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!
It has been a long time since we have had a sambudo.
The regulations for Nozomi have been renewed this brewing year to make them easier to understand, and the highest rank of Nozomi has been renamed the Twelve Grades of Nozomi, with the Twelve Grades of Nozomi being the highest.
The conventional classification was based on the number of raw materials and brewing methods used, but the Twelve Grades of Nozomi, as the name implies, has evolved into a graded classification of Nozomi.
Whereas in the previous regulations, for example, there could be many different combinations of the same five fermentations, the 12 levels of fermentation clearly define the elements to be employed, as follows.
1-nouzou: rice from the Kikuchi River basin
Ni-no-no-kozo: "sake brewing with sake yeast" (sake yeast)
(iii) No pesticide-free brewing
(iv) No-fertilizer-free brewing
Five-fermentation wooden vat
6-nouzou brewing - no yeast added
7-no brewing - bookmark
8. hanging rice on a rack
9. winter waterlogging
10-fermentation: seedlings in the field
11. Sparse planting with a single palm
Twelve-fermentation horse cultivation
The labels have been renewed accordingly, so that the farmer's classification can be identified on the front label.
This time, the taste had a strong nuance of white peach, whereas it usually has a grape-like flavor.
The taste was clean and gaseous, with a final touch of acidity. In the end, I think this one may be my favorite.
Today is Peach Festival, and we have opened a bottle of Akabu Snow Extra.
Because it snowed in Tokyo today. It was the perfect opportunity to drink a winter sake that I had missed out on.
I had given up on Snow Extra because I missed the timing to buy it. However, a while later, I found it at a liquor store that I often visit and bought it without incident. The liquor store does not have a large refrigerator, so they sometimes delay the release of new sake because of their style of releasing the next shipment after the first shipment is sold out. I usually feel sad that I can't buy it on the release date, but this time it worked out for the better.
Now, this was my first time to try Snow Extra, and it was a personal strike.
The low alcohol content of 13 degrees Celsius makes it light and refreshing, so you can drink it as much as you want.
Once again, I was able to realize that I like this strain of active nigori sake.
I am very glad that I was able to obtain it.
This is the first time I have had Wakamusume sake.
It is a sake with a very nice name, Juni-Hisai-iro.
I had been curious about Wakamusume since I saw it introduced on social networking sites, but I could not find it. For the same shipping cost, it is more economical to buy two bottles than one.
The base of the flavor is fresh, fruity and sweet. It has the sweetness and umami of rice, but is not heavy, and the acidity helps to give it a clean overall impression. As the label on the back says, "We want this sake to evoke the delicate and elegant Japanese sense of beauty," the taste has a thin and clear impression.
I am not sure if there was a sake with this kind of taste when I was enjoying sake in Niigata about 15 years ago, but I wonder if I would have been shocked if I had encountered it then. Would I have been shocked if I had encountered it back then, or would I have been uninterested in sake other than the light and dry type?
This was one of the things that occurred to me.
In any case, I am thankful that I can enjoy this delicious sake now.
Good evening, Hori 😃!
Congratulations on your first wakamusume ㊗️ in 12 secret colors 🎉You're right, considering the shipping cost, I would buy in bulk 🤗Please try our favorite flower tachibana if you have a chance 👋
Thank you for your comment, Jay & Nobby...
I agree with Hana Tachibana, and the wonderfully named sake that comes out each season is very appealing!
I have so many brands I want to pursue that my fridge and liver are at capacity....
We were served KOUEIGIKU Aizan (Hello! KOUEIGIKU Aizan).
There were two types of sake: Sumi-shu (clear sake) and Usu-nigori (lightly cloudy sake), but this time I chose the Sumi-shu.
The first thing to do is to open the bottle and pour it into a glass.
It was a glossy, smooth liquid with a texture completely different from that of water. It has a strong yellowish color and appears golden. There are no impurities such as lees or bubbles, and the transparency is so high that no convection currents can be seen at all, giving the impression of a stillness that is so tight that it is as if time has stopped.
