We received a spring-like peach-colored nigori sake from Ride? This sake is made by the Sakai Sake Brewery in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is famous for its Gohashi (five bridges).
I fell in love with the pink nigori sake when I first tried it last year, and was intrigued by the similar looking ride?pink. I was interested in the similar looking ride?pink, but by the time I realized it was no longer sold anywhere, so I waited a year to get my hands on a bottle.
It has a distinctive label design, a silhouette of a raccoon dog on a motorcycle, and I've seen it released in a variety of color labels depending on the season, in addition to pink. It might be fun to have all the colors.
When you twist the screw cap, you can see the bubbles rising and the freshness of the bubbles is outstanding.
When you drink only the supernatant, you can feel a pleasant gaseous sensation and a sharp acidity.
In terms of fruits, it is more like raspberries or plums with a stronger acidity than strawberries.
After mixing the lees, which are hard to mix because they have hardened, and drinking it, you will find a soft, thick mouthfeel with a tight gasp. The milky lactic acidity mellows out the sharp acidity, making it suddenly easier to drink. Although it is low-alcohol, I drank too much of it and it came with a gusto afterwards.
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.
Two consecutive days of cold chrysanthemum on a clear day. Yesterday it was Koyama Shoten's special order, but today it is the regular version.
I bought both bottles last year and compared them. Last year, I bought the regular version and then the "Betsuatsurae" version, so this year I reversed the order.
Last year you had to look at the back to tell the difference, but this year the "sake" mark of Koyama Shoten is now on the Bessatsurae, so you can tell even if you are facing the front. As far as I know, the company's logo has been on the "Batsuatsurae" since the Yajima Sake Shop Batsurae of Kenaiyama last fall, which coincides with the change in the material of the thin vertical label.
As for the taste, as I thought last year, these two bottles are very different in terms of direction.
The normal version has a fresh, fruity, sweet, juicy taste that is typical of Kangiku, while the Betsuatsurae has a more complex taste with a strong gaseous taste due to its orikara flavor. The normal version also has a gaseous taste, but the Betsuatsurae is so gaseous that the bottle-opening warning is displayed, and the mouthfeel is like a slightly carbonated beverage.
My impression of the comparison is exactly the same as last year's. The taste that is typical of Kangiku is the regular version, and my personal favorite is the Betsuatsurae.
This is the third consecutive bottle of Kangiku, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to enjoy Kangiku at its best. It is still delicious.
We opened a bottle of Kangiku no Harehi. This is a special limited edition from Koyama Shoten, which we also received last year.
It is a special version of Junmai Daiginjo Haruhi made with Yamadanishiki and Akaban Omachi, and then directly bottled in the middle of the bottle to be orikara. It is also slightly carbonated and has all the features I like in a sake. I have drunk nearly 30 bottles of Kangiku so far, and if I were asked to name my favorite, I would say this is my favorite without hesitation.
Last year was the first time in my life that I hit the ceiling with the cork. When I bought it this year, I was told that the gas was stronger than last year's, so I held it down properly and was able to open it safely.
When poured into a glass, the milky white liquor has bubbles like a carbonated beverage.
The sweetness and umami typical of Kangiku is combined with the lactic acidity and softness of orikarami, and the complexity of the bitterness, spiciness, and astringency hidden in the lees gives it a very deep flavor.
After drinking it over the past year, I am once again convinced that it is my best of Kangiku.
I have also bought the regular version to compare this year, so I will drink them side by side at a later date.
I received a bottle of Kangiku's Aizan 50.
Last year, I went after Kangiku with all my might, and I think I drank about 90% of the sake that was released to the public.
This year, the second year, I plan to focus on the Ocean 99 series, but this Aizan 50 is an exception. I couldn't forget how good it tasted last year, so I bought it as soon as it was released.
Aizan 50 is a fresh, fruity, sweet and juicy Kangiku that has been made sweeter and juicier with more effort. Even so, it has a slight bitterness in the aftertaste, so the taste is not too sweet.
Personally, I think Aizan is a rice that goes well with Kangiku. In this Aiyama 50, the "character" of Kangiku seems to be boosted by Aiyama. It is the most Kangiku-like Kangiku for me, so I will repeat it again next year.
