It is a Junmai Ginjyo Hachitan-Nishiki Orikarami from Hanahayo.
I was a little hesitant to drink it because it is not easy to find, but I opened the bottle in accordance with the rule that we drink them in the order in which we buy them, which exists in our house.
This is the second Hahoriyoshu I have had following the Junmai Ginjo Miyamanishiki I drank the other day, but this is the first Oriagarami I have had.
The Miyamanishiki was fruity and juicy like a pineapple, but this Hachiganishiki Orikarumi was a little different.
It is fresh and fruity, but the acidity is mild and there is no pineapple-like nuance. It has the depth and complexity of an ogara-mi sake, with a distinct bitterness and spiciness that comes through from the middle stage onward.
If Miyamanishiki Sumi-shu is a straightforward and easy-to-understand sake, Hachiganishiki Orikara-mi is a sake with a taste that will appeal to those who are used to drinking Japanese sake.
Personally, I liked the taste of both sakes so much that it was hard to decide which was better.
I am wondering if the difference is due to the difference in the rice used to make the sake, or if it is due to the difference in the Sumi-Shudo Torigarami.
It would be nice if we could compare the Sumi-shu Torigarami with the same rice, but such an opportunity is unlikely to present itself.
I received a bottle of Hirotogawa Junmai Nigori sake.
Last year, I was unable to buy this bottle and gave up in tears. This year, I gathered information about it before it went on sale and visited the liquor store first thing in the morning on the day it arrived and was able to get it.
I thought it would be a little classical from the label, but it turned out to be that type. It was completely modern.
When you twist the screw cap, you can feel the bubbles coming out of the bottle. The bubbles are not automatically stirred, but they are so lively that the lees rise to the surface along with the bubbles.
The silky texture has a nice little pizzazz to it. The concentrated sweetness and plenty of umami are combined with a refreshing acidity that gives it a dripping, juicy taste.
It is no wonder that it is often mentioned in the same breath as Senkyoku's Snowball. It exceeded the hurdle of expectations that we had waited a year for at the height of a pole vault.
Compared to last year.... I think it's because I let it sit for a month or so.
I promised myself that I would try my best to buy two bottles next year.
Good evening, Hori 😃!
Congratulations on your well-prepared first HIRO-CHAN Nigori ㊗️ 🎉It means that the taste was far above the hurdle you set for yourself 🤗It will be a pleasure to enjoy it every year ‼️
We were served a bottle of Imi's Gin-sen.
Gin-sen is a freshly pressed sake that is released at the beginning of the season.
It is a sake that is hard to come across, but we were fortunate enough to have it.
I was shocked when I tried it. It was a bit of an incident for me.
Ginsen is a brewer's alcohol-added sake, but it is different from the alcohol-added sake I know.
I have no particular preference for junmai (pure rice) or any resistance to alcohol addition, but I had a stereotype of what alcohol-added sake should be like based on my past experience. It is not that one is better or worse than the other, but that they are different genres.
First of all, Ginsen has a wonderful aroma. The aroma is elegant and gorgeous, with a fragrance that I have never experienced in a junmai sake. The taste is light nigori with a mellow sweetness and gentle acidity. After swallowing, bitterness follows, and it finishes nicely with the aroma passing through the nose.
The impression is that the alcohol taste is integrated with the sake, pushing up the good points even more.
After drinking this Gin-Sen, I realized that the addition of alcohol is a way to make sake more delicious. It is a sensation that has broadened my world.
Hi Hori 😃
Mr. Sagimi! I had the pleasure of drinking White Sagami at the Prefectural Association, but I can't get it for myself 🥲.
Great review and I would love to drink it and expand my world🌎🤗!
Thanks for your comment, Jay & Nobby 😊I happened to be there when this Imi came in and was able to buy it! I was drunk and overreacted, but maybe my perception of Aruzoe was just wrong in the first place😅.
I received a bottle of Sairai's Usugiri.
I had been interested in this brand for a long time, and I had a chance to get it.
I have long wanted to drink Sairai. It is my favorite nigori sake.