The taste is also something else. It has a rich sweetness and strong acidity like ripe tropical fruits.
The acidity is so strong that it synchronizes with the lemon juice we were having with carpaccio with a lot of lemon juice. It is packed with so many other flavor elements that it is hard to believe that it is a clear liquid, yet it also has the usual astringent nuance that is typical of KOUEIGIKU.
Hello! KOUEIGIKU is a special sake brewed to introduce people to Koueigiku. My introduction to Koueigiku was Snow Crescent, and had it been this, I would have followed the same path.
We received a bottle of Sairai Junmai Ginjo Nama-zume.
This sake is made by the Kitanishi Shuzo brewery in Ageo City, Saitama Prefecture.
This is the second bottle of Sairai I have had since the first bottle, a new sake nigori (nigori) called Usugiri.
I have never seen Sairai at liquor stores in my area, and I always buy it online.
I think I see the Junmai Ginjo with the light blue label all year round, so I guess it is a standard position. There seem to be several variations, such as unfiltered, unfiltered, and hi-ire sake, but the one I purchased this time was the nama-zume version.
The aroma is a clear ginjo aroma. The flavor is refined and modern, just as the label implies. It is fresh and fruity, but not too sweet, and the acidity and bitterness give it a refreshing taste.
It may not be particularly unique, but it is highly versatile and can be drunk on any occasion.
The first impression I had of this wine was to buy a bottle, but I personally feel that its performance exceeded my expectations. I will try some more of the other types and if they are good, they will become my favorite brand.
I sincerely hope that there will be a distributor within easy reach.
We received a bottle of Fukkai's Yamadanishiki Nama Sake.
I have seen and heard about Fukkai in many places recently. I had always been curious about it, and at a liquor store at the beginning of the year, I found a bottle of raw sake that I had never seen before and purchased it.
Fukuda Shuzo, located near the southern tip of Hirado Island in Nagasaki Prefecture, rebranded their main brand Fukuda, and this Fukkai was introduced in 2023. The concept is "sake that expresses the sea," and the brand aims to represent the sea of Shidabiki Bay that stretches out in front of the brewery.
Poured into a glass, it looks slightly yellowish, soft, and glossy, as is typical of nama-zake. There are no bubbles or visible gas.
When you drink it, it has a dense flavor that seems to have been condensed. My first impression was that it tasted "right in the middle of the trend," but as I drank two or three more glasses, I gradually began to notice its individuality.
It has a strong umami and is fruity, but not too sweet, and in the latter half, it has a clear and crisp taste with a hint of bitterness and alcohol.
If it were to be fired, it would become a little more relaxed and might be perfect for a mealtime sake.
There are also nigori and sparkling varieties, which I would like to try in the future.
Thanks for your comment, Jay & Nobby 😊.
Fukkai is delicious 🍶I understand that it is a sake from a place you are associated with!
It's possible that you feel the taste on a genetic level 🧬.
It is Kirinzan's Potari-Potari Koshitanrei.
I compared it with Gohyakumangoku, which I posted one day ago.
They look exactly the same in a glass and are indistinguishable. Both are pale yellowish in color and have a soft and thick texture instead of smooth and silky.
As for the taste, I thought the Koshitanrei was a little sweeter than the Koshitanrei I tasted last year. No, it is not sweeter, but rather there are more elements of flavor, or it is more expansive, and the Gohyakumangoku is clearer and crisper.
In any case, the difference in nuance is so slight that it is difficult for an amateur like me to put it into words.
I have heard that the difference in rice has a very small effect on the taste of sake, and this is certainly true. I heard that water and yeast, rather than rice, and even more than that, the type of sake the brewer is aiming for greatly influences the taste of the sake.
For example, if you want to make a spicy sake, you should not say, "If you use 00 rice, it will make a spicy sake," but rather, "I want to make a spicy sake, so I will use 00 rice that is suitable for that. Depending on the method of production, it may be possible to make a sweet sake using this 00 rice. The sake comparison gave us a chance to think about various things.
