Shimeharitsuru Tsuki Honjozo

The nose on this extremely cool Niigata sake is a gentle collection of steamed rice, vanilla, mint, hay, toast, and nougat aromas. Stop the presses! This is one of those "Bucket List" brews that every sake drinker on their sake path should try that is void of the word fruit! There are no fruity aromas, and there are no fruity flavors. Huh? Doesn't that just mean dry ricey sake? Nope, it means clean, smooth, soft, creamy, silky, easy, and gentle sake with a brilliant, dry finish. It’s so subtle, but is it? Look for powdered sugar, nougat, burnt sugar, caramel, vanilla, rock candy, mineral water, and honey ice cream flavors that drink drier than you would think. This is very cool sake. 100% guaranteed coolness. WORD: Smooth WINE: Light Reds/Creamy Whites BEER: Light Clean Ales FOODS: All day long izakaya pub fare.