Two more quality josen from Yamaguchi's local sake breweries.
Futsushu Trail – Part Three
The Futsushu Trail Continues
Astonishing. It's been eight months since my last post here! Thank M*sk for waking me up to how much time I've been wasting on Twitter and reminding me that I have other places to put my thoughts down. So, here we are back on the Yamaguchi sake futsushu trail, looking for all the single-serving sized... Continue Reading →
Tasting – Toyo “Maru” Bijin Junmai Ginjo
This junmai ginjo is a special bottling offered through a local sake shop, Nakashimaya, which also uses the business logo Marumi, which is the same character used in Bijin, hence the "Maru" in the name. Toyo "Maru" Bijin 55 Junmai Ginjo This sake is particularly special, as the sake shop has contracted with Sumikawa Shuzo... Continue Reading →
Tasting – Hagi Sake Duo
At a recent On-nomi I focused my drinking on a pair of sakes from Hagi city in Yamaguchi. Hagi is a major brewing city in Yamaguchi prefecture, and locals are growing increasingly vocal about their ingredients, including locally grown rice, and Hagi's spring water. Migaki 6 Tokubetsu Junmai, Hagi grown Yamada Nishiki, Seimeibuai 60% The... Continue Reading →
Tasting – Toyo Bijin Jundo Ichizu
It appears a month has passed since my last post! How time flies. I haven't left sake behind, have no fear, I just seem to have been too busy to blog. But I have my notes, and there are some interesting things to report on. Yamaguchi's "other" famous brand, Toyo Bijin from Sumikawa Shuzo has... Continue Reading →
The Closing of the Year
Rather than do a regular old tasting note, review, or event update, I thought I'd take a look back at what this year was like for me in my sake journey. 2019 was a fairly big sake year for me. I led my first tasting class back in January, and did my first work translating... Continue Reading →
Tasting – Abu no Tsuru Goya
Abu no Tsuru is a little sakagura on the Sea of Japan side of Yamaguchi, and it produces some wonderful sake. This one is a very nice junmai with a seimaibuai of 58%. The King of Visual Pun Labels The new kuramoto and toji, Ryutaro Miyoshi, was formerly a designer and brings those skills to... Continue Reading →
Shoraku Tobingakoi – Tasting
Shoraku Daigjinjo Nama, Seimaibuai 35% This is a limited edition daiginjo from Chomonkyo brewers Okazaki Shuzo. I'm a sucker for tobingakoi (aka tobindori, shizuku, fukurotsuri) sakes, and Chomonkyo is always a pleasure, so this was a no-brainer for me. In the glass, this sake has a very clean aroma with hints of rice and a... Continue Reading →
Takarabune Junmai – Tasting
This sake comes from Hagi and is shockingly hard to find. None of the major liquor stores I've been to have had it, and I only got this one because I was taking a different route home from a distance party we go to and stumbled on a nice looking local shop. This was the... Continue Reading →
Chomonkyo Natsujun – Tasting
I picked this special summer junmai from Chomonkyo brewers Okazaki Shuzojo at a roadside plaza in Nagato, not far from the Hagi brewery itself. Usually when I think of summer drinks, I think of light, refreshing things like lemonade or barley tea. So my assumption was that this would be a light, fruity sake as... Continue Reading →
Yamaguchi Sake 