I was curious to see the list of sakes that I drank last year.
When I looked back at the list of sakes I drank last year, I found that there were a surprisingly large number of Occasional series that I marked as repeat purchases, in addition to the Aizan 50. It is a troubling problem when I think about the capacity of my refrigerator and new encounters.
I had a bottle of Nabeshima Blossoms moon.
I had heard that Nabeshima was the first sake with a gaseous taste, and I was interested in it, but the timing was not quite right.
I had intended to debut it at the new sake New Moon, but there were too many must-buy items during the new sake season, and I had to give up in tears due to capacity issues in the refrigerator. This was one of the reasons for my subsequent Lemacom purchases.
The rice used in Blossoms moon is called Tajima kyoiku. As I had never heard of Tajima kyoroku sake before, I looked it up and found out that it is a sake brewing rice born in Hyogo Prefecture, and that it was originally a variety from Tottori Prefecture, but was adapted to the climate of Tajima. It is said to be a rare rice that has made a comeback in recent years, although its production once ceased due to the later introduction of Yamadanishiki and Omachi.
The bottle was opened quietly after being cooled to below zero, as there was a warning on the neck and back label.
The bottle was opened without incident, without the cork flying open or the sake overflowing.
When we poured it into the glass, fine bubbles appeared. It was a fresh, fruity, and delicious bottle with the sweetness and sourness of the rice melded with the umami of the rice.
Good morning, Hori 😃.
Congratulations on your first potsherd 🎉㊗️
I know I'm always buying during the new sake season 😅I'd love to have a Lemakom in my house 🥹.
Thanks for your comments, Jay & Nobby!
Nabeshima was the first new one we've had in a long time 🆕.
I'm glad I bought Lemacom, but when I filled up, I ended up just stocking up because the amount I drink = the amount I buy 😅.
I received a bottle of The Premium Yamadanishiki Orikarami from Hanahiyo-yoku.
I have had two bottles of Hanahayo Kurosaki so far, but this is the first time I have had the premium. It is a Junmai Daiginjo made from Yamadanishiki, and my favorite Origarumi.
The moment I opened the cork, the aroma was very gorgeous and dense, reminiscent of apples. I knew from this aroma alone that it was an extraordinary sake.
At first, I drank only the top clear saké, and the word that came to mind before the deliciousness was "amazing.
A sense of happiness surged through my mouth as a taste I had never experienced before filled my mouth. Specifically, it has a condensed sweetness and a rich flavor. The acidity gives it a fruity feel, and while the overall flavor is intense, the heaviness is offset and the end result is surprisingly refreshing. When served on the edge of the lees, the complexity of the lees brings a three-dimensionality to the flavor, and the bitterness and spiciness added to the aftertaste further heightens the sense of sharpness.
I feel frustrated that I cannot leave this deliciousness in words.
I have drunk nearly 200 bottles of sake so far, but I can only count the number of sakes that have impressed me so much. The past two bottles of Hana-yoso were of course delicious, but the premium was on a different level. Knowing that there is such a delicious liquid in this world is a great harvest.
I received the Momoiro of Ryuki. This is my first Ryuki.
We went to see cherry blossoms during the day, but since we were driving, we couldn't drink alcohol, so we had hanami-sake by the time we got home.
I heard it is commonly called "Rukapin" because it is pink of Ryuki. It is a light nigori with a subdued hue, not a bright, thick nigori like the peach-colored nigori of Harukoyai or Oze no Yukidoke.
For some reason, I sensed a cheese flavor the moment I drank it. I wonder if it has something to do with the lactic acidity of the nigori. Basically, it has a sweet and sour, spring-like flavor, but for some reason, I felt a salty taste somewhere. This may also be the cause of the cheeseiness.
There is a pink grapefruit-like nuance to it, as is reputed, but it also has a salted cherry blossom-like feel to it.
The snack was strawberry & cream cheese wrapped in prosciutto. It has become a staple for pink nigori sake in our house. Nagareki is a sake from Gunma Prefecture, so we chose strawberries from Yayoi Hime, a favorite of ours.
The sweet and sour of the sake and the strawberries, the cheesiness of the sake and the cream cheese, the saltiness of the sake and the prosciutto, all linked together to create a pairing that was as perfect as a lie.
