5/19/09: Niigata Saké Selections Tasting

While sakés from Akita are getting lot of publicity in NYC, Niigata still carry a lot of clout in the world of saké.

On this date, I was able to sample quite a few sakés at the brewer tasting courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Kobayashi, who run Niigata Saké Selections.

Mr. Saito from Kirinzan Brewery holding Kirinzan Junmai (SMV: +4, Acidity: 1.4, Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Yuki No Sei, Seimaibuai: 60%, Yeast: G9NF), one of my favorites from the tasting. While I am a big fan of their Junmai Daiginjo, the junmai more than held its own. Slightly more brawnier than the subtle and smooth junmai daiginjo, the junmai brings out the essence of the flavor of the rice.

Speaking of the junmai daiginjo, here is their highly distinctive bottle.

Here I am with Mr. Hirashima of Obata Shuzo, which is located on the Sado Island in Japan Sea. He was pouring their fruity daiginjo (SMV: +5, Acidity: 1.1, Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Seimaibuai: 50%, Yeast: #1701), and deep and balanced junmai ginjo muroka genshu (SMV: +3, Acidity: 1.7, Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Seimaibuai: 55%, Yeast: #1701), both from their Ma No Tsuru label.

The four diamond boxes on the family crest of the brewery represents rice, water, man, and "Sado Island terroir." Although tough to find in the NYC area, their sakés are worth seeking out.

It was great to see Mr. Aoki from Aoki Shuzo, who I first met 2.5 years ago. I noted with a tinge of fear in my voice that the Junmai Ginjo seems to be more fruitier compared to 2 years ago. Fear not, this was a result of changing rice from Miyamanishiki to the locally grown Koshi Tanrei, to keep with the brewery's philosophy of using local ingredients.

No, this man is NOT from Niigata (Sakurai-san from Dassai Brewery in Yamaguchi.)

We have couple of attendees representing Akita. Speaking with Mr. Kobayashi is Mr. Kakizaki from Asamai Shuzo, maker of Ama No To label, and saké sommelier Chizuko Niikawa.

Rick Smith of Sakaya, Tim Sullivan of Urbansaké, and Mrs. Kobayashi of Niigata Saké Selections.

Here I am with Mr. and Mrs. Kobayashi, who is holding a bottle of Yukikagé Tokubetsu Junmai (SMV: +4, Acidity 1.3, Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Seimaibuai: 58%, Yeast: S3). For under $30 a bottle, Yukikagé is one of the best valued quintessential Niigata saké, showing gentle and subtle expressions of rice and grain.

For these sakés and ones I couldn't mention, visitNiigata Saké Selections for further details.

4/30/09: Sakagura

Tonight's visit to Sakagura was a momentous occasion, as it marks the last night for my long time friend Kadoi-san before moving onto Robata-ya in East Village.

For this occasion, he brought out Juyondai "Hiden Tamagaeshi" Tokubetsu Honjozo (SMV: +2, Acidity: 1.2, Rice: Gohyakumangoku, Seimaibuai: 60%) that has been resting in the Sakagura refregirator for 4 years. The aging brought out ripeness both in the nose and the palate, and while the flavor was initially sweet, the intenseness and dryness led to a long finish. I couldn't really decide whether I liked it or not, but it certainly was interesting.

The second saké was one of my comfor saké, the Shichi Hon Yari Junmai. This complex junmai never fails to meet my saké demands!

Third saké was Ama No To "Junkara" Junmai, as Akita is always on my mind (when it comes to saké).

Lastly, I had Kikuyoi Tokubetsu Junmai (SMV: +6, Acidity: 1.6, Rice: Nihonbaré, Seimaibuai: 60%, Yeast: Shizuoka) based on Kadoi-san's recommendation. Soft on approach and exzpressing true essence of saké, I very much enjoyed Kikuyoi.

I will miss his friendship as well as this type of personal attention. Best of luck!!!

3/9/09: Pairing Saké with... Pottery?!

Saké Hana teamed up with antique pottery dealer Makari to bring interesting saké tasting event: studying how different pottery impacts flavor of saké.

There were three famed pottery styles represented in Hagi, Iga, and Imari (three on the left, clockwise).

Each pottery was paired with a different saké, also poured into the control cup (three small glasses to the right).

In the end, I found Imari to have very minimal impact in terms of flavor, as the material is fine china instead of rough clay. The wide mouth did allow the sides of the tongue to taste the sakés first, which made the the saké feel lighter in the mouth.

Hagi had a significant change to the flavor, as it brought out more mineral flavors. With high grade sakés, I am afraid it may detract from the fruity flavors.

In my mind, Iga was the ideal vessel as it softened flavors and rounded out the edges. This is a definite plus if you're having some Junmai or Honjozo. For the Ginjo and Daiginjo classes, it provides similar effect to aging saké without the oxidization.

In an interesting twist, Toshi had submerged a Hagi cup in saké overnight, which made it much more round and mellow.

All in all, it was a great lesson to see how the material and shape of a vessel can affect flavor of saké. If you have different saké cups, try to see how different they can make your favorite bottle taste!

2/1/09: Nanbu Bijin Junmai Ginjo

2009 greeted me with new job at a very well-known Japanese Media Company. The good news is that it's a big step up in my career and keeps me challenged. The bad news is that I haven't had too much time to play (kind of explains why I am posting about February in August...) It also took me into February to get my first saké-centric post.

On this cold Saturday,I invited few friends for a home-made pasta party (saké and pasta? Sure, why not.) Here is one of the lovely guests making her first hand-made pasta.

