Category: Sake Reviews

Sake Reviews

Ozeki Hana Awaka Sparkling Sake Review: Fragrant, Flowery And Beats The Hell Out Of Prosecco

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Ozeki Hana Awaka sparkling flower sake.

The Ozeki sake brewery is one of the powerhouses of the sake industry, producing a wide range of memorable nihonshu. Founded in 1711 and based in Nada, the brewery has made a name for itself with several innovations, like the famous one cup sake produced during the 1964 Olympics in Japan.

That spirit of innovation can be felt throughout all the Ozeki products and a bottle I enjoyed tasting recently was Ozeki Hana Awaka. With an elegant, unexpected flavour profile, this sparkling sake has plenty going on.

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Kuncho Honzojo Review

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Kuncho honjozo.

Having already provided a profile on Kuncho Shuzo Co. Ltd in a previous review of their fantastic Kaorucho Junmai, there’s not a lot to add about the ever-popular, Kyushu-based brewery here. That online references to their history and methods of production are minimal is perhaps best respected; especially if it allows their wonderful products to speak for themselves!

Instead, I wanted to say a few words on honjozo, the classification of the Kuncho brew I’ll be opening up today.

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Kuncho Junmai Review

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Kuncho Junmai sake.

Whilst Kuncho’s English language online presence is unfortunately minimal, it’s clear that they’re a highly respectable brewery, extremely proud of their underground water supply, and wholly committed to producing excellent quality ‘old-fashioned, unchanging taste’ sake. Housed in a beautifully grand, late-Genroku period (1688-1704) building in Hita city, in the Oita prefecture of Kyoshu island, Kuncho also operate a sake museum and shop.

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Sake Reviews

Hinomaru Bekkaku Daiginjo Review: Nihonshu Fit For Royalty

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Hinomaru Bekkau daiginjo is produced by Hinomaru Jozo in Akita Prefecture.

In the sake world, daiginjo is a phrase that’s associated with high-quality craftsmanship. The same can be said for sake across all categories, yet daiginjo is often positioned at the top because of the high rice polishing rate that goes into its production. In the case of Bekkaku daiginjo, the association with exceptional sake is spot on.

Elegant, smooth and enchanting, the Bekkaku daiginjo is nihonshu fit for royalty. 

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Hati Hati Junmai From Morikuni Sake Brewery Co. Ltd Review

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Morikuni Shuzo are clearly a sake brewery that like to do things differently. In a world dominated largely by companies established hundreds of years ago and proudly narrating their rich histories on their websites, this small brewery (founded in 2005) has had to carve out its own quirks.

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Sake Reviews

Kuncho Nigori Review: All The Best Qualities Of Afternoon Tea Poured Into A Glass

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Kuncho nigori sake has notes of clotted cream, plum and lemon.

When it comes to sake, ban ryu is an appropriate phrase to use, as it translates from Japanese to ‘a thousand ways.’ This sums up the many different paths to crafting nihonshu and the huge volume of styles that are waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. 

Nigorizake (cloudy) sake is a distinctive style with a unique set of flavour profiles, due to how it’s produced. It’s sake with rice particles that have been left over from the filtration process. 

Rather than pressing the sake out of the moromi (main fermentation mash) through a fine filter, nigori is crafted with a mesh filter, leaving behind some of the solids, giving nigori it’s cloudy appearance. 

A great nigori that I tried recently was produced by the Kuncho brewery located in Oita prefecture. The flavours were unlike anything I’ve experienced in drink form before.

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Sui Sui Sui Junmai Ginjo By Morikuni Sake Brewery Co. Ltd Review

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Craft beer’s monumental shake-up of traditional food and drink combos has seen IPAs, pilsners and stouts appear on the menus of diners for which such a move would have been unthinkable just ten years ago. Where some form of wine was previously the only ‘recommended pairing’ for just about any dish in just about any restaurant, suddenly a good quality beer from the likes of Cloudwater, Verdant or The Kernel is just as acceptable, and arguably more accessible and affordable for many.

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Sake Reviews

Sorakami Sake Tasting Pack Review: Three Diverse Nihonshu That Are Perfect For Beginners

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Oka gingo, Chrysanthemum meadow, mirror of truth sake.

In the UK, sake is steadily becoming more well-known, thanks to the efforts of businesses like Kanpai Brewery, Moto and Tengu Sake. Another brand that is doing a great job of putting nihonshu in the spotlight is Sorakami, which offers a sake subscription club where you can receive bottles on a monthly basis. 

Sorakami’s inventory is diverse and one of their most interesting offerings is the starter pack, containing three different styles of sake that are perfect for beginners and sake savants. They are the Dewazakura Oka Cherry Bouquet ginjo, Tedorigawa Chrysanthemum Meadow yamahai daiginjo and the Masumi Mirror Of Truth junmai.

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Hyakunen Mae Kimoto – Mansakuno Hana Junmai Koshu Review

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Whilst not quite as simple as pushing a fresh, floral and fruity junmai daigingo to the back of your cupboard and trying to forget it exists for the next five years, aged sake is indeed a real thing. Specially pre-aged nihonshu (known as koshu) makes up a tiny amount of total sake production and sales and as a result is hugely misunderstood, forgotten or ignored.

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Guest Posts · Sake Reviews

Guest Post: Dassai Sparkling 45 Junmai Daiginjo Nigori Review

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When it comes to premium sake, the Dassai brand created by the Asahi-Shuzo brewery remains a constant powerhouse. Their junmai daiginjo range has captivated drinkers across the globe and I’ll add myself to that list of evangelists. The Dassai 23, 45 and 39 rank among my favourite nihonshu and it’s intriguing to see the kind of innovations that the Asahi brewery continues to champion.

Jordan Smithcroft also enjoys Dassai sake and he’s written up a great review of the epic sparkling Dassai 45 junmai daiginjo nigori.

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