Dear Sake Drinker,
Welcome to the September Issue of America's sake-centric Newsletter.
In this issue read about sake in South Africa, the veggie burger and
sake challenge, two brews with same statistics getting Spotlighted,
why 1.8L bottles are a better value, your ability to order sake
on-line in 41 states, True Sake's new Twitter and Facebook accounts
and lastly but not least(ly)! your chance to
buy SakeDay'09 tickets
before they sell out!!
In this issue:
Sake Story - Back To My Humble Sake Beginnings
As I wrote in the introduction of my book - "Sake a Modern Guide" -
sake called to me in the strangest of places - in a dark and seedy
sushi bar in Cape Town, South Africa. Yes, that was when the seed
was planted - the hook was set - the snare took hold, but I had no
idea at the time. I went from a happy "hottie" - chugger of hot sake
only - to an explorer of rice and water in its most refined form. It
was an eye opening experience - one that would change my life, and
yet I did not see the long-term effect! What I did see was a
beverage that mystified me, and I needed answers.
In retrospect the story has an even funnier side that is not in the
book. For you see the kind Japanese fishermen who introduced me to
premium sake came back to Cape Town on numerous occasions. On the
initial evening of sake discovery when they shared their tasty Ginjo
from Niigata they let it be known that I could do something for
them. Those boozing fishermen wanted to play golf! So in my best
wheeling and dealing voice I said that I would trade them a round of
golf for another bottle of that wonderful sake. Cups clinked in
cheers, hands shook, and high fives sealed the deal. I arranged for
them to play at a local course, picked them up at their cheap hotel,
and took them for their round. The deal was one bottle of sake for
them to play 18. They gave me two at the end of the day. Why? One of
the captains hit a hole in one. Lucky me. I was pretty pumped about
my two bottles when the question came out of the blue "Can we do
this again?" What? "We will be back in three months - can we call
you to trade again?" Sure, but this time I'm thinking a case! "No
problem." And like that our deal was done and set in stone - they
would contact me via my home phone number when their fishing ships
were back in town. Truthfully I didn't think that I would ever see
them again.
Four months to the day I received a ship to shore phone call at 3AM
at my house - "Hello - Golfey" Huh? "Hello - golf play" What? "We
play golf?" Ohhhh my god it's you. "Yes - nihonshu for you!" Huh? (I
didn't know the name nihonshu then.) So they came back. I arranged
for another golf outing and they gave me a "case" of sake, which was
6 bottles. Is this a case? "Yes - case!" Oh okay! (The sake this
time was not the same - the last two bottles were brown and the new
ones were green and they were smaller. I wrote in my notes what they
told me the name was - KoshyKambi. Yes - you guessed it they had
given me Koshi no Kanbai from Niigata - the "ultimate" in sake for
those who want to name brand impress.
To make a long story short these fine gentlemen decided to tell all
of their shipping/fishing/seafaring friends about a white guy who
would trade rounds of golf for sake. My personal home line would
ring at all hours of the night - sometimes I would answer and hear
in broken English - "Golf?" "Please golf for nihonshu." In a word I
was un-amused and even though the prospects of great sake were so
enticing I changed my phone number. But those men did change my
life!
So last month I was back in Cape Town and the restaurant was gone!
The sushi counter where it all happened is now a memory. As I
trolled the market I realized that the "sushi" scene had actually
taken a step backwards! Despite a Nobu, which is now sort of like
the Benihana of raw fish, there are not that many sushi restaurants.
Fusion seems to rule the day, and within those fusion restaurants
not a lot of premium sake has taken hold. In fact, there is not a
lot of Jizake sake to be found anywhere. This is somewhat disturbing
as I thought for sure the sake scene would have improved since I
last was on African soil. That is not the case - just the same large
Kobe macro-brewery sakes are available.
In the grand scheme I always liken South Africa to be roughly 2-3
years behind fads - witnessed this for cigar bars etc - and perhaps
sake will start to flourish later this year - their summer. But - if
Europe is an example then I think Cape Town and all of South Africa
will lag behind the growing sake trend in the west. Too bad, because
a lot of African foods lend themselves to sake - don't believe me?