The frosted bottle with a smart label. The name "usugiri" (light mist) fits it perfectly, and it already looks delicious from the outside.
The mouthfeel is silky like a light nigori sake, with a slight gasiness. The taste is sweet with a hint of sourness. It has a fresh fruitiness. The complexity derived from lees is modest, and the taste is elegant with a sense of cleanliness from start to finish.
It is hard to think of any other sake whose appearance, naming, and taste match so well. It is safe to say that you will not be betrayed by the so-called "jackets.
I would like to try other types, so let's wait for the next opportunity.
We received OCEAN99 Ginkai from Kangiku.
Since I completed a round of the series with the recent Shiroginkai, this Ginkai is my second departure (Departure) from the series.
I first encountered Ginkai last year when I started drinking sake in earnest. It is a sake that is like a starting point and a benchmark for me, as it is what got me hooked on Kangiku and sake in general.
I still remember how surprised I was by the gap between the cool appearance of the clear bottle and the sweet, delicious, fresh, fruity, juicy flavor.
This year, Ginhai is as delicious as ever, and I vowed to try to complete OCEAN99 again this season.
This is a strawberry from Hououmida.
This is my first Hououmida.
I made my debut with strawberries before sake. I saw it at a liquor store that I don't usually go to, and I was fascinated by the fact that it is a limited-edition winter sake with a two-month shelf life.
Tochiotome from Tochigi Prefecture is used.
Instead of fermenting the juice, the strawberries are liquefied by the enzymes in the sake. Since the strawberries are bottled in their raw state without destroying their cells, the taste is extremely fresh. You can feel the fibers and crumbles that have not fully dissolved, and it is as if you are tasting the strawberries themselves.
I will try to taste more of them in the future, as there seem to be various types such as peach and yuzu in addition to strawberry.
Good morning, Hori 😃.
I had an image that you drink a lot of Senkou 😊 Surprisingly, you are a Hatsumida! Please start with the liqueur 🍓 and try some of the regular sakes 👋.
Thank you for your comment, Jay & Nobby!
Yes, so far all of our Tochigi sake has been Senkou 😊Hououomida has many varieties so I'm not sure which one to start with. I am curious about Mikumari, do you have any recommendations?
I got a bottle of Collage Oragami.
This is also one of my long-cherished wish that I couldn't drink last year.
Recently, I want to drink both the sake I couldn't drink last year and the sake I enjoyed last year, so I can't keep up with the pace.
The first three Colaku Oorigarami are so good that I want to drink all of them, but for this reason, the first one has just arrived. It is the first time to drink the first bottle, so it depends on whether you want to buy the second bottle or the third one.
I opened the bottle and took a sip. Then, gently turn the bottle over a few times and take another sip.
Immediately after putting it in the mouth, it has a strong sweet umami taste. After the gentle sweetness that is typical of orikarami spreads, a sharp spiciness with bitterness tightens the inside of the mouth. There is also a strong sense of alcohol, which seems to bring about the crispness of the sake. It is not the trendy "sake with a taste that does not seem like sake," but rather "an exceptionally tasty sake with sake-like qualities.
I was curious and looked back at my impression of Natsugin Usunigori, which I drank in the summer, and found that I had written the same thing at that time and at that time.
As a result, I had to buy a bottle of San as well.
This is the first Koei-Kiku Snow Crescent of the season.
Kouei Kiku is one of the Hall of Fame brands in our family, but it all started with this Yamadanishiki Snow Crescent that we had a year ago.
I really love its sparkling, fresh, fruity, sweet, umami, bitter, astringent, and complex flavors, including woody nuances like a hint of oak.
I have had many different Kouei Kiku sakes over the past year, but Snow Crescent is probably my favorite. We tend to finish all of the Koei-Kiku in one sitting, and this time we finished the Snow Crescent in no time at all.
Last season, Yamadanishiki was followed by Sagabiyori and Yuyamanishiki, and I wonder if it will be the same this season. I would like to add another bottle of Yamada-Nishiki for now.
