For God's Sake! Is There a Sake Sommelier out There?

[ChrisTaylor]

 

Shirakawago Sasanigori, an unfiltered sake. Off-milk appearance. Sour, yeasty, boozy on the nose--reminds me of the kind of Southern African home brew that inspired this rather charming song:

 

 

On the palate it's a little sharp and sour without crossing into unpleasant, bile-like territory. There's a bit of overripe banana going on there. A bit of a rough finish. A little bit is a lot, yeah, but it's closer to being perfect snow than the one that was actually marketed as perfect snow.

 

EDIT

 

A fair while in, as the drink slowly warms up to room temperature, a pleasant honey sweetness has appeared on the tail end. So far as unfiltered sake goes, this is pretty banging.

[tanstaafl2]

Have you drifted into the world of Shochu yet? Kind of like running sake through the still I suppose. We got an unexpected tutorial on Wednesday when our local Sake Master brought in a Shochu Master visiting from NYC (both are originally from Japan).

 

Apparently better quality Shochu (which is different from the Korean Soju although for marketing reasons, at least here in the US, the bottle is sometimes labeled as Soju) is often aged although usually in stainless steel tanks rather than wood. There are a few exceptions and there are getting to be some flavored versions as well. 

 

We started the day with one of our usual Wednesday tastings that was going to include a bit of tequila for Cinco de Mayo, a new and unusual Canadian bottling called Alberta Rye Dark Horse (a predominantly rye whiskey with 8% Old Grand-Dad Bourbon and 1% Sherry added), a few Whistlepigs in a blind tasting and the 2014 Laphroaig Cairdeas for "dessert".

 

 

But things quickly got out of hand when nine bottles of Shochu arrived! That was followed by 2 other distributor reps with wine and more whisky in tow and we of course were obligated to try it all. After all, it is only polite...

 

 

For some reason my memory is a bit fuzzy (!) but the first three were barley based with the Kintaro a rather funky roasted barley version. The next three were Sweet Potato based with the middle bottle at an undiluted 76 or so proof (most are cut closer to 50 proof). The one of the left with the blue label was a tasty version made with malted sweet potato (I think). The final three were rice based and my least favorite even though one had a bit of barrel aging. The one on the right was citrus flavored (Limes I think) and had a nose that was a lot like Sprite. Alas the palate was rather non descript.  

 

The Ark Jakuunbaku and the two sweet potato versions on the left and middle were my favorite and the leftovers somehow managed to come home with me!

 

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

We started the day with one of our usual Wednesday tastings that was going to include a bit of tequila for Cinco de Mayo, a new and unusual Canadian bottling called Alberta Rye Dark Horse (a predominantly rye whiskey with 8% Old Grand-Dad Bourbon and 1% Sherry added), a few Whistlepigs in a blind tasting and the 2014 Laphroaig Cairdeas for "dessert".

 

If you care to share your Whistlepig results in one thread or another, I would be most interested.  Assuming, of course, that you remember.  Tonight I went with a generous goblet of Colonel Taylor as my digestive.*

 

Unfortunately sake is one thing that puts me in my place.  I have a few interesting bottles to assay when I feel up to it.

 

 

Edit:  *and while waiting for my sous vide hamburger patties to finish anovaing before I go to bed, the smallest sip of Whistlepig.  Or at least that was my intention as I tipped out the bottle.

 

Someday I will determine whether I prefer Whistlepig or Colonel Taylor.  That shall be a sad day indeed.

Edited May 9, 2015 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[tanstaafl2]

If you care to share your Whistlepig results in one thread or another, I would be most interested.  Assuming, of course, that you remember.  Tonight I went with a generous goblet of Colonel Taylor as my digestive.*

 

.

 

 

Ah, therein lies the rub! I remember but my palate (and my underlying bias) was perhaps not at its best by the end of that particular day. To be truly fair I need to reevaluate the Whistlepig on a another day. I am already biased against the Old World bottling as it is 90 proof and sourced from MGP in Indiana rather than the more typical Canadian rye from Alberta. So I plan to redo them blind as soon as possible.