Check out next month's Sake Challenge where we took sake head to
head with cuisine from Senegal!
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Sake Shipping - 41 Sates Are Now A Go!
My word - where in the hell are all of those people who have been
clamoring and brow-beating and verbally assaulting me for not
shipping to their corner of the world? Your ship has come in! The
shipping ship has docked and it's time for you to start ordering
sake on-line from our partners at SakeSocial.com. The
inventory is now the largest and most legal available. So order with
confidence. Look for names that you know - or use our handy dandy
Sake Selector, which uses all of my Sake TasteMatch techniques to
help you select brews that speak to you.
There are only 9 sad and lonely states that we cannot ship to - that
means 41 states are ripe for some really great sake to be dropped at
your doorstep.
What about all of you who wanted monthly sake clubs? Tadah! We have
some awesome clubs where I select the brews! Get your butt over to
www.sakesocial.com read my blogs, read and post on the
forums, but most of all start ordering sake on-line!
BUT! When you order make certain to use the promo code - truesake -
when checking out!
Click here to visit the SakeSocial.com store.
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Sake Spotlight - Rob Mathews Goes 2 For The Price of None!
"Sake Spotlight" is a unique section within the Newsletter that
takes a closer look at specific sakes that may be purchased at True
Sake. I approach different professionals within the industry to give
their perspectives and insights to the how, what and why's for very
special sakes. These insiders are importers, brewers, authors, sake
sommeliers, or just enthusiasts who will take your knowledge base a
little further. What I like about this segment is that often my
review is quite different than that of the guest professional's
adding to the point that there is no right or wrong when discussing
your opinion about sake.
I'm glad to say that this month's Sake Spotlight was a true
challenge! One of my favorite customers entered the store on the
wrong - or in this case the very right day - when I was feeling
frisky and impish! (Did I just type that?) Let's just say that I was
in a goofy mood when Rob Mathews walked in and I said are you ready
to write a Sake Spotlight? He agreed, but almost wavered when I said
"BUT WAIT!" I wanted to test Rob as per how sakes test us! So I gave
Rob two sakes from two different prefectures made with two different
rice types and made in two different manufacturing methods - but
with the exact same SMV and Acidity levels. And the point is? Well,
my point in principal is that SMV and Acidity mean a lot and can
mean nothing at all - they are a benchmark or a handhold grip to
understanding a brew, but they can also mean nothing!
Rob Mathews lives in Silicon Valley and works in high-tech
engineering and marketing. We met at a food and sake pairing that I
led. Evidently I impressed him with a killer pairing of truffled mac
and cheese with a nigori and some recommendations for izakayas in
Tokyo. Herewith is Rob's story about two sakes that should or could
be considered almost the same in certain capacities, but are
actually quite different!
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Sake Spotlight - Chikurin vs. Kokuryu
I keep sake in my Vinoteque. Don't get the wrong idea -- mostly I
keep vino in there -- but over the past few years, sake poked its
nose into the tent. Let me explain... or alternatively, you can
skip down to the sake tasting notes.
Wine came first for me. I gave it a 35-year head start. After a
few years of reading and taking wine classes, in 1976, a friend
of mine and I went to the inaugural meeting of a wine-tasting
group. That night, he met his wife-to-be. I met several people
who are close friends to this day. That tasting was the birth of
the Wine Group With No Name. We still taste, drink, make, drink,
age, and drink wine together.
Meanwhile, across the Pacific, the Japanese had been making sake
for hundreds of years or so. I didn't care. Great wine from Napa
was cheap and easily available. Great wine from France and
Germany was affordable. My friends and I spent our alcohol
tolerance on wine. (OK, and on cognac and single malts.)
Five or six years ago, I started traveling to Japan on business
two or three times a year. I had a few sakes with dinners. My
Japanese friends gave me sake as gifts. Applying my vast wine
experience, I tried to make sense of them, but sampling them one
at a time wasn't helping.
So about two years ago, I decided to start to educate myself about
sake. I read books on sake. Four of us went to a food and sake
pairing led by our editor-in-chief, Beau Timken. I started going
to izakayas in Tokyo with my Japanese business friends. We
started ordering two or three sakes at once so that we could
compare them.
