick:
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Rihaku "Wandering Poet"
From Shimane Prefecture
Junmai Ginjo
SMV +3 / Acidity 1.6 / Rice: Yamada Nishiki
$33/720ml
Crisp, Medium body, and fragrant. Green herbal notes with clean
finish.
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Sake Bonus: BUY ONE GET ONE FOR FREE
Miwa is running a Hiyaoroshi Nama Special for those who cannot get enough
of the very tasty Fall/Winter brews: The deal is buy one get one for free
for $26! WOW What a deal!!!
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New Store Arrivals -Spring Namas '09 - Yuho x 2
EARLY SPRING RELEASE DRAFT SAKE
Early spring released draft sake with fresh aroma and light taste. The
refined sake brewed with new rice harvested from previous fall and
bottled without pasteurization. Only available through early spring
season.
HARUSHIKA "SHIBORIBANA"
720ml : $ 29
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Junmai ginjo nama sake, from Nara-pref.
Flavorful, light & smooth type. Very fresh and clean aromas, with a
hint of strawberries. Perfectly balanced fruity flavors with soft
texture.
SMV : +1 / Acidity : 1.4
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ICHINOKURA "NAMA GENSHU NIGORI" 720ml : $ 27
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Tokubetsu junmai nama genshu sake, from Miyagi-pref.
Unpasteurized cloudy sake. Very fruity nigori sake, with apple,
melon and lemon aromas. Complex flavors balanced well with crisp
acidity.
SMV : ±0 / acidity : 1.7
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KAMIKOKORO "TOKAGEN" 720ml : $29
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Tokubetsu junmai nama genshu sake, from Okayama-pref.
Rich type. Very unique sake, brewed with peach yeast. Refreshing
aromas of peach, lime & bamboo. Expansive mild taste, with crisp
acidity and long finish.
SMV : -9.5 / Acidity : 1.6
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KOSHINO HOMARE "SHIBORITATE" 720ml : $33
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Junmai nama genshu sake, from Niigata-pref.
Rich & smooth type. Tranquil aroma of fruits, grain & yogurt. Great
balance of acidity, fruits and savory flavors. Deep and expansive
taste with crisp finish.
SMV : +3 / Acidity : 1.8
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SHUTENDOUJI "OH-ONI" 720ml : $ 33
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Junmai ginjo nama genshu sake, from Kyoto
Flavorful & rich type. Fruity aromas of apple and white peach. Full-
bodied sake with deep flavor of rice and long finish.
SMV : +4 / Acidity : 1.9
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Also new to the store is one of my favorite "new" breweries from
Ishikawa that I will write more about in the next newsletter:
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Yuho "Happy Rice"
From Ishikawa Prefecture.
Junmai.
SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.9
An amazing nose filled with mint, caramel, cinnamon, cherry and
anise elements. This expansive and beefy Junmai is not your "mom's
Junmai!" It's a bum-rush of flavors and feelings that makes you take
the whole story in on each and every sip. Round and solid, look for
tangy and tart fruit flavors that are imbedded in a rich ricey flow
that has a surprisingly quick finish for so much flavor. The
wideness of this brew is evident from the get-go, and it represents
one of "those" sakes that you need to taste to complete your sake
education. So many things to so many palates, and so well balanced
to boot - just a special "style" sake that speaks to the large
drinking style of Ishikawa prefecture.
WORD: Expressive
WINE: Massive Reds/Complex Whites
BEER: Stouts
FOODS: Everything off of the grill, out of the ocean, on hooves and
claws, and buried deep in the soil.
$30/720ml
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Yuho "Happy Rice"
From Ishikawa Prefecture.
Junmai Ginjo.
SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.7
The nose on this expressive brew is filled with apples, beets,
steamed rice, cherries, and touch of citrus elements. This round and
smooth sake has a lot of movement from start to the very long
finish. Truly one of those "totem pole" brews that has a face and
flavor on each level from gentle caramel and rice tones to the
higher faces filled with granny smith, persimmon and apricot
expressions. In a word Yuho sakes are different, they drink very
uniquely and their style is both easy and difficult to detect. Good
for the beginning and great for the sake connoisseur. A full-bodied
Ginjo that has an echo finish and sweet/sour/and bitter smiles, all
balanced with a tasty flow.
