Taste with KJ – Take a Hike… with Sake!
For this month’s ‘Taste with KJ’ sake pairing challenge, my partner and I blazed onto our favorite trails and brought sake cups, as well as various snacks for pairing. All of the sakes tasted a bit more intense due to our activity levels and outdoor temperature. Therefore some of these snacks and sake may work better or worse in a more controlled environment. Any who, these are the snacks and sake that made their way into our backpacks while hiking in the California wilderness!
THE SAKE:
Otokoyama Tokubetsu Junmai Namachozo Can
Kikusui Funaguchi Ginjo Nama Genshu "Red"
Kenbishi Kuromatsu Honjozo "Black Pine"
Housui Yamahai Jikomi Tokubetsu Junmai "Old Mountain"
Joto "Graffiti Cup"
THE SNACKS:
Beef Jerky
Trail Mix
Gummy Worms
Dried Mango
Crunchy Cheetos
Cheddar Squares
Spicy Chipotle Cashews
While most of these snacks seem like junk food, the beef jerky provides much needed sustenance in the form of protein. Trail mix provides protein in the form of nuts, glucose in the form of chocolate and lots of sodium to maintain hydration. While the gummy worms, dried mango and Cheetos may be harder to defend; they were balanced by cheddar squares and chipotle cashews, both tasty providers of nourishment.
THE TRAILS:
Tilden Nature Area at Little Farm
Dos and Don'ts of Sake and Recreation
If you are not from Northern California, you may not realize that we have many trails that include bovine companionship in the form of cattle grazing! DON’T feed a cow your sake pairing snacks and be sure to drink lots of water.
DO sit in the shade if and when necessary. Keep your sake in a cold sleeve and never drink more than 1x 180ml sake cup per hike. Being deep into nature in a dehydrated state is never a good idea. Again, we DO NOT recommend filling a Camelbak full of sake or riding a bike in a 103F Santa Cruz heatwave with a Hakushika pack strapped to your transportation. I may or may not know this from personal experience…
That being said, let’s dive in!
Nimitz Way Trail
The beauty of the East Bay’s rolling hills are captured on Nimitz Way, an epically scenic paved trail great for hikers and bikers alike. This trek called for a classic sake in its own right, making Kenbishi Honjozo the optimal choice. Nimitz has a few perfectly positioned benches facing either Mount Tamalpais (or Mt. Tam to us locals) to the west or Mount Diablo to the east. This is an in and out trail, meaning it does not loop around. On our way back out, we started jonesing for snackage and opted for a Mt. Tam view with Kenbishi and chipotle seasoned cashew nuts.
Since we had been hiking for about 2 hours, our Kenbishi naturally warmed up in our backpacks, allowing us to enjoy its umami richness at around 70F (room temp). Aromas of molasses and brazil nuts emerged as we paired the spicy/savory cashew with the smooth honjozo. Kenbishi’s nose of chicken broth and morel mushroom made it seem like we were eating an entire meal! The sake’s 17% abv matched the zing of the chipotle powder, balancing them out and making them both softer and easier to appreciate. The slight sweetness of the sake also tempered the cashews' natural sugars. As a result, the Kenbishi tasted a touch drier and edgier. My partner Mike has a very enlightened palate and said the combination of this umami-driven sake and the spicy cashews reminded him of salty barbecued oysters, as well as karaage chicken with curry.
We may have been better off to quit while we were ahead, because attempting to pair Kenbishi with crunchy Cheetos may sound like a win win, but it actually made us incredibly thirsty and stole the thunder of the previous pairing. When really paying attention to a Cheeto, one realizes its extreme cheesiness. But not in a real cheese capacity. There is SO much cheddar powder, that even one crunchy Cheeto has the ability to overpower anything it’s served with. At first, when eating a couple of Cheetos, the Kenbishi was pleasant; but once we started digging into the bag, the cheese powder and corn meal/oil character started to dominate the palate completely. I do give credit to Kenbishi’s high umami content which gave it the ability to stand up to this cheesy crunch fest. Although, next time I will opt for my well-honed Cheetos pairing of 1994: an ice cold cherry coke on draft!
Briones Regional Park
Briones Regional Park in Contra Costa County is a true oasis of rolling hills and mysterious twists and turns. There are many cows to admire while hiking who also provide good vibes and companionship while on the road. The trails winding up and down make it a great park to work out in, so make sure to bring lots of water, snacks and maybe a little bit of sake for good measure. During the summer, Briones hills don an impressive golden color throughout, reminding us that we are indeed in the ‘Golden State’. For this inspiring hike, bringing a soothing yamahai seemed to evoke the soul of Briones in liquid form.
Since we were getting tons of exercise here, we paired our Housui Yamahai with individual cheddar squares. This new addition to the True Sake cup collection has a milky essence to it, with flavors of marshmallows and chocolate (reminiscent of a bowl of Count Chocula cereal, sans the sugar). The sake also provides heightened acidity in the form of lactic and amino acid, which brightens up the palate. When pairing this sake with sharp cheddar, the cheese softened the sake’s acidity, making the aromas of the sake more obvious. Mike thought this was a perfect match, creating new notes of buttered sweet potato when paired with the cheese.
