sake

High quality sake in post-tsunami Fukushima

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
This should be a success story. In 1990, Fukushima prefecture got zero gold medals at the Japan sake awards. This was just when Japanese consumers started to pay more for premium sake, so the local government took the embarrassing shutout seriously. Fukushima's government started a sake academy to teach brewers Read More

Konteki “Tears of Dawn” Sake

David Honig
Wine Reviews
1 min read
A complex sake with a multilayered palate. The color is quite clear, like water, but with better legs. Apple, white florals, and hints of caramel roil up from the glass. The palate leads with caramel apple and banana, followed by deeper flavors of potato and truffle. A tiny bite of Read More

Tōzai “Living Jewel” Sake

David Honig
Wine Reviews
1 min read
A complex sake with a multilayered palate. The color is almost perfectly clear, with barely a hint of straw. The nose is complex, offering  yeast, melon, and pear. There is a lot of movement on the palate, opening with melon, then rolling through pears, white florals, hazelnut, and raspberry. Potato Read More

Bushido Ginjo Genshu Sake

David Honig
Wine Reviews
1 min read
Sake meets summer, in a convenient 180ml can. The color is perfectly clear, and just it is just slightly more viscous than water. Pears and rice come through on the nose. On the palate, it's slightly sweet, offering melon and poached pear, followed by tart raspberry and hints of white Read More

Tōzai “Snow Maiden” Sake

David Honig
Wine Reviews
1 min read
The color is milky-white, with lots of particulate in suspension. Aromas of fresh-cut honeydew melon waft up from the glass. Loads of fresh melon, honeydew and cantaloupe, light up the palate, followed by white pepper and radish. White pepper lingers. The flow from sweet to sharp is fascinating. It pairs Read More

Sake is Getting Sweeter

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
Sake is changing. The most expensive Japanese versions, Ginjo and Daiginjo, are getting sweeter on average. Yet mid-range artisanal sake (Junmai) is getting drier. As such, it may be time for dry wine lovers to give up on Daiginjo, save some money, and switch to Junmai. I don't believe anyone Read More

When Sake Gets Too Polished

W. Blake Gray
Features
4 min read
Rice needs to be polished to make premium sake. But there's an arms race going on, and American consumers have something to do with it, because unlike so much about sake, we can easily understand numbers. Hollywood celebrities and Las Vegas high rollers are seeking out sakes with absurdly low Read More