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Well the holiday season is finally over, hope it was “Merry and Bright” for everyone. Our sincerest thanks to all of you for helping us make 2011 such a great year for the shop. We couldn’t have made it without all of your help and support, and we’re looking forward to an even better 2012!
So of course everyone has been asking, when’s the next sake tasting? Well wait no more because here it is! Join us this Saturday for our FIRST sake tasting of the new year. We are excited to have with us Ms. Hiromi Iuchi of Kuramoto USA. She’s bringing with her FIVE different sake to sample including THREE sake that are brand new to Hawaii.
2012 NEW SAKE
COMPLIMENTARY SAKE TASTING & SALE
Saturday, January 28, 2012
5:00pm to 8:00pm
Here is the lineup for this Saturday.
SHICHIDA
**NEW TO HAWAII**
Junmai
New to Hawaii from Saga prefecture, Shichida Junmai has a calming sweet aroma of honey and green apples. It is an elegant medium dry sake with a refined acidity. Rice actually milled down to Ginjo level of 65%.
DENSHIN
“INE”
**NEW TO HAWAII**
Junmai
Crafted using the very rare “Koshinoshizuku” rice from Fukui prefecture, this Junmai from Ippongi Brewery actually drinks lighter than your usual Junmai and has a mild ricey flavor with a slightly dry finish. Actually milled down to the Ginjo level of 60%.
DENSHIN
“YUKI”
Junmai Ginjo
This sake has a calm fragrance with a pure dry taste. Brewed using both Yamadanishiki and Gohyakumangoku rice, this sake has become a favorite of not just regular sake drinkers but also professional chefs seeking an appropriate sake to accompany fine cuisine.
KEN
“THE SWORD”
Daiginjo
Ken is a highly allocated limited quantity sake with only 4,000 cases being produced each year in Fukushima prefecture. Gorgeous aromas of pears, melons and peaches. Very elegant and crisp with a beautiful finish. The rice for this super premium Daiginjo has been milled down to 40%.
YUZU OMOI SAKE
**NEW TO HAWAII**
From Kyoto prefecture we bring you a new infused sake called Yuzu Omoi. It has the aroma and flavor of yuzu citrus fruit mixed with a quality Junmai sake. Soft acidity balances out perfectly with tart sweetness producing a refreshing citrus flavor that you’re sure to enjoy.
So please join us this Saturday for our first Sake Tasting of 2012. Meet Ms. Iuchi and try some brand new sake for the first time in Hawaii. A little birdie said she might be bringing a few extra goodies to taste if we’re lucky?
Kanpai,
Malcolm & Nadine Leong
The Sake Shop
NEW SAKE
COMPLIMENTARY
SAKE TASTING & SALE
Saturday, January 28, 2012
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ippongi Kubo Honten
OK, so you’re asking yourself why did we post a strange picture of a dinosaur holding a bottle of sake in it’s mouth? Don’t we normally post a picture of one of the sake breweries we will be tasting this Saturday.
For those of you that noticed the dinosaur, good catch! For those of you that didn’t … maybe you need to cut back on the sake? Anyway, I found this picture online and it actually ties in to one of the sake breweries we will be tasting this Saturday called Ippongi Kubo Honten.
It turns out that Ippongi Sake Brewery is located in Katsuyama City which is in Fukui prefecture. Katsuyama is known as the “Dinosaur Kingdom” because more dinosaur fossils have been found there than in any other place in Japan. Hence the dinosaur/sake picture above.
The area that Katsuyama city is located in is blessed with good water, fertile soil and the perfect temperatures to grow high quality sake rice.
Both Gohyakumangoku and Yamadanishiki rice are grown here along with a very special rice called Koshinoshizuku, a rare newly developed sake rice that came out in 2003.
Koshinoshizuku rice has not been released outside of Fukui prefecture and only 1000 bales are produced each year. We are very lucky to be able to sample Denshin Ine sake this Saturday which is made from Koshinoshizuku rice.
Back in the samurai days, the feudal lord of the Katsuyama city area, Lord Ogasawara, gave the symbolic name “Ippongi” to the sake that was brewed exclusively for him.
The name Ippongi comes from the Zen term “Daiichigitai” which means “Ultimate Truth”. When Ippongi Sake Brewery was founded in 1902 it inherited this historical sake name.
Ippongi Brewery uses the well known Nanbu method of brewing. which produces a very simple clean tasting sake.
The Nanbu Toji Association or Guild hails from Southern Iwate prefecture and is one of the largest and well known styles of sake brewing in Japan.
Nanbu along with the Echigo Toji Association and the Tanba Toji Association are referred to as “San-dai Toji” or “The Big Three” in Japan.
One of the sake we are trying today is an infused sake called Yuzu Omoi. It is a sake that has been infused with the Japanese citrus fruit called Yuzu.
So what is Yuzu? Yuzu is a citrus fruit that can be found through out Asia and has a unique flavor similar to but not exactly the same as a lemon or orange.
Believed to come originally from China, Yuzu is rarely eaten as a fruit, and instead is often used much like a lemon would be when flavoring food.
