Timeline
Y.TokushigeShuwashi and creamy, so-called active nigori sake. Fresh, light sweetness, then astringency, bitterness, and acidity for a clean, dry sake that is not sweet. It can be paired with darker tsumami. Y.TokushigeHachisen Nouveau is here again this year!
I love it so much that I bought it in a bottle this year!
It is fresh and gassy. It has a fruity sweetness with a green apple flavor. It's not sweet, but it has a sour and bitter taste that is refreshing and keeps you coming back for more! Thanks again this year! Y.TokushigeSour. Sour and refreshing. Like a white wine with strong acidity. Yes, it is sour!
Sake rice → Koshibuki (Niigata), Yamadanishiki (Toyama)
Polishing ratio: 60
Yeast→Kyokai No. 901
Alcohol content→15
Sake meter degree→±0
Acidity→1.5
Amino acidity → 1.0 hoshiakiSpecial Junmai🍶Autumn Agari🍁.
Cold sake ✨. A little creamy, slightly sweet ☺️. Slightly spicy Japanese pear aftertaste. Stir-fried squid and gammo with Egyptian salt 🎑 for a long autumn night.
Purchased at Morita Shoten @ Urawa, drinking at home 20231009 hoshiakiSpecial Junmai🍶Hitachi-nishiki🍁 from Ibaraki Prefecture🌾.
Slightly yellow (slightly), cold sake. It is gradually crisp and dry. It has a hidden riceiness and umami. It makes you crave for a snack. It goes well with the crispy walleye 😆Warmen it up to 50 degrees for a more umami and mild taste. Heating up is the right thing to do 😅.
It also goes well with pork gizzards after 2 days of aging 😆 Also with stir-fried squid and gammo with Egyptian salt 😆 It's a sake that goes well with food 😆.
The label design is "Ukanomitama", a goddess closely related to foxes who is widely believed to be the god of agriculture (Tajin) and Inari (Inari-san) 🤔.
Purchased at Morita Shoten @ Urawa, drinking at home 20231007 hoshiakiJunmai hi-ire nazake🍶Yamae-nishiki🌾.
Refreshing aroma ✨. As the brewer commented, it is indeed green apple 🍏, a little sweet. A little sweet and crisp. Goes well with salted squid cucumbers, a souvenir from Iida, Nagano 👍.
Purchased at Morita Shoten @ Urawa, Tokyo 20231007
The following is a reprint of the brewer's comment.
~A light, refreshing sake with green-apple-like acidity.
Yamae-Nishiki, Nagano Prefecture's rice suitable for sake brewing, is characterized by a light mouthfeel! The green apple-like acidity that bursts on the palate gives it an exceptional crispness.
15% pure sake. The slightly low-alcohol finish emphasizes the balance of flavors that can only be achieved with sake in its original state. hoshiakiJunmai 🍶Yawaraka, the blessing of the earth ✨Ihyakumangoku🌾 from Sakasai-cho and Yachimachi city, Chiba pref.
It's deliciously bitter and spicy, with a strong acidity 😳. A bit harsh when served cold 🤔. Goes well with cheese. A bit like white wine. At room temperature. It has a sense of sizzle. It has more flavor and less harshness. It goes well with Hiroshima greens. It's great with grilled yellowtail with salted malted rice after a month of aging 🎉This flavor will really come into its own as the temperature drops.
Purchased at Morita Shoten @ Dew, Drinking at home 20230906 20231003 Y.TokushigeIt has a modest standing aroma. The mouthfeel is full-bodied with a mellow umami flavor, but the acidity and bitterness finish it off nicely. The thickness and sharpness of the acidity may be derived from the omachi? It is a strong sake, but it can be enjoyed on its own. Of course, it can also be served with a meal. It is delicious!
(Perhaps because it shares the point of brewing Yumachi with flower yeast, it is similar to the Li Bai we had a while ago, full and mellow and delicious.)
Sake rice: 100% Omachi grown in Okayama Prefecture
Polishing ratio→50
Alcohol content→17
Yeast → isolated strain from Tokyo University of Agriculture (begonia flower yeast) Y.TokushigeThe first wave of punchy umami comes in with a bang, but it is not too strong due to the crisp sweet and sour acidity. The aftertaste is a lingering bitter umami. It is complex and delicious!
Sake rice→100% Omachi produced in Akaban
Rice polishing ratio: 55
Alcohol content: 17 degrees Celsius
Yeast → Flower yeast (vine rose, HNG-5) Hoyo純米吟醸 うすにごり 羽ばたく純米吟醸原酒生酒おりがらみ Y.TokushigePlump with lots of small bubbles. The creamy bitterness and acidity of nigori makes it light and easy to drink. The sake is said to be -11 on the sake scale, but it is not that sweet. Not bad.