We had a bottle of Kangiku Ocean99's nigori sake, Shiroginkai Snow sea.
When I started drinking sake in earnest last year, I was shocked by Ocean99's Ginkai Departure. At that time, I learned of the existence of Hakuginkai and looked around for it, but was unable to find it.
I wanted to drink the entire Ocean99 series, and I felt that Departure, which means "departure," was a good place to start, so I set my sights on Hakuginkai and have been following the series for the past year.
I have been drinking Ginkai, Nagi, Kuukai, Aokkai, Hoshikai, and Orokkai, and now I have reached my goal with this Hakuginkai. Looking back, I am deeply moved as I recall the memories of each season and each flavor.
The Hakuginkai, which is the reward for the completion, tastes even better. The combination of my favorite Kangiku and my favorite nigori sake added to the sense of accomplishment made it the most beautiful sake I have ever tasted.
Objectively speaking, the fresh and juicy taste of Kangiku is combined with the fullness and complexity of nigori sake, creating a unique taste that is slightly different from other brands of new sake nigori sake.
Let's start the second round.
I finally got my hands on a bottle of Hana-Hiyo-Yoku.
My first Hana-Hiyo-Yoku is a Junmai-Ginjo of Miyamanishiki.
Last season, by the time I figured out the shipping routine, the production was finished, and the subsequent first shipment of each month was also untimely, so I was finally able to buy it this season.
I opened the bottle, excited about this long-awaited sake.
When poured into a glass, it had a soft thickening, and the color was a beautiful pale yellow with a glossy sheen. It has a sweet and gorgeous aroma.
The taste is fruity as if it were fruit juice, fresh and juicy. The strong sweetness is combined with a refreshing acidity, making it sweet and sour like pineapple juice. It is exactly as the color of the bottle and label suggests.
It tastes similar to Kameizumi CEL-24, but I think Huayouyoku has a bigger flavor change in the latter half of the bottle. The first taste of HanayoYukyu is sweet and sour with a strong impact, but immediately after that comes the spiciness that is typical of Japanese sake, and it also has a crisp and clean taste.
I have been waiting for this sake for a year and worked hard to get it, so it tastes even better.
It has become one of the brands that I would like to drink if I have a chance in the future.
Thanks for your comments, Jay & Nobby!
This is a really good drink and has easily exceeded our expectations for the year 😊.
This should be a contender!
We received Urasato's light nigori 2nd.
Of course, we compared it with the 1st bottle we opened the other day.
The appearance is exactly the same except for the stamp on the label, so it is hard to tell them apart. There is no discernible difference in the color or cloudiness of the sake.
According to the manufacturer's announcement, the first sake is made from the same ingredients, but with different blends and fermentation processes, and the first sake has a more impactful aroma, while the second is a more harmonious and balanced sake.
We poured the same amount into the same glass and began to compare. First the 1st, then the 2nd. Well, I couldn't tell at all.
We rinsed our mouths with water, reset our noses with the smell of our clothes, and tried again. After comparing the two with my eyes closed, I was finally able to detect the subtle difference in the lingering aroma that lingered in the back of my nose.
The 1st one's aroma spreads out, while the 2nd one's seems to converge. It is a subjective expression, but if I were to use an arrow, I would say that the 1st is upward and the 2nd is downward.
The fact that I was a little drunk from drinking another alcohol before the comparison, the fact that there was a gap of several days between the opening of the bottle and the opening of the bottle, and the fact that my tasting ability is not good enough to begin with, may have had enough to do with this, but I could not find a clear difference between the two. I would like to try again later when I am not drunk.
We received our second bottle of Snowman this season.
Like the summer Kabutomushi, this is the second of three bottles that I prepared to drink one each month for the three months of the season.
At the time of the first bottle, I wrote that I could not tell the difference from last year's Yukidaruma, but with this second bottle, I was able to capture the difference.
I could vividly recall last year's Yukidaruma when I drank a bottle of Urasato's light nigori that was opened the day before. The light and refreshing taste of Urasato, despite its appearance, was very similar to that of last year's Yukidaruma.
