Since sake is neither beer nor spirits, where do notes on sake go? I generally post them in Epicurean Exploits along with the accompanying food.
I would imagine that a discussion of Sake would go here – maybe without the food notes?
I haven’t settled down on a preferred style. I buy the white Nigori sake and enjoy that, but not hugely.
Most junmai ginjo Sake has a nice complexity and a kind of suave texture but it often comes out sweet, sometimes too sweet for my taste.
I realize that it impresses NOBODY but for the job of washing down quantities of sushi I like the black and gold stuff from Gekkeikan. Yes, that’s like admitting you like Manischevitz in a way, but that stuff, served hot, scratches an itch for me.
We haven’t drunk warm sake since Kiku Sui in Redondo Beach started carrying genshu sakes about 25 years ago. We slowly over the ensuing years moved up to junmai, junmai ginjo, and junmai daiginjo sakes, as Kiku Sui started carrying them. They were all drunk at room temperature of slighlty cool.
Several sakes worth seeking out imho:
Kubota Manjyu
Kubota Senjyu (slightly cheaper than the Manjyu)
Jyuyondai
I love good sake, junmai, junmai ginjo or junmai daiginjo. I find that it really shines in a white wine glass, instead of those little shot glasses they usually offer. In fact, I’ve been complemented by sushi chefs for appreciating that this is the best way to appreciate sake. The late, lamented Chanterelle in NYC had a fantastic sake list. Roger Dagorn, the sommerlier, would pair it with European dishes in a masterful way.
We’ve enjoyed a lot of Juyondai, first at Kiku Sui in Torrance Ca. Then we also had it at a small sushi bar in Kyoto with Mark Miller.
However I’ve never seen it for sale at a liquor store either in SoCal or here in Santa Fe. I guess I’ll have to try True Sake in San Francisco.
The other two we’ve never heard of.
At home here in Santa Fe, we drink mostly Wakatake Onikoroshi Jumai Daiginjo, Yaegaki Mu Black label Junmai Daiginjo, and Rihaku Wandering Poet Junmai Ginjo. Occasionally we’ll try some others. A store in Albuquerque, TaLin, has a pretty good selection.
True Sake has both Kubota Manjyu and Senjyu.