I've always been rather interested in sake... although wine has definitely taken all of the time as far as my beverage interests are concerned. So, when Rich, The Passionate Foodie, picked it as the WBW I was pretty excited. It started back when I was living in Chicago. Nick and I had a favorite restaurant, Mirai, which had awesome sushi (yes, in the Midwest) and a huge sake list. Our only exposure to sake had been the warm sake you use for sake bombs, so naturally we asked what was 'up' with cold sake. What happened was a two-year exploration of the different bottles that Mirai had, and not an exploration of the different types. We found that in general we liked a light, fruitier sake. Then, when we first moved to San Francisco, we found ourselves drinking a lot of the unfiltered 'nigori' style sake from Japan's Takara. Thankfully, our palates have developed drastically. Just how drastically was something we found out with a visit to Takara's Berkeley, CA tasting room and museum.
Takara decided to open up a stateside operation in Berkeley after realizing that Berkeley's climate was similar to their area in Japan's climate, and it gave them access to two key things: superior water from the Sierra Nevadas, and locally grown rice. The Berkeley site has since become the largest US producer of sake. What I enjoyed most about visiting the Berkeley site is their museum. Takara painstakingly gathered and then shipped to Berkeley a relatively large number of 19th century Japanese sake-making accoutrements: huge cedar barrels, bamboo scoops and cups, and a rice cooker that was nearly the size of my bedroom (check out a diagram of the whole 19th century process here). My favorite was the balls made of cedar leaves: sake makers would gather green cedar leaves into a large ball when the sake began fermenting. Once the green leaves turned brown, fermentation was complete! After a trip through the museum and a partial viewing of their very cheesy video (really, don't watch the movie; just learn from the museum) we set upon a rather lengthy tasting of the breadth of sakes that Takara makes. A rundown of what we liked and didn't like:
- Sho Chiku Bai Junmai Classic: this was pretty standard, basic sake. You could probably drink this one hot or cold. Nothing special here.
- Sho Chiku Bai Tokubetsu Junmai: here was a more refined, much smoother version of the classic Junmai.
- Shirakabe Gura Tokubetsu Junmai: Made in the same process as the previou sake, but in Japan from 'premium' water and 'stringently' selected rice. Again, it was smooth and on the dryer end of the sake spectrum.
- Sho Chiku Bai Tokubetsu Junmai Kinpaku: Want to feel like a rapper? This one has gold flakes.
- Sho Chiku Bai Organic Nama: The hostess claimed this is the first fully organic sake in America. I enjoyed the earthier, mushroomy bouquet and a decidedly more savory flavor than the previous tastings.
- Sho Chiku Bai Antique: This was the crowd favorite, hands down (not surprisingly, also the most expensive at $60/bottle). We were sold just on the 'antique' style bottle with its fun metal clasp and ceramic-topped stopper... but this was a surprisingly unique and complex selection from such a large producer. Earthy notes of moss and mushroom were complemented by sweet notes that went past the usual melon fruit to more floral and herbal ones.
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