Rukapin was the first sake that was delicious but strange, strange but delicious.
We received a bottle of Yamadanishiki Ni-no-sho from San-do.
This is the sixth bottle of San-do.
Among the Sansho varieties, which are classified according to the type of rice used for sake and the type of brewing, Yamadanishiki Ninonunomai is one of the most basic. In the case of Sansho, "higher specs = better taste" may not be the case, but the great thing about Sansho, in my opinion, is that the basic specs are already outstandingly delicious.
This Yamada-Nishiki Ni-No-Sozo is the most widely consumed sake and the face of San-do, and every time I drink it, I can tell that this basic is very important to them.
The last time I drank this sake, I detected a white peach-like nuance, but this time it was the same grapey feeling as usual.
The sweetness was stronger than before, but I wonder if it was my condition or the unique fluctuation of the sake's sake making process. In any case, this time it was fruity as if it were some kind of fruit juice, and it was also very tasty with a slight carbonation. I always think that if you were served this sake without knowing it, you might not think it was sake.
Basically, I am satisfied with Yamada-Nishiki Ninonozo, but recently I became a little curious and bought some sake made with different rice and high quality sake. As one of the followers of the Sanshu cult, I guess it is a path that cannot be avoided.
We received a bottle of Sentori Classic I.
Classic is a bottle made with Kame-no-o and Yamada-nishiki sake rice, with no added yeast and made with Morohaku.
It is one of SENKYO's classic brands along with Modern and Retro. I-shiki means fire-aged, and nama-shu is zero.
I bought this classic because I heard the brewer of Senkyu talk about this sake. He said, "Oh, I wanted to make this kind of sake. When I drank this one, I thought, "I finally got there. I finally got there." He has made many delicious sakes.
The brewer of SENKYO, who has made many delicious sakes, says that this sake is the one that he has reached. If you like SENKYO, you must not miss this sake.
This statement is about SENKYO Classic I with the production date of 2025.1.
When I bought this Sentori Classic I, I thought it was a clear sake, but in fact, it was a light nigori, which was a happy miscalculation. It was actually lightly carbonated when I poured it into the glass. At this point, it is my favorite type of sake.
When I drank it, I found it to be light and clear despite being made using the traditional sake brewing method. It is fresh, sweet, and sour, with the complexity of a light nigori, yet clean and refined.
It was one of the best tasting drinks among all alcoholic beverages.
We had a bottle of Koei Kiku's Biyun.
This is a relatively new sake, first released last year. Last year it was sold out so quickly that I missed out on buying it, and I have been curious about it for a long time, but this year I had the good fortune to be able to purchase it.
I have recently become interested in Nagano sake, and I was very much looking forward to drinking this Bikun, which is made from Nagano Miyamanishiki by Koei Kiku, one of my favorite sake brewers.
When poured into a glass, it has a soft texture that is slightly thickened and gassy to the point that very few bubbles appear.
The taste is rich and sweet with a syrupy concentration. There is a gentle acidity with ripe berry fruit nuances. The woody astringency that is typical of Koei Chrysanthemum is still there and very tasty.
It is not the sharp type because of its low alcohol content, but that allows you to enjoy the lingering fruitiness for a long time.
This is only its second year on the market, so I am sure it will continue to evolve and change in the future. We will repeat this wine next year.
The second bottle of Hello World 4th was opened.
Hello World is the private brand of SakeLabo Tokyo, a sake bar in Kita-ku, Tokyo.
I have never visited the restaurant, but I came across their YouTube channel when I started drinking sake in earnest, and I have been studying sake through their videos ever since.
The first bottle was before I became interested in sake, but I have been fortunate enough to purchase the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bottles.
I received the first bottle immediately after purchase, but decided to let the second bottle sit for a bit before drinking, so I opened the bottle after two months of storage in the refrigerator.
The first bottle had a clean, light taste that overturned the image of the sake as being made using the original sake yeast, and had a sweet and sour, refreshingly fruity flavor.
Of course, the taste did not change significantly with time, but it seemed to have a fuller flavor than the first bottle. The light mouthfeel, which seemed to soak into the body without resistance, gave the impression of a slightly thicker and slightly more rewarding taste.