WORD: Professional
WINE: Complex Reds/Deep Whites
BEER: Belgian Ales
FOODS: Anything from the sea and grill, from the sky and soil.
$36/720ml
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You can review many of our sakes on our web site.
Our inventory list is here.
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"Ask Beau" - "Don't Call Me Mr. Timken"
I get a lot of email. Too much quite frankly. And I love and try my
hardest to answer each and every "letter" with a lengthy and full
response. I could never just give a one line response to great readers
with even greater questions. That would suck and it is not me.
But one form of email that I truly want and have encouraged for years
is from readers looking to get the word out about sake. If you have a
shop, a book club, a tasting club, a restaurant, a blog or anything
about sake then send me an email and a link and I will share it with
our amazing Newsletter readers. For example:
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Mr Timken,
My name is Carlin, a member of the sake store Meishu no Yutaka's
staff. I have just launched a new English language blog for Meishu
no Yutaka, and I was wondering if it would be alright to link to
your site from it?
Meishu no Yutaka
I have been following your newsletter and site news for some time
now and would love to have your site listed as a friend of the blog.
The blog's main focus will be on Sake tasting, Trips that I make to
Sake Kura, and other bits of the sake world from the point of view
of a sake store in Japan (A side of the story you don't hear very
often in English). I look forward to joining forces with you to help
spread the word of Sake.
Also if you are ever in Sapporo, please let me know, I will be happy
to show you around.
Thank you very much
Carlin
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As I told Carlin, please never call me Mr. Timken and yes we are all
in this together. We are family and need to work together to get the
word out about sake albeit in San Francisco or Hokkaido! So please
send me your links and thoughts and let's keep preaching sake for the
betterment of sake.
Please send your sake specific questions to
askbeau2 @ truesake.com. (This
address is not for general questions and I only review the questions
once per month. All other correspondence should use
info @ truesake.com.)
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The SECRET WORD
Ah, at last we have reached the end of this Newsletter and that of
course means that we have come to the now-famous SECRET WORD. To those
who are new the SECRET WORD is a chance for you to try a sake of note
for half of that sake's original price. Just for reading this
Newsletter. It is our way of saying thank you for trying to understand
the wonders of sake. And in this regard we typically select a sake
with a story, and this month's story is 30% Milling. I wrote that in
bold because many folks are glancing directly at the bottom of this
section just to get the word. We do have a meaning for the SECRET WORD
sakes! We try to educate you to different brews and different nuances
within the sake industry. And yes this month's SWS is what may be
considered a "Junmai" and it does drink that way!
Please remember the rules: only one bottle per reader, and don't tell
your buddy at the moment if he/she isn't a Newsletter subscriber,
always use a hushed or secret agent voice when saying the SECRET WORD,
and lastly for those who have their sakes shipped we can only include
the SECRET WORD sake in a four-pack purchase - meaning you must buy
three other sakes.
This month's brew is a Junmai from Umenishiki "Oh Kara" that
represents a "Junmai" milling rate. It seems like today most "Junmai'"
are milled to 60%. In doing a quick canvassing of the store I counted
6 out of 10 "Junmais" that had been milled to "Ginjo" levels. Where
did 70% go? So this month's SWS is about milling to "traditional"
Junmai levels. So enjoy a dry Junmai that does better at room
temperature. We would usually sell this brew for $20, but for you
sake-jockeys we will part with this guy for $10.
And the SECRET WORD is... check your email inbox! We only give out the
SECRET WORD in the mailed Newsletter!
So sign up for the Newsletter!
Back to top
Thank you for reading!
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Consider this...
Green Sake - no don't do that! But remember that nama-zake in some
cases has a nice fresh tinge of green, almost electric green, to it.
This is best seen in a white ceramic cup, and truly represents fresh
sake.
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STORE HOURS
mon-sat:
12pm-7pm
sun:
11am-6pm
560 Hayes St., San Francisco, CA 94102
CONTACT US
415-355-9555
info @ truesake.com
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Sake - A Modern Guide
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