yukiI visited three sake breweries along the Tokaido Highway in Koka City, Shiga Prefecture during my Bon vacation.
This is not my first visit to Shiga sake, but I'm looking forward to it since I haven't been able to explore the area much...
First up was Hatsuzakura. I had bought some at a nearby roadside station, Ai no Tsuchiyama, but this time I went to the brewery.
I was greeted by Tobita-kun, Shiga's famous pop-up boy 😬.
This small brewery uses locally grown rice to brew their sake.
The lineup includes both fire-brewed and unpasteurized versions. Some of the bottles were 7 years old!
The first was a special junmai (pure rice) draft made with Shiga Prefecture's royalty, Tamakae.
I'm curious about the particularity of mixing only 7% with other rice!
It's R2BY, so it's been laid down for about 2 to 2.5 years.
The aroma is strongly alcoholic, but with a hint of apple.
The acidity is umami but clean and dry. The impression is polite and clean.
It is the type of sake that enhances its umami when used as a food sake.
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