Before, I couldn't even spell kikizake-shi; now, having
experienced several dozen sakes, I am one. Or probably not, but
I'm learning.
I visited True Sake a week ago to reload the sake stash in my
Vinoteque. Beau selected two brews for my friends and me to
compare, on the condition that I write about them. Now I'm taking
up space in Beau's newsletter.
Naturally, I wanted to compare the sakes carefully and clinically.
Accordingly, I brought them to a combined winemaking event and
casual get-together. First, some of us pressed our half-fermented
Pinot Grigio, which is almost rosé-colored because... oh, sorry,
back to sake. Then more people arrived for a casual Friday
dinner. During the ensuing chaos of dinner and wine, I held forth
on sake with whoever wanted to listen and a few people who
didn't.
(Start here to skip the history and get on with the main event.)
We compared two junmai ginjos, Kokuryu "Black Dragon" and Chikurin
"Bamboo Forest" Karoyaka. Both are +3/1.4, dated May '09. Their
similarities mostly end there.
First, we tasted them without food. We observed our usual strict
tasting protocol of trying to influence each other as much as
possible.
The consensus favorite without food was the Chikurin. It looks a
touch yellow. It offers gigantic, complex smells and flavors of
nuts, spices, citrus, and stone fruit. Mulled wine notes, even
mince-pie- spice notes. It feels fairly viscous, seems a little
sweet, and has a super-long, complex finish.
In comparison, the Kokuryu looks nearly clear. It has a delicate
peach/ cherry nose, touches of nuts in the flavors, and seems
sharper and more alcoholic. Surprisingly, it is also fairly full-
bodied, but less than the Chikurin. It also seems a little sweet,
and has a fairly long finish. Generally, the nose led us to
expect a "cleaner" style, so the flavors surprised us. It's nice,
but finished round one in second place.
For dinner, we had the sort of sakana that Beau talks about: BBQ'd
sausage, corn on the cob with butter, spinach salad with feta...
nothing even vaguely Japanese. The seven or eight wines were
mostly big reds. Beau didn't pick the sakes for these foods.
Could these two stand up to this onslaught?
Breaded, fried eggplant, anyone? Sign me up, and I'll have
Chikurin with it. The eggplant is fairly mild, letting the
intense Chikurin act almost like a sauce. I rate the combo WWC,
Works World Class in Beau notation.
Next time you have grilled sausage, try the Kokuryu. It
counterbalances the meat in a palate-cleansing kind of way.
Several of us liked its touch of sweetness and fruit with sausage
and Dijon mustard. Several of us also rated this combo WWC.
Since I just used WWC twice, I'll need to add a higher ranking to
Beau's system for the last combo. I suggest WOW, works
outrageously well.
Try St. André cheese with Chikurin. Sip, cheese, sip, slosh in
your mouth. The triple-cream lays down a mild, unctuous base for
the sake's complex flavors. Everyone who tried it loved it. Bleu
and goat cheese worked well, too, but not to WOW level. Hold out
for St. André.
Thankfully we discovered this combo at the end of evening.
Otherwise, several of us might be dead from clogged arteries by
now.
In closing, both sakes make excellent choices in the right
situation. Surprisingly, both of them drink more like +0/1.4 than
+3/1.4, so expect a touch of sweetness. Pick the Chikurin if
you're sharing sake with a wine drinker. Pick the Kokuryu if you
want a more mainstream sake. Or better yet, pick both and compare
them.
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Ahhhhhh very tricky Rob - combining the Sake Spotlight with the Sake
Challenge - well done! Thank you for showing the vast differences
between two brews that should be in the same ballpark, but as you
point out are really two separate beasts all together. I will add my
reviews for these two brews here and will say that they both are
superb sakes - absolutely superb! I will also recommend that if you
would like to challenge yourself, by all means come in and we will
offer you a big selection of sakes with the same SMV and Acidity for
you to attack.
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Chikurin Karoyaka "Bamboo Forest"
From Okayama Prefecture.
Junmai Ginjo.
