Sake’s lower acidity might give you the impression of a narrower flavor profile compared to wine. But actually, due to its complex fermentation process, the nuances in aroma and flavor produced is incredibly vast. Enjoy six carefully handmade sake, each carrying the brewery’s legacy and deliciousness to please the people.
Join Miss Sake USA and sake expert Jessica Joly — and learn about the wishes and hopes that each sake carries from each brewery. Pickup on some tips and suggestions on pairings, and discover your own favorites at home!
Tomizu refers to the 10:10 ratio of rice to water used towards the end of the Edo era. Yamagata’s Haenuki sake rice, well water sourced from Mount Gassan and local Yamagata NF-KA yeast composes a thick fermentation mash that they mix using their own invention called an OS Tank. The resulting texture is minerally and thick but with “kire,” a clean finish, and a wonderfully restrained aroma.
This is plum sake blended with low-alcohol junmai genshu made with local Toyonishiki rice. Himezen only uses hand-picked, local, yellow-ripe plums from Miyagi prefecture, allowing for unique, elegant aromas and refreshing acidity. It’s also a platinum award winner at the 2018 London Sake Challenge. Serve chilled with ice, soda, or even freeze it to serve as sorbet.
Mizubasho is brewed from water that began as snow and rainfall that was then filtered slowly through the ground before being pumped up in Kawaba, a small village. Like the distance traveled by the water, drinking Mizubasho takes you on a journey. From the heady, mixed fruit aroma to the perfect amounts of umami and dryness, this sake is sure to satisfy. Be sure to relish the flavor by trying it chilled.
This pure rice ginjo is brewed with water that started as snow in the mountains around the brewery and, over many years, melted then filtered through the earth. This gives the sake a pure, refreshing taste, but enough transparency for you to notice the nuanced smoothness. Like catching snowflakes on your tongue or frolicking in fresh powder, the flavor will whisk you away to the beautiful slopes of pristine, snowy mountains.
This “genshu,” or undiluted junmai sake, has a higher alcohol content with concentrated robust flavor. It has an almost creamy texture that delivers layers of flavors like pear, lychee and banana. Beneath it all lies a nuttiness that only adds to the complexity. Neither too dry nor too sweet, Wakatake “Onikoroshi” Junmai Genshu has become a staple at many dinner tables and very well could become one at yours.
This sake is in line with the brewery’s goal of crafting clean and clear sake. It’s as if it’s a clear, mild white wine you can enjoy right from home! Using Gohyakumangoku and Yamadanishiki rice, Harushika “Junmai Ginjo” has both an alluring fragrance and a wonderfully expanding mouthfeel. The calm, navy blue label expresses the peaceful and mindful feeling of this sake.
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