New Year Sake Tasting!

Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu! A little late, but Happy New Year from the Sake Shop. Well the holiday season is finally over, and we hope it was “merry and bright” for everyone. Our sincerest thanks to all of you for helping us make 2013 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 2014!

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’ll be sampling a little bit of everything to start the new year off right.

NEW YEAR SAKE TASTING 2014!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
5:00pm to 8:00pm

OHYAMA TOMIZU
BIG MOUNTAIN “CLASSIC”
Tokubetsu Junmai

Relatively new to Hawaii, this sake from Ohyama begins with deep and complex aromas of fruits and grains. Thick and juicy flavors of fruit, harmonize with a mature savory flavor that ends with crisp acidity.

 

TSUKASABOTAN FUIN
KING OF PEONY “SEALED SAKE”
Junmai Ginjo

TSUKASABOTAN YAMAYUZU SHIBORI
KING OF PEONY “MOUNTAIN YUZU”
We sell a lot of this sake. While technically not a traditional sake, this yuzu infused low alcohol (8%) sake goes down like ice cold lemonade on a hot Hawaiian day. It’s filled with the fruity aroma of mountain yuzu citrus fruit and is extremely refreshing and expansive. Perfectly balanced sake with yuzu flavor and crisp acidity.

NARUTOTAI GINJO NAMA GENSHU
NARUTO’S SEA BREAM “GINJO DRAFT”
Ginjo

Don’t let the “can” fool you, this namazake (unpasteurized sake) is one of the shop’s best sellers! Your quintessential nama with it’s green, brash flavor and powerful impact. Gorgeously sweet and refreshing fruity aroma.  Very dry sake with great acidity.

WAKATAKE JUNMAI GINJO ONIKOROSHI
DEMON SLAYER
Junmai Ginjo

So come join us at the shop this Saturday and start the new year off right, with some great tasting sake of course.

Kanpai,
Malcolm & Nadine Leong
The Sake Shop

NEW YEAR SAKE TASTING 2014!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Tsukasabotan Sake Brewery

Tsukasabotan was founded over four centuries ago in 1603. Coincidentally, this was the same year the Tokugawa Shogunate was founded as well. They are located in Kochi prefecture on the South coast of Shikoku, in an area formerly known as “Tosa”.

Sakamoto Ryoma
As an ironic historical side note, Sakamoto Ryoma, a hero of the 19th century movement to overthrow the shogunate, came from a family with close ties to the owners of Tsukasabotan.

In 1918 the brewery modernized by formally becoming incorporated as a company. Mr. Mitsuaki Tanaka, a well known politician of the Meiji Restoration who came from Kochi, chose to give the brewery the name Tsukasabotan or “King of Peonies”.

Tsukasabotan Sake Press
Tsukasabotan is known widely as the “dry sake of Tosa”. It is said that you can’t talk about Tosa sake without drinking it in the process.

The name “Tsukasabotan” can be broken down and translated into two words. “Botan” which means Peony, sometimes referred to as the King of flowers, and “Tsukasa” meaning Chief or High Office. From this we get Tsukasabotan, the King of Peony.

Niyodo River

The water Tsukasabotan uses to brew their sake comes from springs fed by the Niyodo river. This soft water was once considered unsuitable for making sake.

Then Tsukasabotan brought in a master brewer from Hiroshima who had developed a soft water brewing process that actually improved the quality of the sake.
Later, the water of the Niyodo River came to be ranked number one in water quality by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation.

Narutotai Sake
So everyone always asks why does Narutotai Nama Genshu come in a big shiny can as opposed to a bottle. Good question, here’s the answer.

The can actually protects the sake by keeping out all sunlight. The can also helps to keep the sake colder and protects it from heat.

Narutotai Nama Genshu is an unpasteurized sake, which means there are still live enzymes and bacteria “sleeping” in this sake. Heat and light tend to activate these things with terrible results.  A metal can  is able to better protect the namazake and you have to admit that the can just looks cool!

For the purists out there who are concerned about the aluminum can affecting the flavor of the sake, you’ll be happy to know that the can is lined with a sealant so the sake never touches metal.

Hand Selected Rice Grains
Narutotai is also known for doing something pretty incredible with the rice they use to make their sake. After milling or polishing the rice down to the desired size, they HAND PICK only the best rice grains to make their sake with!

They call this technique “Tsubuyori” which means “selected”. By removing the imperfect pieces they ensure that only the finest grains of rice are used to make their sake. They really take the idea of “quality control” to a whole other level!