SMV: +3 Acidity: 1.4
This Ginjo is actually milled to 50% Dai Ginjo levels, and has a
gentle aroma profile with hints of plum, yellow bell pepper,
grass, and sunflowers. Think silky when first tasting this
extremely soft Ginjo that is so clean it is almost watery. There
are taste treasures of apricot, watermelon, white grapes, and a
hint of cherries in this semi-thick "like water" brew. The
slippery semi-dry flow is perfect for those looking to find a
gentle sake void of harsh booziness.
WORD: Slippery
WINE: Soft reds/silky whites
BEER: Clean ales
FOODS: Sushi, sashimi, grilled white fish, creamy risotto.
$18/300ml $35/720ml
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Kokuryu "Black Dragon"
From Fukui Prefecture.
Junmai Ginjo.
SMV: +3 Acidity: 1.4
A tantalizing nose filled with hints of roasted coffee, mint,
salt water taffy, tropical flowers, grapes and honey. This
extremely well balanced sake achieves the near impossible of
being both expansive in character and clean in feeling. There
hints of fruits, minerals, and caramel but also peek-a-boo
layers of grains and umami. Almost sweet and savory at once with
a dry quick finish.
WORD: Big Clean
WINE: Merlot/Pinot Noir/Sauvignon Blanc
BEER: Blond Ales/Hefeweizen
FOODS: Anything Grilled!
$32/720ml
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Sake Challenge - Sake vs. Veggie Burgers
I am on a spiritual sake quest that will finally put a nail in the
coffin of "sake can only be consumed at a sushi restaurant" mantra.
Wake up people! Food and sake go together - always have and always
will. If it has a tail, roots, feathers, leaves, or a damn beak sake
will go with it - anytime and any place. And that is my quest - the
place or origin of the cuisine does not matter. It can be Spanish,
Italian, Brazilian or ughhhh British chow and sake will walk the
walk. Japan has chickens! Japan has salad! Japan has beef! Japan has
spicy and savory dishes! Japan has sweet and salty fare, so why not
think about having sake with these "tones" from other countries?
The Sake Challenge is my way for you great consumers to see outside
of the sushi paradigm, and to achieve this "new view on brew" I will
usually select two different sake styles and price-points and bring
them to a non-Japanese restaurant with a celebrity, sake-sleuth or
hell even a friend in tow. Read about past challenges:
When reviewing restaurants and their specific cuisines paired with
sake I use the following criteria:
- Works World Class (WWC)
- Works Well (WW)
- Works (W)
- Does Not Work (DNW)
This criterion is more true to the mission of bringing a beverage to
a restaurant not knowing what you will pair with. The point is to
make the general pairings "work." Rare is the day that you bring a
specific wine or sake to pair with a specific dish - we look for
generalities and the entire eating/drinking experience. Think of
fishing with a net as opposed to a hook and line - a pairing is
supposed to reach out and catch more flavors as opposed to just
hitting one match.
Ahhhhh! And what was this month's crazy challenge? Unlike past
challenges where we attacked certain specific cuisines - this month
we went after one unlikely candidate - Veggie-burgers! Why
Veggieburgers? Why not? The idea was hatched over dinner with two
True Sake supporters (Ash and Tim), who gladly offered the use of
their grill and their food posse. So a party was born! All in the
name of science and sake betterment!
We decided to not only pair sake with Veggie-burgers, but all non-
meat burgers that we could get our hands on from Boca Burgers to
some weird as all get out spicy tofu/humus burgers (the worst was a
falafel burger that tasted like gas on saw dust) . Five different
burgers graced the grill with ten tasters! But what sakes to bring?
I decided to bring a wide offering of rich style sakes without a lot
of fruity brews. Basically my thinking was that good "pub sakes"
would probably go best with the burgers. Herewith is the list of
brews and some thoughts from all as to how they performed:
- Ban Ryu Honjozo: Was a pretty popular pairing. Folks liked the
round and savory flavor match, which made for a smooth and
drinkable experience. "Nice!" "Good balance" "Super smooth" were
some of the comments that stood out. I liked the savory play,
brought out a little saltiness and richness in the burgers.
- Kamoizumi Junmai Ginjo: Was a fan favorite! One of the top pairing
partners of the evening. The strength of the brew matched all of
the different textures and flavors of all 5 burgers - a pretty
impressive showing. It was big and rich and blanketed the charcoal
flavors of the burgers hot off the grill. Full-bodied and deep
this was a top 3 veggie burger sake.
