I went back to Tokyo at the end of the year and drank a lot of different brands, and it's hard to keep track of them all, so I'll just list the ones I liked best.
The aroma is sweet, sour and fresh like an apple. It is soft on the palate and has a wonderful balance of sweetness and umami. This is a delicious food style!
A delivery from a senior's house, part 1
I bought this one because I liked it when I drank it at an izakaya in Hiroshima. It's soft to drink with a clean aftertaste. The sweet taste spreads in the mouth and it's nice.
It is a local sake of Ehime. It looks a little amber in color and smells a little sweet ginjo aroma. It is soft on the palate, and the sweetness and flavor of the rice are well balanced, yet it has a sharpness that makes it easy to drink.
Speaking of Saijo, Hiroshima is famous, but Saijo in Ehime is not bad either! We enjoyed it with sashimi of local fish from the Kurushima Strait and ponzu (a kind of ponzu sauce made from albacore).
I'd like to explore more sake from the Toyo region.
I drank Kamoizumi on a trip to Onomichi alone. It's a bit of a hassle, so I only posted the Junmai Ginjo Shusen (the leftmost one). The first sake from Saijo.
The color is slightly golden. The aroma is not so noticeable, but when you drink it, you can taste the richness and flavor of the rice. It's not my favorite but it goes well with snacks.
The best combination with grilled oysters!
A gift. A dry sake with almost no aroma, and a crisp, dry taste that disappears as soon as you feel the flavor. I paired it with pork cubes and fatty sashimi and it went well. It would also be good warmed up.
I was served this sake made with white wine yeast at a senior's house. I don't know if it's peculiar to white wine yeast, but it's so sour that it doesn't taste like sake.
I bought this snowman for the first time after I became interested in sake and learned that there are four seasons in sake.
Despite the cute illustration and the Calpis-like appearance, I think I could taste the sourness and the flavor of the rice. The aftertaste is also refreshing because of the carbon dioxide.
I heard that the flavor changes every year, so I'll buy it again next year!
It is served in a narrow cup. It has a fresh aroma like pear and lychee. When you put it in your mouth, you feel the sourness and it doesn't spread unexpectedly.
On the recommendation of the owner, I was given a wide mouthed sake cup to try, and the aroma and spread in my mouth were completely different. I realized that if the sake cup changes, the taste also changes.
The initial aroma is sweet, reminiscent of bananas. When you put it in your mouth, you can feel the fruity taste for a moment, but the aftertaste is unexpectedly dry. The carbonation is strong.
Flower chill. It has an apple-like ginjo aroma and a sharpness. The closer it gets to room temperature, the more the corners come off and the fuller it feels. Personally, I like it at room temperature.