In comparison, the Yukidaruma I drank today had a thicker or deeper flavor. It was clearly different from last year's Snowman. It was clearly different from last year's impression.
My image of Sengoku is that it is super light-bodied, but this year's Snowball is not that light, but has a strong and deep flavor.
Personally, I prefer this year's Yukidaruma, but if this trend is due to the effect of the use of the sake as a raw yeast yeast, I wonder how Kabutomushi, which is known for its refreshing lightness, will turn out.
We are still looking forward to the first year of Edo-bari.
Hi Hori, good evening 🌙
How 😳The Urasato nigori and last year's Yukidaruma are very similar! I didn't get a snowball last year so I don't know, but when I open this year's I'll try to remember Urasato when I drink it 😊.
Thank you for your comment, Kotaro!
Of course the taste itself is different, but I felt it is very similar in terms of lightness.
I think of last year's snowman as a more refreshing version of this year's snowman 😊.
The first Urasato is a usunigori that I missed out on last year.
When I went to the liquor store because I heard it was delicious, there were only one bottle left, and I gave up on it in tears.
The bottle is a Bordeaux-shaped bottle, which is rare for sake, and the large label is distinctive.
When I twisted the screw cap, gas was blown out. Although the screw cap means you don't have to worry about the cap blowing off, it is sad that you don't get to experience that little bit of tension.
When poured into a glass, it is slightly effervescent and fine bubbles appear in the liquor. The taste is sweet and sour, like a white lactic acid beverage. If I were to use an analogy, it has the nuance of Calpis soda, helped by a certain gaseous sensation. Although there is a graininess that is unique to nigori sake, it is not heavy, and the overall impression is light and refreshing.
I have had many nigori sake, and I like this Urasato very much.
I have already purchased the 2nd lot which was also released last year. I am looking forward to comparing the two to see what kind of difference there is between the two.
For the first sake of the year 2025, we decided to start with Hanamup.
It is a Junmai Daiginjo made from Yamada Nishiki.
Hanamup is a sake that I was very impressed with when I had it for the first time about two months ago. Last time it was a junmai sake from Rikuwada, and this time it is a junmai daiginjo from Yamada Nishiki. Both are single-batch fire-refining. This time, too, I was lucky enough to find a four-quart bottle.
The initial aroma is a gorgeous ginjo aroma. It has a sweet, fruity aroma that attracts the senses. The taste is fresh and fruity, just like the Rikuwada. The rich sweetness and umami flavor fills the mouth and makes you feel happy. Immediately after that, a spiciness that can be felt with a touch of bitterness rises up, and it finishes cleanly with a pleasant, tangy stimulation.
Sake that is sweet until the aftertaste is delicious, but I also love sake that has the spiciness and sharpness that only sake can have. I wonder if the basic design of Hanamup is to have this sweetness and umami, followed by a spiciness and sharpness. I will try other types when I have a chance.
(I heard that Takagi Shuzo of Jyushiyo was involved in the birth of Hana Yuu. The official website indicates that Takagi Shuzo introduced Omachi and Rikuwada to the brewery, and that he must have given some advice on brewing. It seems that the Takagi Sake Brewery was also responsible for the naming of Hanayuyuu, and the site also expresses gratitude to the Takagi Sake Brewery for their assistance in the creation of the sake).
Happy New Year, Hori-san 🌅!
It is a little bit expensive Hanamup, which is called "aristocrat's sake🌹 by some people in the sake world! It's a perfect bottle to start the new year with 🤗.
Thank you for your continued support this year: 🙇🏻🙇🏻♀️
Happy New Year, Jay & Nobby 🎍.
I didn't know they were called that! I do remember thinking it was a bit expensive, but it was delicious without the slightest regret 😊.
I hope it's nice to see you here too!
We decided to end the year with our favorite sake, Koei Kiku.
This will probably be the last bottle opened in 2024.
This is one of Koei-Kiku's flagship bottles, brewed with Hachitan-Nishiki and natural lactobacillus brewing.