 

Hopefully tomorrow!

 

 

Someday I will determine whether I prefer Whistlepig or Colonel Taylor.  That shall be a sad day indeed.

 

 

Why so sad? There is room for everyone to get along!

 

[ChrisTaylor]

 

The entry-level junmai version of a sake I'd enjoyed previously. Less complex but still good. On the nose it is ricey, grain-y. A bit of booze peeking through. On the palate there's a sweetness to the entry ... junmai-y, rice-y savouriness. Rounded. Smooth. A tiny bit of bitterness--never unpleasant. Sweet again. Almost sticky but not ... cloying, if that makes sense. Savoury-sweet finish.

[ChrisTaylor]

It's been a while since I've spotted something new in the small bottle format at Hong Kong Supermarket. Here we have a junmai from Osakazuki.

 

 

It smells really interesting. Big fruit. Some kind of stone fruit, maybe. Berry. Strawberry? Dunno. Big and fruity on the palate, too. Quite boozy--without crossing into that sharp bitterness of some of the other sakes I've had. Rather cheering on a cold night. 

[ChrisTaylor]

 

Rihaku 'Blue Purity' junmai. Sweetish entry. Somewhat complex. Stonefruity. A bit of bitterness. Savouriness. Sweetness again--dried fruit. Easy drinking.

[ChrisTaylor]

 

Tezukuri junmai. Interesting aroma, even through a semi-blocked nose. A certain smokiness to it. Fruity. Sweet fading into savoury and back to fruit. Long finish. Strawberry-ish on the end.

[ChrisTaylor]

 

Tokubetsu junmai. Smells booze, rice-y (in the sense the aroma is fairly generic--there's no obvious fruitiness or anything like that). A little bittersweet, leaning towards maybe the bitter. Not all that interesting. But it's alcoholic and, sometimes, that's enough.

[ChrisTaylor]

A junmai sake Fukushima's Daishichi sake brewery made using the kimoto method. I had no idea what that meant so I went to Daishichi's website. It provides some clarity, I guess. There's also a rather ... encouraging word about radiation leaks. I tried it chilled (and found it flat) before gently warming it, as per the brewer's instructions. When warmed the nose is boozy. The palate is savoury but fruity. There's a bit of grape going on there.

 

[ChrisTaylor]

The Demon Slayer--a junmai sake named by a thirteen-year-old JRPG fan. The label says it's fruity and it tells no lies. The nose reminds me of pineapple, banana lollies. On the palate it's a little sweet ... fruity sweet. Balanced, tho'. Not my favourite thing in the world but not bad.

 

[ChrisTaylor]

 

I bought this one because the bottle looked cool. It's a kimoto junmai: Shochikubai Shirakabegura. On the palate it's nose and, well, boozy. Harsh. On the palate it's more approachable than you'd expect. It strikes me as a bit bland. Maybe the temperature's all wrong (although I've generally found junmais to be best lightly chilled) but it's very ... closed. A bit sweet--like, honey sweet--but tres restrained. There's some melony whatnot going on there too, I guess. But there's a boozy bitterness. It's okay, I mean, but I kind of wished I'd been able to find this in the smaller format.

[haresfur]

 

Rihaku 'Blue Purity' junmai. Sweetish entry. Somewhat complex. Stonefruity. A bit of bitterness. Savouriness. Sweetness again--dried fruit. Easy drinking.

This is the only small bottle at my Dan Murphy's so I decided to play along. Not bad. Seemed a touch watery to me but I don't know if that's normal. But yeah, I'll have no problem finishing the bottle.

[ChrisTaylor]

Sake and Stephenson in the sun on a Saturday afternoon. Otokoyama Tokubetsu Junmai Namachozo. I dug the bird on the can. A bit sweet on the palate but creamy, too. Like, the greasy mouthfeel I associate with dairy. Then it's a little sour ... Sour in the funky, rather than citric, sense.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I am a sake novice but this is perhaps the most enjoyable sake I have had:

 

 

 

Manabito Kimoto Junmai Ginjo.  Paired very well with grilled hamachi.