We had Ocean 99 Kukai by Kangiku.
The other day it was a special-order draft, but this is the regular version, once-hot-brewed.
It's not every day that you get a chance to get the same sake both on draft and fire-aged at the same time, so of course I put them both side by side and compared them.
The result is that the Betsuatsurai is sweeter, richer in flavor and juicier, so much so that it is easy to tell even if you try it blind.
Of course, the Betsujusai also has a refreshing taste like an airplane flying over Kujukuri in early summer, which is the concept of Kukai. There is not enough difference to deviate from that, even for the nama-shu, but the normal version, fire-aged, tasted lighter and more transparent.
My personal intuition tells me that it is the order that tastes good, and my impression is that it is the normal version that fits the concept.
There are plenty of other sweet, fresh, juicy kangiku available, so if that is what you are looking for, you may not need to buy this Betsuatsurai.
If you want to enjoy the freshness of the blue sky in early summer, which is the best part of Kukai, you should definitely buy the regular version.
The difference is only noticeable when you compare them side by side, but it was a good experience for me to be able to feel the difference.
I would like to try it again in the future if I have the chance.
A reminder of Kangiku's Seikai, which I drank some time ago.
Although Kangiku has a strong sweet flavor, Aomi, made with Dewa Sanzu, has a refreshing taste that is typical of summer sake!
It was so easy to drink that I found myself emptying it in a day!
I wanted to compare it with Hoshikai, but... (sweat)
This is Aomi from Kangiku: 🏖️
Sake made with Dewa Sanzu🌾🍶.
The top aroma is slightly sweet.
When you put it in your mouth, it has a juicy sweetness with a hint of acidity.
It has a refreshing mouthfeel with a nice clean finish.
It was delicious 🍶✨️
Kankik Ocean Ninety-Nine Horseshoe
Aroma like pineapple or mango and strong sweetness. Delicious.
Mr. Yanagishita, the toji, originally worked as an aircraft mechanic for JAL at Narita Airport, but his attachment to his hometown of Chiba and his desire to "do work that only I can do" led him to the sake brewing industry. After joining Kangiku Meikozo in the beer brewing department, he was selected to be the toji (master brewer), despite his lack of experience, when the previous master brewer retired. He initially trained under his predecessor and is now in charge of sake brewing as a toji.
The name "Kangiku" is said to have come from the appearance of Kangiku (chrysanthemums that bloom in winter), which bloom strongly and beautifully even in the coldest season.
I saw it at SAKE MIZUHASHI in Roppongi on a business trip to Tokyo last week and bought it on impulse 😊.
The top aroma is sweet and full-bodied with a hint of caramel 🤔.
When I took a sip, the tangy gassy, white peach-like flavor and gentle sweetness preceded the sip, then the rice flavor and koji aroma spread from there and faded out nicely without any bitterness or astringency ✨.
After drinking it, I realized that it was polished to 29%, so I thought it would be a clean and refreshing sake... but it was a modern rich sake with a robust umami and a fruity and gorgeous aroma like biting into a whole peach or other fruit 😳.
I wanted to drink it in small quantities and carefully, but I found myself drinking it so fast that I emptied the four-pack 😅.
The owner of SAKE MIZUHASHI and I had a lively sake talk, and although I was a first-time visitor, I was very grateful to him for selling me a rare sake from the back of the store. 🙇♂️
Good evening, Chiesta!
SilverLining by Kangiku is really easy to drink 😍I can see why it disappears so quickly ✨and the ability to talk about even rare sake! You're good at that 😁.
Good evening, Chirsta!
Yay 🙌Thank you for drinking HinaHanaMama's highly recommended Chrysanthemum 🥰 (I'm not a chrysanthemum spinner 🤣).
I recommend all of the chrysanthemum 👍.
Good morning, ichiro18!
Kangiku, the label is stylish and the taste is delicious ☺️
The owner is very personable and we had about 10 minutes of sake talk 😊I'll post more about that later ✨.
Good morning, HinaHanaMama!
I was so excited to find out that you have a lot of seasonal products ✨.
I see you are such a core fan that you are heavily recommended ☺️
I'm rocking the Hoshikai next 👀.
Very juicy and too good!
Comet is my favorite sake rice, and this one is great too!
The taste of Kangiku goes well with Comet.
Fruity and fresh, with no habitual flavor, it is quite easy to drink!
Good evening, Abi!
I know what you mean - Hoshikai is very delicious 🤤.
My first Kangiku was Hoshikai, and it was so delicious that it left a lasting impression on me 😋.
Scoring: ☆☆☆☆☆
The starry sea after 2 years❣️
I love the sea on a summer night☀️🍉🌻🌊, it feels so adolescent 🎶
Summer sake made with "Comet" rice from Hokkaido🍶.