The term "natural lactobacillus brewing" is said to be an original name given by the brewer of Koeihiku, who felt uncomfortable with treating sake brewing and yamahai brewing as two different genres.
In addition to this light nigori, Gekko also has a clear clear sake. I drank the clear one six months ago and was so impressed with its taste that I wanted to drink the light nigori one someday, and now my wish has come true.
Following the warning on the label, I chilled the bottle well and held the stopper with my finger to break the seal. It opened without difficulty, with only a little gas leaking out.
First, I took a sip of the top. Fresh and fruity, with the woody bitterness and astringency characteristic of Koeihiku. The last two bottles of Koeihiku were stored sake, so the freshness after a long absence made me happy. The impression changes again when mixed with lees. The lactic acidity is added, and of course, the gaseous sensation becomes stronger and fresher. The taste changes to be more complex and deep, with more elements of sweetness, umami, bitterness, and other tastes.
This complex flavor may be the result of the natural lactic acid bacteria brewing process.
Good evening, Hori 😃.
It's good to end the year with your favorite drink 🤗You always do a great job with your reviews👍
Let's enjoy drinking next year too!
Have a happy drunken New Year 😌.
Thank you for your comments, Jay & Nobby!
We apologize for replying over the new year. The holiday season always makes us want to drink our favorites more than ever. Let's have another fulfilling year of drinking 🍶.
I received a bottle of Daimine's Winter Nocturne.
When I learned of its existence last year, I couldn't find it anywhere, and after waiting a year, I finally found a bottle.
It has a striking label by the same illustrator as the Summer Otosore and looks like something you would buy even if you were not a sake lover if you saw it at a liquor store.
I opened the bottle while it was well chilled, as is the theory with activated nigori sake. When the bottle is uncorked with a nice pop, bubbles start to form inside the bottle.
After slowly turning the bottle upside down to mix the lees, pour it into a glass and you will notice soft bubbles and an indescribable fruity aroma. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky, and at the same time, you can feel the light, slightly carbonated, chili-like stimulation in your mouth. The taste is my favorite sweet nigori sake. It has sweetness, umami, and a lactic acidity that is unique to nigori sake. There is also a graininess that suggests it is made from rice, and the slight bitterness and astringency are the best part of nigori sake.
The clean and refreshing aftertaste common to all Daimine sakes was still present in Winter Otosore.
This refreshing sensation, which seems to originate from the minerals in the brewing water, is unique and once you get hooked on it, it is hard to replace, so it is inevitable that you will be swamped.
We had a bottle of Shichiken's Yamano Kasumi.
The corked sparkling wine tastes and looks perfect for Christmas Eve dinner.
Yamanokasumi is lightly cloudy, so before opening the bottle, the lees are slowly stirred by turning the bottle upside down. Due to the secondary fermentation in the bottle, the gas pressure is high, and when you twist the cork, you will hear a nice popping sound and smell a fresh aroma. When poured into a glass, it bubbles richly like sparkling wine.
As you take a sip while enjoying the fruity ginjo aroma, the mellow sweetness of the light nigori flavor spreads in your mouth, followed by a slight bitterness and spiciness that is unique to sake, and then it finishes cleanly.
The fizzy sensation that delights the palate from start to finish is due to secondary fermentation in the bottle, not gas filling, so it is natural and soft, not too strong and not too weak.
It is one of my favorite sake among all alcoholic beverages, not just sake.
This is the first time I have uploaded Yamanokasumi here, but I have had it several times in the past. When I go camping, I often buy a two-pack bottle of Yamanokasumi because it is easy to pair with camp food and tastes great on its own.
This is the first time I've bought a four-pack bottle, but it's a low-alcohol (11 degrees Celsius) bottle, so I'm sure I could finish it in one sitting.
Thank you Jay & Nobby for your comments!
I wrote a lot about it, but you don't have to think too hard, it tastes great plain and simple😄.
It's low in alcohol and not too intoxicating, so I personally choose it for parties and other long meals!