There is talk that the next Hello World will be an active nigori like the second one, so I am already looking forward to the next release.
As the cherry blossoms were declared to be in full bloom in Tokyo, I received a Sakura Cup from Ohmine.
I bought the first set last year and found them perfect to take out for cherry blossom viewing, so I bought a set of six again this year.
The best thing about Sakura Cup is not only its fruity and delicious flavor, but also its small 100 ml cup size and design.
There are many spring sakes that are perfect for hanami, but the problem is that a small number of people cannot finish a four-pack. Also, it is dangerous to bring glasses, and paper or plastic cups are a bit tasteless.
In fact, last year I took them out for hanami (cherry blossom viewing) and camping, and they were easy to carry, and I felt that drinking outside in a cold glass cup tasted many times better.
It is finally cherry blossom season again this year.
Where shall I take it this year?
It's been a while since we last had a Kangiku, but this one is Nagi Spring Misty, which reminds us of spring.
Kangiku is the brand I drank the most last year. This year, I'm going after only the OCEAN 99 series, and will only buy the others that I drank last year and wanted to repeat.
(I would like to drink them all again this year, but it is a hard decision because I don't have enough capacity in my refrigerator and liver to seek new sake encounters.)
Nagi is a sake that I was very impressed with when I first started enjoying sake last year.
It is light-brown, sweet and juicy, and has a nice gassy feel. It is my favorite type of sake.
This year, too, it was the most delicious bottle.
This is a standard brand of Edobari Sentori, Sentori Modern's Sanshiki Happo-genshu.
As the name suggests, it is a second fermentation sake in the bottle and is lightly nigori (lightly cloudy). It is my favorite type of sake.
When I opened the bottle, bubbles started rising, so I opened and closed the cap several times and was able to open the bottle in about 3 minutes. When poured into a glass, the cloudy white sake bubbles vigorously.
The moment I took a sip, I felt a distinct gaseous sensation and the unique flavor common to Senkou's nigori sake made me think of a snowman for a moment. The taste is complex, with a moderate sweetness mixed with bitterness and spiciness, and the overall impression is bitter and dry.
The Niki Origami I drank the other day had a full-bodied impression with sweetness and umami at the forefront, so I felt it was in a slightly different direction from that. Perhaps it is not simply a secondary fermentation of the Niki, but the goal of the brewing process is completely different.
In this case, I am curious about the standard Type Zero and Type I. I am aware that there are changes in flavor from lot to lot, but I still feel like I need to know the basics.
I am currently in my second year of being a sake lover. This year, I thought that Sengoku would be the minimum, but with the return of Edo, I am becoming more and more interested in Sengoku.
Thank you for your comment, Jay & Nobby 😊.
I was surprised because I didn't expect the same Sentori Modern to be so different from Formula 2 and Formula 3!
I can't wait to try the basic Sengoku Modern!
We received Ori-Ori Rock in the mountains.
I had been curious about this sake for a long time, but could not find it, so I finally had a chance to try it.
This sake is made by Niigata Daiichi Sake Brewery, and is called Yamama (山間) to compete with Kubota (久保田), a major sake brewer in Niigata. It makes sense that in addition to Yamama, there is also Yamabo and Maabo.
Ori-Ori Rock is an active nigori sake, also known as an explosive type, among the Yamama brands. Although not shown in the photo, there was a warning on the colored necklace that said to be careful when opening the bottle and to use an ice pick to vent the bottle before opening it.
I opened the bottle normally over a bowl while it was cooled to below zero, just to be sure, because if I punctured the stopper, I would have to drink it all. Although gas blew out, the bottle did not overflow and I was able to open it safely.
The top clearings tasted bitter and grapefruit-like. When cloudy, the graininess of the rice is strongly felt and it is just like drinking rice juice. The taste was clean and crisp with a strong sense of gas, and I couldn't help but drink more than half of the bottle because it was so easy to drink without feeling the 17% alcohol content.
We received Oze no Yukidoke Junmai Daiginjo Peach Color Nigori, a classic spring sake from our hometown of Gunma. It is a spring pink sake made with red yeast. This is the first time I have had it.
