Every sake I tasted the week of March 11th

This week Brian from SIPT came in to Sake Secret to host the weekly tasting. I’m on a side quest to get Brian in here more often so I can learn about his imports that we sell in the shop. This week we focused on the brewery, Ishizuchi, from Ehime (a prefecture on the island of Shikoku).

Ishizuchi Muroka Junmai

Three words: Subtle but also sharp

This is a Muroka Junmai sake made with local Ehime rice and soft water. It has a very subtle flavor but also a sharper finish compared to other sake we tried from this brewery.

Ishizuchi Junmai Ginjo

Three words: Mossy creek water

Mossy creek water with some body! This was by far my favorite of the three.

Ishizuchi Daiginjo

Three words: So soft mango

Elegant Daiginjo with a soft subtle fruitiness. Feels fancy.

Outside of the tasting I tried:

Ryusei Yamada Nama

Three words: Texture, body, mango

Immediately when we opened this I thought it tasted like Diet Coke, a phenomenon I have come to find out has something to do with astringency and sweetness in nama sakes. Nina from Sunflower Sake more eloquently described it as “underripe persimmon, walnut skin, or oolong tea”. Drinking it after it’s been open for a while, I definitely get more mango hi-chew with a just hint of diet soda.

Kuheiji Eau Du Désir

Three words: fancy, silken, satin

This is already a fancy-feeling silky elixir but we paired this with some chocolate that made it even more SILKYYYY SATIN SAKE. Lux.