We received a bottle of Kangiku's Densho-Chrysanthemum Origami.
Like the Denshogiku without lees, we had been waiting for this bottle for a year. We had high expectations for the red Denshogiku because of the deliciousness of the clear Denshogiku (yellow Denshogiku) that we had opened earlier.
First, we took a sip of the top clear.
Hmm? Is it totally different from the yellow Denshogiku?
I thought it tasted the same, so I was surprised. I thought it was just my imagination, so I compared them side by side with Hwang Denshogiku, but they are still totally different.
The Yellow Denshogiku is a sweet, juicy, royal road, and if I had to say, the taste is straightforward and easy to understand. Aka Densho-Chrysanthemum has a lactic acidity and milky taste that is unique to orikara-mi, as well as a complex bitterness and astringency in the aftertaste.
The same Kangiku also has a spring release, "Haruhi," which has a special orikarami made to order for sake dealers in addition to the nationally available Sumi-shu, and these two bottles are the same sake with or without lees.
The two bottles of Denshogiku are not only different in terms of the presence or absence of lees, but also in that they were brewed with different tastes in mind.
It will be interesting to see how the TRUE RED, whose release was cancelled this year, differs from the TRUE WHITE.
I received a bottle of Kangiku's Denshikiku.
One of the first brands I became interested in a year ago when I started drinking sake in earnest was Kangiku.
At that time, the one that had a particularly good reputation among the Kangiku brands was this Denshogiku, and after a year of waiting for it to arrive, I finally found it.
As a side note, my family is a chrysanthemum farmer, and I have been seeing the denshogiku since I was a child, so perhaps my nostalgic feelings helped to strengthen my attachment to it.
The long-awaited Densho-Chrysanthemum was delicious, far exceeding the hurdle of my expectations.
It had an outstanding freshness and a sweetness and flavor that seemed to be concentrated. It is fruity and sweet as if you bit into the nectar of a ripe apple. In addition, the slightly tender texture makes the taste more dense.
Of course, the usual cold chrysanthemum flavor is still present. The great thing again is that the same flavors are not the same no matter which one you drink. On the contrary, I feel that this consistent individuality brings a sense of reliability and security that you can be sure which one you choose, just like the unified design of European cars and Apple products.
As a nigori sake lover, I can't wait to see how the ogorigami of this one I bought together with it turns out.
We were able to obtain a bottle of Jikin. It is a bottle of special junmai hi-ire.
At my favorite liquor store, I was listening to a conversation between a clerk and a customer who seemed to be from the restaurant business, and after the exchange of "I'm going to stop drinking one bottle of Jigin," the clerk went to the refrigerator. I went to check the refrigerator to see if it was possible, and found several bottles of this Jikin lined up in a row, with a sign indicating that each household was limited to one bottle. I usually don't look carefully at the bottle section, so I had overlooked it, but it seemed that there was a regular line that day.
I was a little hesitant because of the large quantity considering our family's consumption and the capacity of the refrigerator, but since ordinary consumers like me don't have that many opportunities to encounter such bottles, I made up my mind and bought it.
As soon as I uncorked the bottle, I was immediately hit with a good aroma. The aroma is fruity, like ginjo sake, with a distinctive koji-like sweetness.
The mouthfeel is fresh despite being fire-aged. It is a sweet sake, but it also has a sourness that makes it a refreshing drink. The taste is clear and smooth, without any cloying taste. It has a bitter and sharp taste and can be matched with a wide range of meals.
It is not a particularly unique flavor, but it has a well balanced taste without any particular part of the flavor being overpowering. This may be the first time I have had such a beautiful tasting sake.
Good morning, Hori 😃.
Congratulations on getting your Jishin ㊗️ 🎉!
It's important to feel ‼️ not to miss an encounter 🤗It's a blessing to have the god of balance in a bottle 😚.
Thank you Jay & Nobby for your comments!
I'm so glad I bought it because it's very impressive and delicious. It's nice to have a square of it to savor slowly over time. We enjoy it every day 🍶.
