Sake sake sake

I just discovered that we missed celebrating Sake Day (Nihon-shu) on October 1. (It's also my father's birthday, so I think we'll have to work on his appreciation of sake so that he can celebrate both at once.)

But anyway, it's a good opportunity to finally post about Joy of Sake, which we attended in August.

The Joy of Sake is a sake tasting event associated with the U.S. National Sake Appraisal, which has been held annually since 2001. Following the appraisal, the entries are all presented at events in Honolulu and New York, plus a related event with selected sakes in San Francisco (a Sake Soirée).

There were 271 entries. We tasted about 30. We tasted some that we thought were fabulous. And I was oddly pleased to find that there were actually a couple that we tried that we didn't like -- we aren't completely undiscerning, it turns out.

We spent most of the evening hunching over the tables, reading the info cards, and filling our cups by the eyedropper-full... It was incredibly crowded, so there were lines for food, but really we were able to get to the sake we wanted to taste without much difficulty. I overheard one of the organizers say that had hundreds more people than they had originally planned for. Most of the restaurants' tables ran out of food well before the end of the event. We were certainly glad that we made eating a priority early on.

Our favorite sake of the night was Okunomatsu "Tokubetsu Junmai" from the Fukushima prefecture, brewer: Okunomatsu Shuzo. This was a gold medal winner. And it is available in the U.S., so we are told. We need to start hunting for it, I think.

The food was all excellent. We didn't sample everything, but enjoyed eats from Doraku (B particularly enjoyed their tuna tataki with garlic chips), Gyotaku, Lewers Lounge (mmm short ribs like butter), Nobu Waikiki, Town, and Zen Shu (the quail egg in the photo).


And just for fun, here's the link to the "group photo" from our sake-tasting party (costumes required) two years ago. It all began there!

Our pick of the night

No, still not a movie review -- I'm following up on the promised post regarding the favorite pick from the sake tasting. Our friends got this at Tamura's and they relied on an employees advice. We all thought they got a good steer.

Setsugetsubijin Junmai Ginjo
Oimastsu Brewery
Oita Prefecture

We thought it smelled like pears and had a nice complex flavor. I think this was everyone's favorite and I'd definitely get it myself some time.

We're turning Japanese

Last weekend we had a sake tasting/costume party. I don't want to go into extensive detail that might sound self-congratulatory, but it was great fun. (B and I are dressed up as anime characters.) Our friends were all really great sports and I think everyone had a new appreciation of sake by the end of the evening. I'll say more about our top choice in another post.

[click on image to see larger view]

Rihaku "Dreamy Clouds"

A little background before the post proper: B and I have recently been exploring sake. I figured I'd track the adventures here -- it's as good a place as any -- and you might all enjoy it as well. We are far from connoisseurs -- just starting out -- so you can say you were with us from the beginning...or close to it.

Rihaku, "Dreamy Clouds"
Tokubetsu Junmai Nigori
Shimane prefecture
SMV: +3
Acidity: 1.6
Unfortified
~$26

We picked this one out at Tamura's (our local source for an excellent wine selection, our Illy coffee, and poke) based on the shelftag and it turned out it was also on the list of Fifty Sakes to Try in Sake: A Modern Guide (by Beau Timken and Sara Desaran, Chronicle Books, 2006), my primary source of information thus far.

We'd tried a couple of cheaper nigori sakes before, without knowing anything about it, and liked them fine. (A nigori sake, by the way, is one that is left unfiltered. The white sediment is rice polishings.)

Rihaku's "Dreamy Clouds," however, has blown us away entirely. It was absolutely transporting.

Food: Timken recommends "bar snacks, smoked fish, and macaroni and cheese." So I figured it should work ok with our fancy grilled cheese (mozz cheese, pesto, chicken panini). We tasted it before eating, in case the food was too strong, but we enjoyed it just as much once we started our meal so our choice was ok. (The next night we finished the bottle -- a small glass each -- and I don't remember what we were eating, but I do remember that it was an unsuccessful pairing.)

P.S. I just noticed I have consecutive postings about clouds, in a way. Funny.