- Hakkaisan Junmai: This brew took a pounding as its thin and dry
characteristics could not stand up to all of the action. Balance
was lost - and the brew fell by the way side. Some liked the
teriyaki burger with this Junmai, but on the whole it was voted
down to the back of the pack. This was surprising as I thought
that it would go savory and jump to the salty fare.
- Gokyo Junmai: This Junmai did something odd for the brew itself,
which is rich and round, as it became a solid wash of flavors. The
sake went thin! I couldn't believe it. The Gokyo went best with
the Garden Burger (which ended being the best tasting burger) but
had some difficulty with the Sunshine Burger, which had some eggy
and tofu flavors. All in all it did okay and made rice and water
and veggie burger work together in an effective pairing.
- Takenotsuyu Junmai: "Elongated the herb quality of the veggie
burger and worked well," was one of the many quality comments
about this very good pairing sake. This "Bamboo Tears" sake was in
the top three for pairing with the hot off the grill veggie
burgers. Smooth and solid and quite simply just worked - a very
good feeling and flavor pairing. Rich, round, savory and elegant
the sake took each mouthful and made it better. • Niwa No Iguisu
Daruma Junmai: This brew was on the love it or hate it bandwagon -
no tweeners! It worked well with the odd flavored burgers like the
Boca Burger, but did not do so well with more gentle burger
flavors. The sake itself is big and bad! The pairings had to be
more robust and active to be effective, otherwise the largeness of
the brew was too distracting.
- Kiminoi Yamahai Junmai Ginjo: A round of applause arose for the
Kiminoi and bun pairing - yes!- this brew rocked with the buns. It
also did remarkably well with each and every burger. A very
versatile sake that is truly flavorful and very drinkable. Rich
and round, smooth and balanced this brew was in the top three
favorite sake and veggie burger pairing sakes. I liked this sake a
lot and feel very comfortable that it works for all.
In Summary:
I know sake goes well with "real" burgers! But what about those who
eat things like veggie burgers? Is there a home for them? You bet!
We tasted 7 sakes with 5 different meat-free burgers, and the
results were a lot of raised eyebrows. Some brews did better than
others (Takenotsuyu, Kiminoi, Kamoizumi), but all in all they did
okay on most levels. Each brew had an action with the pairing - some
washed better than others, some enhanced better than others, and
some created better flavors than others. I do know that richer and
more full-bodied sakes do better with grill-gracers like veggie
burgers, and try to stay away from more fruity sakes. But the bottom
line remains - when you think of veggie burgers think of sake. Yes!
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Sake Tweeting! - True Sake Now Does Twitter & Facebook
Yup - ye'ol fuddy duddy has gone the way of the future. Dragged
kicking and screaming (well not exactly) Team True Sake convinced me
to venture into the land of instantaneous and the land of immediate.
With the help of everybody we will be keeping you abreast of all
things True Sake! Last week on Twitter we announced a secret sake
tasting that occurred on a Saturday - Oh and the sake tasting was
free and illegal! Hint Hint - wink wink! The Facebook has all sorts
of event info that is far more current than this here monthly rag!
So if you want the latest inventory specials, announcements about
special guests at the store, updates as to which brews are drinking
great and all other sake commentary that is as fresh as our sakes
then check us out at:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/truesake
Facebook: Search for "True Sake" and find our fan page!
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Sake Reminder - SAKEDAY 2009 - "Our Signature Event"
Thursday, October 1st
October 1st is "Nihonshu No Hi" (pronounced "he"), the day of sake
in Japan. Be a part of history when the world stops for a day and
sake lives for a night!
True Sake's signature tasting event SakeDay will be - per usual -
October 1st at the JCC on California Street! This is the "Smarter"
Sake Tasting! We focus on fun and education - so call your people
and remind them to circle Thursday October 1st on their calendars.
Welcome sake, sake and food parings, Japanese "street food" station,
unique tasting stations, and multiple vendor stations with new and
classic sakes. Live Okinawan band and many raffles! Nearly 100 sakes
to explore!
