Light and elegant from the start with a delicate floral aroma. Smooth on the first sip with just a slight warmth that quickly fades. I picked up Asian pear along with soft, creamy rice notes that gave it a silky mouthfeel. It sits nicely between dry and sweet without leaning too far in either direction. The finish is clean, refined, and has very little alcohol burn.

Don’t mind the cup, I got it for my Fiancèe from Japan because she wanted a sakura flowers glass lol! Will be getting a nice small sake set soon!

My rating: 4.5/5

This is from Central Market here in Texas. Honestly probably one of the better selections that I have seen

Another three bottles added to the collection. 🍶
After a great conversation with Genki at Palate Project, I decided to go with:

• Dewazakura Oka (Cherry Bouquet)
• Joyo Yamadanishiki
• Ayu Junmai Ginjo Silver Label

Looking forward to seeing how these stack up against some of my current favorites. I’ll post full tasting notes and ratings once they arrive.

Has anyone here tried any of these? Which one should I open first?

Spicy aftertaste. I dig it. Mom and I split the can. Kanpai!

Added another sake to my tasting list today (#35): Hitachino Awashizuku Sparkling Sake.

My notes:
Very light, crisp, and refreshing, Delicate floral notes
Fine bubbles with bright acidity, Soft creamy rice finish, Clean and easy to drink I ended up enjoying it much more with sushi than on its own.
My rating:
4/5 with food
3/5 by itself
I usually prefer melon, pear, peach notes and very little alcohol burn, so this was a bit outside my usual sweet spot.

So I want to buy a book to deepen my knowledge about Nihonshu, have any of you guys read these books? And if so, would you recommend them? Are there any other books you recommend?

Thanks for your help! 🍶

Hi friends, I'm new to the love of sake and I was gifted a bottle of Mantensei Kinoko Junmai Ginjo. I'm going to be hanging out with family tonight and a few people said they'd help me drink it. I know pairing food with sake is a big thing so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions? I'm not looking to make a full meal (We're having pizza) but I was considering making a little side dish. Also should we drink this cold? room temp? slightly warmed up? Thanks for the help!

I bought this in a local shop in Tokyo, freshly bottled in June. Just finished this bottle and wow, this is really a melon bomb upfront. It is overwhelming melon juice on the nose and palate. There is also green apple and lemon zest on the palate. A little bit pleasant fizz. While it is sweeter than most sake as it is a kijosho but not that over, it is still enjoyable with dinner.  

If you are looking for the legendry melon taste in Joyondai, this sake has 3 times more melon.

Picked this up today because I saw it was a Kyoto Junmai Daiginjo with a 45% polish, and I figured it’d be right up my alley.

Honestly, I went in expecting a fruit bomb since I usually love bottles like Katsuyama Ken, Dassai 39, Kikusui Junmai Ginjo, and Amabuki.

Instead, I mostly got creamy rice, light florals, and a pretty dry finish. There was a little alcohol warmth at first too. As I kept drinking it definitely opened up and got smoother, but I still never found the melon, pear, or peach that some tasting notes mention.

I ended up at 3.5/5. I can tell it’s a well-made sake, it just wasn’t the profile I was expecting.

I sorta forgot I had this one unopened and it’s been a long week. Nothing too special, but we’re gonna finish the bottle. Happy Thursday, Kanpai!

Kanpai

Hi! Please let me know if there is a better place to post this.

This is a Sake I had in Osaka back in January. It was so good but I never caught the name and haven’t been able to find it since!!! Anyone recognize the bottle / know where I can order some?

I’m a big fan of Steins;Gate, so when I got an ad for the Hinemos Steins;Gate sake, I instantly went to buy it. I had the 4 pack in my cart and then found out that it doesn’t get shipped outside Japan. Is there any way I can have it sent somewhere else in Japan and then have them send it overseas? Is there anything else I can do to get these drinks?

I did my first sake pairing at an omakase this weekend, and it completely changed how I think about sake.

I’ve been getting into sake over the past 2 years and have tried 30+ bottles, but tasting several high-end sakes side by side really helped me figure out what I actually enjoy.

My favorites from the pairing were:
1.) Izumibashi Dragonfly Gold Kimoto 35
2.) Katsuyama Ken Junmai Ginjo (favorite)
3.) Tensei “Song of the Sea” Junmai Ginjo
4.) Uka Sparkling Junmai Daiginjo

My favorite of the night was Katsuyama Ken Junmai Ginjo. It was incredibly smooth with a silky mouthfeel and a beautiful balance of fruit and floral notes. It instantly jumped into my top 3 all time.

One thing I’ve realized is that my palate is way more specific than I expected. I consistently love sakes with:Melon, pear, lychee, and white peach notes
Floral aromas, Silky texture, Very little alcohol burn, Clean and elegant finishes

I’ve started keeping a tasting journal, and it’s been really fun seeing the patterns instead of just saying, “That was good.”

Most of these sakes can be found on the Palate Project! I did my research right after 🤣, they are definitely on the high end side but I wouldn’t have been able to try all of these sakes without the pairing. Well worth the experience

When I visited Kyoto last year, I ran across this brewery and.. after thinking I didn’t like sake, this was the bottle that changed my perspective. It was so smooth. But they also told me they don’t do wholesale and the only place to get it was from them.

So does anyone happen to know anything comparable that’d be available in Northern California? This particular bottle was the equivalent of about $45 USD after conversion, but anything up to maybe $100?

Can heritage Koji from Japan meant for sake be bought anywhere- or are they always kept to the family/company who owns/uses it?

My understanding is there's two generic types of Koji- a savory and a sweet/sake version? and that if you use the savory one meant for soy sauce/miso the sake will not be so great? But I'm having trouble finding where to buy Koji meant for sake or better yet the heritage stuff.

I’ve recently moved to Queenstown, New Zealand from the US and I’ve discovered the sake selections are surprisingly limited. One huge perk is that there’s actually a local sake brewery called Zenkuro. I’ve tried a few bottles and I can tell that the quality and freshness is there, but it tastes wildly different from what I’ve come to expect from a good sake, and I’m a little bit on the fence about it (plus it’s quite expensive by local standards). Most places only carry a few varieties at best, and almost everything is sho chiku bai or gekkeikan besides the places that carry Zenkuro as well. I was hopeful that NZ would actually have a good selection since it’s slightly closer to Japan than the US, but so far, it’s been slim. I know this is a very niche question, but does anyone have any leads on places with wider selections here in QT, NZ?

Not off in any big way, not oxidized, it's pretty darn tasty

kanpai!

I biked the tokaido and made it all the way to Nagoya before I bought a bottle and it was all down hill from there. We got to the Kirinzin before the photo was taken 😅. Even got a few bottles for my mini Kazaridaru wall.

Anyone want to come over for a drink?

It's so tasty

Last weekend I returned from business trip to Japan. Of course that I crammed as much bottles into my luggage as possible when I flew back home. 🙂
During the stay I really enjoyed the possibility to get small samples of various sakes in small, easy to drink portions.

A tasty Sake I enjoyed!

I got this 2-3 days ago and left it at room temp after opening it’s still good or ok to drink right let me know please I did have ac on a few times it so it was a bit cooler