The saké of the choice was another bottle I came home with, the Junmai Ginjo Hiyaoroshi Nama Genshu (SMV: +5, Acidity: 1.5, Rice: Miyamanishiki, Seimaibuai: 55%, Yeast: #9) from Nanbu Bijin. Fruity with vibrant and lithe texture with tremendous depth, this was the highlight of the party.

It should be noted that we didn't actually pair saké with pasta, as it was drank while waiting for water to boil. Let's just say that we didn't wait too long to get to the next bottle, the Vietti Barbera...

November and December, 2008

11/29/08: Nabé Party

After my trip to Northern Japan, I definitely had to meet up with the Tohoku Girls. This time, I was invited to Ms. Iwaté's place for a Japanese hot pot party, along with Ms. Aomori, Ms. Miyagi and a new member, Ms. Hokkaido.

Ms. Aomori prepared marinated Gyu-tan, which is a thinkly sliced beef... well, you can Google it.

I contributed two bottles. The first one to be opened was Nanbu Bijin Junmai Daiginjo (SMV: +1, Acidity: 1.5, Rice: Yamadanishiki, Seimaibuai: 40%, Yeast: #9) that I brought home from Japan. This was a prototypical modern-style Jumnai Daiginjo, with soft apporach and incredibly round and fruity flavor.

Nabé, or Japanese hot pot is essentially cooking ingredients in a dashi-filled communal pot at the table, which makes it a very social event and highly suited for drinking saké. The ingredients were fresh vegetables and seafood.

The second bottle was Kudoki Jouzu Junmai Ginjo from Yamagata. The refreshingly fruity and clean style was a good match to go with the nabé.

Here is Ms. Aomori, Ms. Iwaté, and Ms. Hokkaido. Ms. Miyagi is presumebly holding the scallops shown on the lower right...

12/13/08: Nanbu Bijin Nama

On this Saturday, I stopped by Sakaya to discover that Nanbu Bijin Nama is now available in the US. Surely, this must be from this batch. Two years ago, Nambu Bijin Nama was light and dry with flavors of steamed rice, more traditional in style. Last year, the style was far more modern, emphasizing fruits. This year, the change in yeast added elements of fresh mushrooms to the fruits. I wonder what next year's version will bring?

12/31/09: New Year's Eve

My friend Hideo invited me to a New Year's Eve Party at our mutual friend's office space. While "office space" doesn't sound particularly attractive, I couldn't resist as it was located right near Times Square,where I could enjoy the atmosphere from inside.

Inami-san contribted a whopper of a bottle, Kokuryu Shizuku Daiginjo in a 1.8L size. Polished down to 35%, this was extremely gentle, fruity, and deep.

My contribution was Ama No To "Umashiné" Tokubetsu Junmai.

Much more traditional in style, I really enjoy the rich umami of Umashiné.

A shochu made an appearance, and a rare one at that - Hozan red label made with sweet potato koji mold. Soft, complex, and delicious.

I am sure that wlcoming the New Years with Umashiné will bring good luck in 2009!

Home Sweet Home

The day after touching down, I attended the Akita Saké Tasting. Of course, I was jet-lagged, but the good thing was, I was able to sleep in. What's a litte saké for breakfast?

My enjoyment of these sakés were amplified, with the trip to Akita still fresh in my mind. For example, any time I have Ama No To, I am reminded of times like this.

In the following days, I met up with friends to share the tales from my trip. This should come as no surprise to say that the sakés I chose were bottles that were fresh in my memory, such as the time I brought Také No Tsuyu Tokubetsu Junmai to a friend's place.

Of course, I also had to go to Sakagura. My drink of choice was Hakuro Suishu. (I believe I might have depleted their inventory through subsequent visits.)

The food selection was slanted towards various type of meat, which is a rarity for Daiginjo-grade saké, but at this point, I can convince myself that anything would have paired well with Hakuro Suishu.

11/13/08 - Day 14 Part II: Food for Thought

Having added few bottles to my luggage, my priority was to get to the Airport ealry to unload. As the flight was scheduled for early afternoon, most of my time was spent inside the airport.

I picked up few books, walked through countless souvenier shops, and of course, hit the food court for lunch.

One of the great thing about Japanese restaurants is the visually-driven storefront menu. You see these at practically every restaurant.

These plastic models give you a very good idea of what to expect, and in fact, will make you hungry just looking at them - a tremendous marketing tool, if you ask me. I wonder why we don't have these in the States?

Since my first meal was ramen, I figured the last one be might as well. From symbolic standpoint, after a night of drinking, it is customary to finish with ramen - it's just that my night lasted 14 days. Scanning the menu, I decided on this ramen and curry set.

So, what did the real thing look like in comparison?

Not too bad, eh?

11/13/08: Day 14 in Japan Part I - Trains of Japan Part II

Following the earlier installment, here's part II of the trains of Japan.

Space age-like interior of Shinkansen Hikari(ひらり), which I took from Tokyo to Shin Osaka.

This massive structure of steel and glass is the Kyoto station.

Shinano(しなの), which I took on the Nagoya leg during my visit to Shichiken Brewery in Yamanashi.

Returning from Yamanashi to Tokyo, I took Super Azusa(スーパーあずさ).

View of the rail tracks of the Yamanoté Line.

Traveling from Tokyo to Kamakura is done on Yokosuka Line (横須賀線).

Kamakura also is the terminal for Enoden(江ノ電), which we took to go to my home town of Gokurakuji.

Kamakura leg of Enoden goes through narrow residential areas. Here is a view of the tracks between Yuigahama and Hasé Stations.

A mountain separates Hasé and Gokurakuji. This is the tunnel through the mountain.

Emerging from the tunnel.

After all is said and done, it's time to head to Narita Airport taking NEX...