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Jewish Community Center of San Francisco: Kanbar Hall
3200 California Street (and Presidio Avenue)
Muni Bus #1, paid parking available in the building
5:30 - 7:30 Registration (valid I.D. required)
6:00 - Doors open
Advance ticket: $80 per person ($85 cash at the door)
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Buy tickets online at SakeDay.com
(September 1st through 30th)
Questions: call True Sake at (415) 355-9555
Presented by True Sake and Mari's Catering
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Sake Events - BT at The Commonwealth Club, John's Vegas Course
September 14th - BT at The Commonwealth Club
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Sake Tasting with Beau Timken, Owner, True Sake
Learn all about this ancient libation and sample some of the best
sake around
Join New York Times-acclaimed author and sake expert Timken for an
evening of sake exploration and appreciation. This tasting and
lecture will move sake from its ancient past to today, focusing on
how "nihonshu" (sake) made its way to the West and has often been
misunderstood in the process.
Timken will pour representative
brews that will explore the categories of sake, highlighting the
impact of this 1,000 year-old libation on the modern culinary
scene. A San Francisco original, Timken is the owner of True Sake,
the first dedicated sake store in America.
- MLF: Asia-Pacific Affairs
- Location: SF Club Office
- Time: 5:30 p.m. networking reception, 6 p.m. program
- Cost: $20 members, $35 non-members
- Program Organizer: David Platt
Purchase tickets on the Commonwealth Club website.
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November 2-4 / John Gauntner's Sake Professional Course in Las Vegas!
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Hey Beau, Please remind folks that I will be running the first Las
Vegas running of the Sake Professional Course on November 2, 3 and
4 at the MGM Grand. The hotel is also offering a discounted rate
for the participants. The course "leaves no sake stone unturned,"
and ends with certification testing for those that are interested.
Inquiries and reservations can be handled by email to
sakecoursestateside@sake-world.com.
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New Store Arrivals: Shinzui "The Quintessence" & Takenotsuyu Brewing Water
As you know there are always new brews floating around the store! We
also have some really great small batch offerings in the pipeline -
so keep your eyes peeled! But in the meantime we have two wonderful
additions of note. The first is one of the most dynamic and
"Voluptuous" Junmai Daiginjos that I have tasted in a while - a big
and bombastic beast that comes in the most handsome wooden box -
this brew is one of those gift to yourself sakes! The second fella'
to grace the shelves is simply water! Yup a non-alcoholic sake from
Yamagata. Huh? Sake with no alcohol - like "near beer" or "fake
wine"? Nope this is the purest form of non-alcoholic sake in the
business, because it is just water! Hah! Read on!
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Shinzui "The Quintessence"
From Hiroshima Prefecture.
Junmai Daiginjo Genshu.
SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.6
This superbly packaged brew has a voluminous nose filled with
strawberry, melon, banana, vanilla, and spring onion elements.
Talk about one of "Those" kind of sakes that has attitude,
complexity and supreme drinkability. Round, chewy, fat and solid
with a smorgasbord of flavors that ride on a smooth genshu
(undiluted) feeling. How can so many fruity elements - berries,
melon, kiwi, and tropical fruits - drink with such a comfortable
dryness? The balance is off the charts solid, which is so unique
considering how bright this sake drinks. Go spelunking for the
vein of vanilla and use a mid-sized glass for best acidity
distribution.
WORD: Voluptuous
WINE: Bordeaux/French Chardonnay
BEER: Belgian Ales
FOODS: Complex fare, ptés, smoked fish, grilled game, steak.
$110/720ml
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Hakuro Suishu Tennen Hadousui
From Yamagata Prefecture.
Pure Brewing Water.
SMV: N/A Acidity: N/A
If water is 80% the final product of sake then it is imperative
to use good water for making sake. Some breweries are so proud
of their water that they bottle and sell it! Takenotsuyu has
brilliant brewing water and every sake drinker as some point in
time should taste - in pure form - the essential element in sake
production. Good water makes good sake and great water makes
great sake. This producer brings a bottle of water to every sake
tasting for his sakes because he wants you to taste the source -
the base and most profound component of his brews. Why not grab
a couple of his sakes and taste them with this water to judge
for yourself the true sake experience. This is your chance to
taste pure Japanese brewing water.