It has a perforated stopper, so I chilled it well and opened it carefully. It didn't spurt out, but it was very energetic, leaking gas.
The taste has a sweet and sour strawberry nuance, just as it looks. It has a soft texture and gentle mouthfeel typical of nigori sake.
The alcohol content is low at 10%, so it can be drunk like a dessert.
The standard spring sake in our house is Atago no Matsumatsu Harukoi, but it is definitely more acidic than Harukoi.
We made strawberry and cream cheese cured ham rolls with Yayoi Hime strawberries, also from Gunma Prefecture, and enjoyed them together. The moderately sour Yayoi Hime and the crisp acidity of the sake were just about the same, making a perfect pairing.
Finally, our family has entered the spring sake season in earnest. I bought too many spring sake that I wanted to drink, so I will be drinking at a high pace.
We received our sixth bottle of Snow Crescent in total.
Despite the variations in rice, Snow Crescent probably tops the list in terms of the number of bottles of the same sake.
It was followed by Sanndo and Sengoku Kabutomushi, which I drank like an obsessive last summer.
Snow Crescent was again incredibly grapefruity.
A superb grapefruit squash made from rice and water. It is a light, shwashy, slightly cloudy wine with fresh sweetness and acidity. The bitter taste and the astringent nuance of Kouei Chrysanthemum are added to complete the unique grapefruit flavor.
Last year, we had the Sagabiyori and Yuyamanishiki versions, but we still think the Yamadanishiki is the most delicious. Snow Crescent will no longer be available after the summer, so I will buy some more of the Yamadanishiki version to keep in stock.
I received a bottle of Tasake light nigori.
I drank it for the first time last year and immediately decided to repeat it.
The moment I opened the bottle, I could smell the sweet aroma. The mellow aroma derived from rice, whether it is the koji or the fermenting unrefined sake, makes you think that the inside of a sake brewery must be filled with this kind of smell.
As those who have been there may know, the aroma is like a condensed version of the good smell inside Koyama Shoten's store.
The taste is a harmony of sweetness and umami, as well as the softness and refreshing bitterness typical of nigori sake, just like the aroma.
Mr. Takagi of the Takagi Shuzo brewery says that in the past, light and dry sake was the mainstream, but he researched sake brewing to create a sake with the same sweet aroma he felt in the brewery when he was a child, and the result was Jyushidai.
As a side note, this Tasyu light nigori was created to compete with Senkou's Snowman. A sales person at Nishida Brewery saw the snowman selling well in the market and made a proposal, which became a standard product. Come to think of it, this light nigori is the only nigori sake in the Tasake range.
Sentori is great at moving the big bosses, but it is also great that the big bosses have the flexibility to commercialize the needs of the market. We, the consumers, are greatly benefited.
SENKOKU MODERN 弐式Origarami was opened.
Sengoku Modern is one of the new standard brands of Sengoku, which is now back in Edo. This is the orikarami version of SENKOKU MODERN.
This is the first time for me to drink the standard brand, as I have only had seasonal SENKYO sake. I probably should have started with the standard Type Zero or Type I, but my love for nigori sake got the better of me and I decided to try Type Nigori.
After returning to Edo, I have already had two other Sengoku, Snow Dollar and Hello World, both of which were very good. The expectations for Sentori Modern were naturally high, and the result was that it was the best.
It had a sweet, tart, fruity flavor with a unique nuance that is common to all the Sentori sakes I have had so far. It also has the same complexity and depth of flavor due to the use of the raw yeast from the original brewing process, which I also felt in Snowball, but the mouthfeel is very clean and refreshing. The addition of the richness and softness of the orikara-mi flavor makes it the most delicious sake ever.
It was a bottle that prompted me to try the Zero, Ichi, Classic, and Retro as soon as possible.
Good morning, Hori 😃!
Congratulations on your first classic Sentori ㊗️ 🎉We haven't had only this one 🥲 review of the renewed Sentori 🥲 so please try our first choice Retro 🤗👋.
Thanks for your comments, Jay & Nobby 😊.
It's delicious, Type 2! I have a bottle of formula 3 on standby in the fridge, so I'm looking forward to that one too!
We will secure Retro as soon as we can find it!