Sake rice: 100% Sasanishiki
Rice polishing ratio: 60
Alcohol content→14
Sake degree→-11 Y.TokushigeMelon. Fresh, clear sweetness and rounded acidity with some minerality. Easy to drink and good as expected.
Sake rice → Domaine Sakura, 100% Yamadanishiki
Polishing ratio→Koji 50%, Kake 60
Alcohol content→13 degrees Celsius Y.TokushigeIt is well-balanced and tasty with a clear acidity of malic acid and a light sweetness. Both the acidity and sweetness are crisp, clean, and easy to drink. In a sense, it is not like sake, but more like juice!
October 1 is both Sake Day and Glasses Day.
Alcohol content→15 Y.TokushigeI tried the super-hot one, which I don't drink very often.
+It is indeed quite dry and robust, but it also has the umami of rice and a hint of sweetness.
When served cold, it has a delicate bitterness. When lukewarm, the umami spreads out more than the bitterness. The sake goes with the good tsumami, and the good sake goes with the good tsumami. The synergy never stops.
Sake rice → Niigata Prefecture acidity, Koji rice: Gohyakumangoku, Kake rice: Koshiibuki
Rice polishing ratio → 60
Alcohol content→18.5
Sake degree→+20.5
Acidity→1.25
Amino acidity→1.45 Y.TokushigeIt is clear and light, but has an impressive light acidity with minerality. It is clear and has a delicious flavor. It is low in alcohol and easy to drink. It can be served with a variety of meals.
Sake rice→Yamagata Prefecture's Izuwasanbaku
Polishing ratio→50
Alcohol content→13 degrees Celsius Y.TokushigeI opened it casually, thinking it wasn't that bad, and the cork popped!
The first sip went into my body like water. From the second sip, the round, gentle sweetness, acidity, and bitterness gradually seeped into my body!
Sake rice→100% rice suitable for sake brewing
Rice polishing ratio→55
Alcohol content→15%.
Sake degree → -6
Acidity → 1.6
Amino acidity → 1.1 Y.TokushigeIt is fresh and floral, but it is very gentle and has no corners at all. The mouthfeel is very smooth and soaks into the body. It is delicious.
Sake rice → 100% Gohyakumangoku produced in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture
Rice polishing ratio→55
Alcohol content: 16 to 17 degrees Celsius Hoka秋あがり 純米生一本 別囲い純米生一本ひやおろし Y.TokushigeIt is a junmai sake, but it is gorgeous, with a strong standing aroma and a hint of fragrance. It has a full-bodied flavor with a strong rice flavor. It is easy to drink and delicious, with a mellowness and roundness that has survived the summer.
Sake rice → Koji rice: Shirakaba-Nishiki, Kake rice: Yoneshiro
Rice polishing ratio→70
Alcohol content→16
Sake degree→+3
Acidity → 1.3 Y.TokushigeFruity, but with a refined sweetness and flavor that goes well with Tsumami, and just the right amount of sweet and sour acidity. Elegant and smooth, but with a strong umami flavor. Is this the special A district Yamadanishiki? Is it Nabeshima's skillful brewing?
Either way, it is delicious! Good cost performance!
Sake rice: 100% Yamadanishiki from Yoshikawa, a special A district sake rice produced in Hyogo Prefecture
Rice polishing ratio: 60
Alcohol content→15 Y.TokushigeFirm umami and refreshing light lactic-like acidity. The roundness of low-temperature aging is nice. The rice polishing ratio is low, but there is no cloying taste and it is refreshing. It is delicious!
Sake rice: 100% Omachi grown in Okayama Prefecture
Rice polishing ratio→65
Alcohol content→15%.
Sake degree → +5
Acidity → 1.4
Amino acidity→1.2 Y.TokushigeGI Yamagata. Fresh and fruity, but with a gentle sweetness and umami, with a clean aftertaste and light mouthfeel. It is like a sake that has sweetness and umami but a thin aftertaste (in a good sense). Many summer sakes have a strong acidity, but this one is light and refreshing without relying on acidity, which is just the way I like it in the hot summer. I never get tired of drinking it.
Sake rice: 100% Yamagata Prefecture produced in Izuwanosato
Rice polishing ratio→60
Alcohol content→15.5
Sake degree→-1.5-0.5
Acidity → 1.8
Amino acidity → 0.9
Yeast → Yamagata yeast, Yamagata NF-KA, Kyokai 1801 RecommendedContentsSectionView.title