I 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.
White bitter melon for the first time (left side) ‼️Potage soup with green peppers 🎵At my friend's favorite izakaya with lots of vegetables ❤️We had a lot of sake from Shiga Prefecture 😁💨💨We love heating sake even in summer 🎵Whether it was hot or cold 🎵It was delicious 👍️😋And again, more details in "Makiko no saké" 😁💨
pyonpyon, thanks for the Shiga sake 😊.
I've been curious about the label but haven't tried it yet💦I'll try heating it up if I ever drink it👍I didn't know there was a white one for bitter melon😳.
Good morning, pyonpyon 😃Thank you for your drunken company at the offline meeting 😅White bitter gourd has appeared on our table. It seems it can be made into a salad and it was delicious with more moisture 😄.
Good morning, Pon-chan! This store had a lot of sake from Shiga prefecture ❤️ The labels are designed in such a way that you can't help but pick them up 🎵White bitter melon, I looked it up on the internet and it really is a pure white fruit and doesn't look like a vegetable 😅.
Good morning, Wakata-san! Wakata-san wasn't drunk at all - he was talking well at 👍️😃You already knew about white bitter melon ✨It's easier to eat than the green one 😋.
Just because of how much you have done for them,
It's just selfishness to ask them to do the same for you.
Drinking is something you do for yourself, don't bring any calculations, payback, or other troublesome things into it. It's as if everything you do has another purpose, and everything in this world is disgusting.
If you love something, you love it, and you should carry that feeling through to the end. If you can't do that, you should disappear. It's just unsightly.
I worked so hard. So please buy me a lot of drinks. Don't expose your miserable appearance any more like a debt collector holding a guarantee that doesn't exist.
If you can't drink alcohol just because you like it, then you're done, aren't you? Thank you God🙏.
I drank a little last night.
We started with Hatsuzakura's summer sake.
I heard that the heir of Yasui Brewery named the sake he is making "Namahashitaro".
The first aroma is a modest sweet aroma.
In the mouth, there is a gentle acidity from the sake yeast and the sweetness and richness of the rice.
Compared to last month's sake, it is a summer sake that is easy to drink.
It was delicious 🍶.
Junmai Ginjo Nama Sake🍶Hatsukoi💕Tamaei 93%🌾Yamada Nishiki 7%🌾 from Shiga Prefecture
A bit grassy. Sweetness and acidity. Sicilian lemon🍋😅I'd rather drink it slowly than sip it. I paired it with vinegared kohada and gari because of the sourness connection, but it's not like Hatsukoi💕😅.
The sea and @Takadanobaba 20230610
The alcohol I drank yesterday (iii)
It was a dark and delicious sake with a good balance of acidity, sweetness and umami from the sake's traditional sake yeast yeast yeast yeast yeast.
I like strong sake these days, and summer sake with lowered strength is not enough for me 😅.
The taste is characterized by the sweetness of sour koji.
I finished the day with this. It was my first visit to this restaurant, but I would like to revisit if I have a chance because I can drink a little sake in a stylish space like a cafe.
It is lightly colored, maybe because it is R2by.
The aroma is isoamyl type. Ripe fruit, banana, but also apple-like. It's not floral, but a bit woody.
Tastes good enough at room temperature.
It has a good sweetness and acidity, followed by bitterness and minerality that give it depth. There is a nice astringency as well. But I still want to warm it up.
That's why I warmed it up.
Lukewarm is the best. The sweetness and richness of the flavor envelopes the whole body. It also has a little astringent flavor that handles well.
It's rich, but it also has a certain youthfulness.
It's relaxed, but there is a sense of tension.
It is not simple, but it has a simple taste,
It's delicious. It would go well with simmered pumpkin or other strong-flavored stews.
Hello, Tarou. Is it a 2-year old New Hatsuzakura? I like it. I'm jealous because I missed out on buying a bottle of Seijuku the other day and regretted it so much. I hope to find another opportunity to drink it 😊.
Hi there, I'm a newbie and I've been looking for a new drink for a while now. This is the only New Hats Sakura I've had, and it's delicious! I like the balance of easy to understand but not simple.
