Kaori Tsuru Junmai Daiginjo
It’s blisteringly hot in NYC today, so we’re staying indoors with this hidden gem from Yamaguchi’s Yamagata Honten, Kaori Tsuru. Its light, tropical aroma and refreshing, citrusy flavor makes it a fantasitc sake for a warm afternoon.
Hanagaki Usu-Nigori Junmai Daiginjo
Every once in a while, a label truly surprises me. I’m very familiar with the offerings of Nanbu Shozu’s Hanagaki line of sake, but I was completely unfamiliar with their Usu-NIgori Junmai Daiginjo. I was admittedly not even familiar with the concept of “Usu-Nigori,” which is a very light style of nigori that John Gautner describes in the following way:
There is also something known as usu-nigori, or thin nigori. This is nigorizake that has been pressed so that only a fine mist of lees remains within the bottle. Naturally this allows more of the original nature of the sake to come through, with only a bit of added acidity and big flavor coming through as a result of the remaining lees.
I’m not sure if it’s that “original nature” coming through, but this label has that crisp freshness that reminds me of drinking fresh sake in Japan. Combined with its silky texture and smooth flavor, It’s quite a treat!
Yamatan Masamune Moon Light 1831 Junmai Daiginjo
Ever since 2011, I’ve brought a bottle of Yamatan Masamune Junmai Daiginjo home with me every time I’ve visited Japan. I find their take on the popular high-polish Yamada-Nishiki formula to be something special and well worth my time.
This year, I had the opportunity to meet Nobuki Yagi, the brewery’s Kuramoto, at the PIA Spring Sake Festival in Shibuya. We had a nice conversation regarding my enthusiasm for his labels as I lamented the fact that I need to travel to Japan in order to have his sake. This comment was met with good news, as they are currently working hard on working out a deal to export their selection to the United States.
We can only hope it happens soon.
In addition to the brewery’s usual selection, Yagi-san was also serving samples of a Junmai Daiginjo called Moon Light 1831. I was fortunate enough to buy a bottle when I was leaving the event.
This label uses Matsuyama Mii rice polished to 50% and features a clean, yet very bold and fruity taste. i doubt that this will be a regular offering, as i don’t see it listed anywhere on their website, but it’s nice to see them branching out and trying to do things with different kinds of rice.
In the meantime, i’ll continue to look forward to buying their labels in the US soon!
Sake Bar Shigure, New York City, April, 2015
Sake Bar Shigure came very highly recommended by just about everyone I had spoken to about it. This Tribeca sake bar’s atmosphere is very relaxed with light jazz filling its exposed brick walls. Shigure features around 40 types of sake, as well as a generous selection of shochu, whiskey and beer. Among their sake selections I found some very hard to find brews such as Hayashi Honten’s Hyakujuro Junmai and Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo (a personal favorite of mine that I almost never see in New York). We found the staff to be very knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and eager to give recommendations.