Comet has a crisp yet tasty image. ❣️
It has a refreshing aroma, but the sweetness quickly spreads to the palate 😋.
After that comes a grapefruit-like sourness and bitterness that quickly fades 💕.
It also has a slight gassy taste and is as delicious as ever 🎶.
Lawson's 50% more series👍
Doramotchi😊
Yummy, isn't it 💕😋💕
Good morning, T.KISO!
I see you enjoyed Hoshikai after a long time 🎵.
Hoshikai was my first Kangiku and I remember being impressed by its taste 😋.
Dramochi is very voluminous 🤤.
Good evening, ma-ki- san😄.
The first chrysanthemum to get 5 Stars? The first one I gave 5 stars for Kangiku was Hoshikai 🎶.
I find the bitterness 🟰 to be a good taste, it's one of my favorite sakes 😍.
Dramocchi, crisp and sweet, also delicious 😋👍
Kangiku Meikozo's new product is an orikami sake brewed with Kotobukinmu.
It has a fruity aroma typical of Kangiku and a lively gasiness.
It has a modest and elegant sweetness, a refreshing dryness, and a good rice flavor with a hint of bitterness.
It is a spring moon-viewing sake, named "Hazy Moon" or "Oborozuki" to compare its cloudy appearance to the hazy spring night sky.
Jushikinmu is a sake brewing rice produced in Fukuoka Prefecture.
The name comes from the name of a rakugo (traditional Japanese comic storytelling) story told by the breeder, who is a rakugo (comic storytelling) fan 😄.
The appearance is a hazy, dark fog-like appearance with a light golden hue when orikara is used.
The aroma is fresh and gorgeous, THE cold chrysanthemum.
Freshly cut red apples🍎, fresh pears, young bananas.
Floral white flowers.
The rice aroma is about the size of a white dumpling.
The taste has a refreshing gasiness.
The sweetness is modest but elegant.
There is a refreshing acidity.
In the refreshing sweetness and acidity, the flavor of rice from the sake lees and a light bitterness can be felt, and together with the sweet and gorgeous hint of aroma, it is pleasantly intoxicating.
It flows nicely with a refreshing dryness and finishes crisp and clean.
The aftertaste is medium.
I like it very much. ☺️
Good evening, Aladdin!
Your review looks so good that I'm drooling 🤤.
I really like Kangiku's Kotobukinmu, so I am reminded of how delicious it is after reading your review 😋.
Good morning, Aladdin 😃.
Juhikinmu is one that seems to meet our cold chrysanthemum challenge😅 😋I was going to bring it to you when I came across it 🤗.
Aladdin's review made me want to try it even more: ‼️
Hi, ma-ki 😃
Kangiku's Kotobukinmu was delicious ☺️
The problem with Kangiku is that each product is released once a year and then it's over, and it's hard to repeat 😅.
Hi Jay & Nobby 😃
I'm not sure at all, but I had the impression that Juhikinmu is more refreshing with a tighter bitterness of orikara compared to Matsuo Jugumisei 🤔.
I'm looking forward to your chrysanthemum challenge 😁.
Hi Aladdin!
I had a bottle of "Kangiku Jukinmu" myself and it was my favorite of the year so far 🥰.
I'm wondering if I should reserve another bottle since they seem to still have some in stock 🤔.
Hi Gyve, good evening 😃.
I'm surprised that some stores still have Kangiku Kotobukinmoku in stock 😳I would definitely secure a bottle and age it 🌙😁.
Recently Harushika has also released a sake brewed with Kotobukinmoku, and it would be interesting to compare the two: ☺️
Kangiku OCEAN99 Junmai Ginjo-Oumi -Summer Sea- Unfiltered Nama-zake
Fresh, fruity sweetness and acidity with a slight gassiness, and the summery label is also nice.
Bottled type
Kangiku Meikyu's Occasional series focuses on unfiltered sake that is brewed only once a year.
Focusing on "scenes" and "feelings," the "Silver Lining" is a limited edition unfiltered sake brewed only once a year to add color to everyday life (special moments) from a different perspective than the four seasons.
So-no-Mai" is a variety of rice with a large heart white that is suitable for high refining.
We designed this limited-edition sake with the highest refining in the history of Kangiku, and perhaps in the history of this rice, in order to make the most of the characteristics of this rice, and to create a product that will allow us to exceed our own limits and see what the future holds.
The label is inspired by the image of infinity beyond the horizon of Kujukuri.
This is a bottle that the toji has put his heart and soul into, pursuing a texture from the attack to the finish!
He has created a well-balanced fusion of the juicy taste of fruit, which at first glance does not seem to be highly refined in a good sense, and the clearness without any cloying taste that only highly refined sake can provide.
I drank it because it was available!
I don't remember exactly what it tasted like, but I drank it up 😄.
