Hori
The first sake from Kawazuru.
It is an active nigori sake made with Sanuki olive yeast.
I was curious about it because of its reputation for being delicious, and waited to encounter it without even looking for it, until one day I found it in the refrigerator of the liquor store I always patronize.
When I opened the bottle, it was as vibrant as the rumors said it would be. Even after chilling it below freezing and opening it slowly, the bubbles that welled up did not subside, and it took more than 10 minutes of opening and closing the cork before it settled down.
The difficult part was that the bubbles would be fine at the moment of opening the bottle, but after a second or two, bubbles would start rising from the lees that had accumulated at the bottom. If I had opened the bottle fully from the beginning without knowing it, it would have spurted out for sure.
When poured into a glass, the bubbles are as frothy as those of a carbonated beverage. It is a cloudy, slightly cloudy, and the way it is bubbling is similar to that of Calpis soda.
When drunk, it has a silky texture typical of nigori sake. In addition to its low alcohol content, the fine and soft gaseous sensation is pleasant and makes you want to drink it in large gulps.
The taste is sweet with a lactic acidity and is cool and fresh. There is a unique nuance in the aftertaste, which is probably due to the character of olive yeast.
As a lover of activated nigori sake, this is a bottle that I would like to keep on hand until the next new sake season.
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