Tilden Nature Area at Little Farm
Tilden Nature Area is a 740-acre preserve that links up to multiple trails and features a visitor center and a cute farmstead called Little Farm. Joto Cup was the ideal beverage in this relatively busy area. The Joto labeling and paper cup resemble aught-era frozen lemonade, alarming no one nearby due to its fun and friendly packaging.
Joto ‘Graffiti Cup’ is pleasing, not only due to its graffiti art packaging, but because of its silky smooth texture and mellowness. It has a slightly sweet character with gentle notes of flan and caramel. While the animals at Little Farm are only allowed to eat lettuce, we chose habanero jerky and dried mango slices to pair.
After a sip of Joto and a taste of hot jerky, new notes of candied apple and bacon emerged. The creamy texture of Joto also soothed the fiery pepper palate. The delicate sweetness of Joto heightened the savory and sweet notes of the habanero pepper itself, leading to a very successful pairing. Joto also worked wonders with the dried mango slices. The sake softened the dried mango’s sweetness and its voluptuous, round body combined to remind one of the best mango lassi of their childhood.
Strawberry Canyon (we cheated and had two kinds of sake on this trail)
If anyone has ever encountered a Funaguchi nama can, you know the influence and allure these cans can have on you. They have a whopping 19% abv, relatively high sugar content and deep aromas of honey and cocoa. The Gold can is the iconic original, but the Red can is a close second. Funaguchi Red is actually the Gold can aged 1 year. The Red has a slight roundness and integrated character that leaves a drinker wanting more. It is easy to consume one too many Funaguchi cans, so beware!
Pairing Funaguchi Red with trail mix was a no brainer, considering the sake exudes many of the flavors present in your average trail mix. What I didn’t expect was the staggering amount of sweetness this pairing provides. The trail mix totally outdid the sake’s sweetness, leaving the Funaguchi vapid in texture and highly boozy.*
If you find yourself contending with an incredibly sweet trail mix, combat that sugar by going in the opposite direction with super dry sake to completely cleanse the palate. This way, the trail mix won't have the ability to detract from the sake’s flavor. A dry sake conquers the palate and the trail mix shines (See Yuki Otoko in ‘Other Contenders’).
*Disclaimer: I still think this pairing will work, but try creating your own trail mix with freshly sourced nuts (lightly salted) mixed with dried Bing cherries and dark chocolate of your choosing.
My dreams of Otokoyama Namacho paired with gummy worms were dashed when I opened the bag of worms and realized the flavors (both natural and artificial) were so vivid that I liken them to a really nice shampoo scent or a department store candle. They were impressive in their variety, ranging from kiwi and pineapple, to mixed berries, orchard fruits and concord grapes, with each worm representing two flavors. These worms were definitely from the elite quality candy realm. Many gummy bear options only have 1-4 flavors, but these fragrant worms showcased about 8 different fruits! As I tried a few flavorful worms, I realized I would be hard-pressed to find a sake, or any beverage, that could contend with the intensity of both the aromas of the worms and their hefty sugar content. The namacho ended up losing its delicate fruit notes, but provided some much needed refreshment. While the festy bird on the can looks great with these colorful wigglers; it is safe to say that this candy pairing was a major fail.
Other Contenders:
Nanbu Bijin Tokubetsu Junmai ‘Southern Beauty’ - When the worms became too fragrant to handle, I thought of another cup sake that could do the trick. With the help of a hint of sugar, Nanbu Bijin’s fruitiness, including notes of papaya, persimmon, lavender and cardamom surprisingly stood up to the powerful worm flavors. I imagined it could work, but was also pleasantly surprised when it did. Nanbu Bijin’s Tokubetsu Junmai also works fabulously with dried mango slices! The sweetness of the mango slightly overpowered the sake, but I imagine this would be absolute perfection with fresh mango slices dressed in chamoy and tajin. Bring a Nanbu Bijin can on your next SoCal boardwalk adventure.
Yuki Otoko Junmai Cup 'Abominable Snowman’ - If the sound of all these crazy combinations make your mouth yearn for clarity, another great option is pairing super salty and sickly sweet treats with DRY sake. Believe it or not, dry sake will work with food items that contain high sugar content. Unlike dry wines paired with sweets, sake’s lower acid levels give it the ability to refresh the palate and clean up intense sweetness without any unpleasant tangy notes.
A few days after my last ‘Taste with KJ’ article came out, I was thrilled to find this sketch in my inbox of my friend Jollan (@jotozoto) and I slurping delicious tea at SF Wine and Cheese! He enjoyed the article and offered this quick thank you in cartoon form! Thanks for reaching out, Jollan!
What are your favorite cup sake pairings? If you would like to share your thoughts, email me at KJ@truesake.com and you could be featured in our next article. Kanpai for now!