Joto Sake Tasting!

JOTO SAKE TASTING

It’s not too often that we do back to back sake tastings two weeks in a row. We’re making an exception this week because our new friend Ms. Stella Parker of Joto Sake will be in Honolulu this Friday and graciously offered to host a sake tasting at the shop. Who were we to say no?

Joto Sake is one of our importers who bring in a wonderful line of premium sake from a variety of different sake breweries. This Friday we’ll be sampling five different sake from three different breweries including one of Nadine’s favorite sake, Seikyo Omachi Namazake.

Last year we were only able to get two cases of Seikyo Omachi Namazake and the year before that we got none. This year after a lot of begging and pleading we were able to secure three cases of this hard to find  elixir, and we’re looking forward to sharing it with everyone this Friday.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS WEEKS TASTING IS ON A FRIDAY, not the usual Saturday. Please stop by to meet Ms. Parker and sample some of her delicious sake. You won’t want to miss it!

Joto Sake Tasting!
Friday, April 25, 2014
5:00pm to 8:00pm

Shichi Hon Yari 
“Seven Spearsmen”
JUNMAI

Technically qualifying as a junmai ginjo, this junmai is a great introduction to sake. It is earthy and mushroomy in the nose but reveals light, fresh notes of grapefruit and melon on the palate. Its structure is open and dynamic, its body light, its finish crisp and clean. It complements flavorful foods like cooked Japanese food and French or new American.

Seikyo Omachi Namazake
“Mirror of Truth”
JUNMAI GINJO
** NADINE’S FAVORITE **

Seikyo Namazake is an unpasteurized sake brewed with Omachi rice. It is characterized by a deeply rich and soft taste with a crisp finish. The Omachi rice that is used to make this sake was originally discovered more than 150 years ago and is the oldest existing sake rice, as well as the only non-crossbred sake rice that still exists in Japan today. Bright and lively, this sake shows notes of ripe watermelon, mango and citrus in the finish. It is well balanced with a rounded flavor and clean acidity.

Seikyo Takehara Junmai
“Mirror of Truth”
JUNMAI

Since olden times, most sake has been brewed with ordinary food rice. Also today, the mainstream of sake consists of local sake (jizake) brewed with ordinary rice harvested in that area. Takehara Junmai is brewed with Shin-Senbon and other rice locally grown in Hiroshima.

Joto Daiginjo
DAIGINJO

Joto Daiginjo is a private label sake made exclusively for Joto Sake by Tomita Sake Brewery, the makers of Seikyo sake. Their Daiginjo is delicate, soft and clean, showing hints of green apple. It should be served chilled and paired with salads, grilled chicken, sushi and sashimi. Great value for a very delicious Daiginjo.

Yuki no Bosha Akita Komachi
“Beauty of Akita”
JUNMAI DAIGINJO

Akita Komachi means “beauty of Akita” and is both a reference to the fair ladies for which the region is known as well as its cherished local rice of the same name. This daiginjo has upfront notes of white pepper that fade into dried apricot and melon. It should be served chilled and complements French and New American cuisine, as well as sushi and sashimi.

So please join us this FRIDAY (not Saturday) for our Joto Sake Tasting. Get a chance to meet Ms. Stella Parker and enjoy some really tasty sake. See you then!

Kanpai,
Malcolm & Nadine Leong
The Sake Shop

Joto Sake Tasting!
Friday, April 25, 2014
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Tomita Sake Brewery

Tomita Sake Brewery was founded in the 1540’s in the small town of Kinomoto located in Shiga prefecture. They are the proud makers of Shichi Hon Yari sake which we’ll be sampling this Friday.

They are one of the oldest and smallest sake breweries in Japan, with their entire annual production of sake limited to just over 5,000 cases per year. With only one toji(brewmaster) and three brewers producing every bottle of Shichi Hon Yari, this sake is truly te–zukuri, or “handmade.”

Seven Spearsmen

Shichi Hon Yari is named after the seven spearsmen who became legends at the battle of Shizugatake fought just outside the town of Kinomoto in 1583.

In this battle, these seven warriors crushed their enemy and brought victory to their leader, the warlord, Hideyoshi. One battle later, Hideyoshi defeated the Nobunaga clan and secured his dominance over Japan.

When the Tomita’s started shipping their sake to the new capital of Tokyo, in the Edo Period, they named their sake after these great warriors and created their “sake of victory.”

Ms. Stella Parker of Joto Sake

At this Friday’s tasting we have the pleasure of welcoming Ms. Stella Parker to the shop. Ms. Parker is Vice President of Sales at Joto Sake, and she’ll be here to pour her wonderful sake and answer your questions.

Nakao Sake Brewery

Founded in 1871, Nakao Sake Brewery stands in Takehara, a historical city on the coast of the beautiful, island-studded Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Takehara is home to a well-preserved district of old merchant houses and is full of temples and shrines. It has been called the “Small Kyoto of the Aki District.”

Nakao Sake Brewery makes sake under the brand name Seikyo, which means “True Mirror.” The brewery selected this name for its symbolism: the sake in the cup is like a mirror of which it is hoped that (in its taste) it truly reflects the heart of?the brewer.

Mr. Kiyomaro Nakao circa 1940

The most important characteristic of “True Mirror” Sake, is the original development of the yeast. The fourth director of the Nakao Sake Brewery, Kiyomaro Nakao, recognized that “yeast is the most important element in determining the taste of sake”.

Together with Professor Kinchiro Sakaguchi, a famous Professor of Fermentation Science, he collected more than 2,000 types of yeast from all over Japan. One by one, he carefully experimented with these yeasts and as a result, in 1940, he came across a type of yeast that could produce an excellent bouquet and fresh taste.

Indeed, with a fruit-like, refined aroma, mild, fresh sourness, and powerful fermentation capabilities, he had discovered the perfect yeast. Because it later became possible to extract this yeast from the rind of apples, it was named “apple yeast.”

Saiya Sake Brewery
Founded in 1903 and managed by the fifth-generation son, Kotaro Saito, Saiya Sake Brewery is located up North in Akita prefecture.

They make really good sake, so good that Yuki no Bosha has won eleven gold medals and three silvers from 1990 to 2005 at Japan’s National New Sake Competition.

This makes it the fourth most-awarded brewery at the competition. The Saitos were also the first brewers to produce a certified organic saké in Japan.

Yuki no Bosha or Cabin in the Snow
Yuki No Bosha or “Cabin in the Snow,” is a celebration of the northern Akita region of Japan, one of the most important saké-producing areas in Japan.

Yuki No Bosha sakes demonstrate a great balance between fruitier and spicier notes. The brewery primarily uses indigenous Akita Komachi and Gin No Sei rice, but also utilizes Yamadanishiki rice from Hyogo for some daiginjo’s.

Brewmaster Toichi Takahashi
The makers of Yuki No Bosha are masters of their craft. The proof is in the many national and regional awards they have won, but the source is their toji, or “brewmaster.” A veteran of the esteemed Sannai Toji guild, Toichi Takahashi has been a brewmaster for thirty years, twenty of them at the Saiya Sake Brewery.