$22/1.8L
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You can review many of our sakes on our web site.
Our inventory list is here.
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True Sake Selects - Team True Sake Select Monthly Brews of Note
Welcome to "True Selects" - featured sakes that are selected and
championed by Miwa, Lynette, and Keiko - our three 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.
Miwa's Pick:
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Sawa Sawa Sparkling Nigori
From Nara Prefecture
Junmai Sparkling Nigori
SMV: -55 / Acidity: 2.3
This bottle-fermented sparking sake has a pleasant aroma of
citrus, peach and yogurt. Unique scent of koji rice is also
present. When you sip, silky tinny bubbles tickle your pallet,
and you find a nice balance of rice sweetness and lemon zest
bitterness. The sake has a nice clean finish and leaves no
sugary sweetness. Light and refreshing, it is great afternoon
sip on Indian summer day.
$6/250ml
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Lynette's pick:
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Daishichi Kimoto Junmai "Shizenshu"
From Fukushima.
Kimoto Junmai.
SMV: + 2 Acidity: 1.5
This organic rice brew is from the famous brewery that makes a
majority of their sakes using the kimoto method (poll rammed
sake). True Sake used to carry this full-bodied smooth Junmai 5
years ago - Now it's back! $36/720ml If you like kimoto-type
sakes then come taste the original.
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"Ask Beau" - "Why don't people drink the big bottles more?"
David R from Michigan - you are a man after my own heart! (No not
like that). David asked me a question about value in sake, and I
told him that in all honesty bigger is better, especially in regards
to imported sake from Japan.
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"When I went to Japan everybody drank out of the large bottles,
why don't people drink the big bottles more here in the US?"
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There are a couple of answers here! Firstly, when in Japan you
probably went to izakayas to drink your sake - and yes they all pour
using the 1.8L bottles called ishobin. Why? Cheaper! They make more
money pouring out of larger bottles! Plain and simple. (Some will
argue that sake tastes better out of a larger bottle ala a magnum -
I'm not convinced) They also turnover their product fast enough that
"freshness" is not an issue.
When in a fridge at a restaurant - let's talk about a display fridge
- one big bottle takes up less space than two smaller 720ml bottles
of the same brew. Huh? Yup - an owner of an izakaya in Kyoto once
showed me the "dynamics" of display and the bigger bottles as he
pointed out fit better in the fridge then several of the same
smaller bottles - two little bottles side by side took up more
space. Plus as he pointed out - there is something very majestic
about the larger bottles - they look the part!
Now in a retail sense - in Japan the smaller bottles are used more
for gifting! For example the higher end Daiginjos only come in small
bottles - when you go to a sake/alcohol shop the small bottles go
more as gifts and the local drinkers pick up the bigger bottles.
Why? Again - value! You get more bang for your yen in a large 1.8L
bottle. And the same holds true here in the US!
If you want value or are looking to spend less for more then think
big! For example we sell the very tasty Tsukasabotan Senchu Hassaku
in both 720ml and 1.8L. This round, smooth and dry brew does well
the day after the day after the day etc after being opened! Thus it
is a great candidate for a value play as the 720ml (24oz) bottle
runs $34 and the 1.8L (60oz) bottles goes for $54. Right there is
some serious sake value!
Go big when you go home!
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.
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 our first koshu or aged sake for our esteemed
Secret Word sake enthusiast. Koshu sake is not for everybody - there
I said it - BUT you will never know until you try! We at True Sake
love and push koshu as much as possible, and you should at the very
least make an effort once to taste a sake that was made to "get
old." This particular Koshu is called Shirakami no Nemuri roughly
translated "Sleep of White God" or "Sleeping Sake" from Aomori
prefecture and is a good example of the richness that can be found
in a brew that was laid down for 16 years. We usually would sell
this brew for $42, but for you sake-jockeys we will part with all
720ml for $21.
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!
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Thank you for reading!
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Consider this...
On a global average Japan has very soft water compared to other
nations. Soft water makes for softer sakes. Historically an area
called Fushimi which is in Kyoto has some of the softest water and
subsequently some of the softest sakes available.
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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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