In this issue:

• This Sake Is Old! – Aging A Perishable Product
• TPO – Time, Place, and Occasion
• New Store Arrivals – Hello Organic Sakes!
• Special Events
• "Ask Beau"
• The SECRET WORD

As we all know, sake is a perishable product that is pasteurized and does not use the long lasting aging agents such as sulfites found in wine. Wine of course wins the battle of being able to lay bottles down for years and years, but once you open a bottle of wine you are only talking hours rather than days for drink-ability. Because of pasteurization sake keeps longer once the bottle is opened – much longer! Now what about aging sake if it is perishable? Like brewing sake itself, the act of aging sake is an art form pure and simple.

Aging sake is part of the sake making process. Historically sake was made in the winter and spring months. It was "laid down" either in large vats or in bottles during the summer and released in the fall. This so-called aging period was intentionally used to mellow out the flavor of freshly brewed sake, which is actually quite lively, raw and crisp. Let's just say they used the "aging period" to take the edge off. Each brewery uses their own aging schedule, which they feel works best for their sake. That said the average aging/mellowing period is roughly 6 months, at which time they bottle and/or release the sake to the public. If you put a gun to a sake maker's head and said "how long will the sake be good for after you bottled and released it?" they would answer, "help!" But if you asked nicely they would say "6 months." And by that time figure they are guesstimating that the sake will not change much during that period.

Aged sake is called Koshu. And there are many ways to achieve this "aged-sake" status from keeping it refrigerated at sub-zero temperatures to forgetting about leaving a bottle in your closet for years. The results vary. Some breweries specialize in Koshu and they use various refrigeration techniques, and others use room-temperature storage techniques. Low temperature or freezing aging techniques yields a mellowed yellow color sake or even clear if it is cold enough. And room temperature techniques yield a brownish colored sake bordering on soy sauce looking. For example True Sake sells one Koshu sake that has been sub-zero aged since 1999, and another that was low- temperature aged since 1997. We also carry an 8 year-old Koshu that was room temperature aged. They all look and taste quite differently. I know of one brewery that blends their 25,15, and 10 year-old Koshu into one sake.

Koshu sake is still quite a mysterious subject. Many feel it is a bit of a taboo topic, but more feel that aging sake is an entirely new and pleasurable way of enjoying this great beverage. Typically Koshu is served after a meal, as they tend to be full-bodied with deep and rich flavors. Many earth tones such as grains, nuts, mushrooms, rice, and straw become pronounced, and deep fruit tones and honey-like qualities also appear. I will be the first to say that Koshu is not for everybody, but once you try it – it is a broad new terrain to travel. I also make it a policy and store invitation that I will trade you new and fresh sake for any old sake that you may stumble across in your closet. But be brave and try it yourself. The worst thing that can happen is that it tastes bad and you chuck it. I have never heard of anybody dying from bad Koshu. That said I have heard of people dying for good Koshu!

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There is an old industry slogan about Time, Place, and Occasion, and it has to do with how you feel whilst drinking sake. It's hard to appreciate anything when you are in a bad mood. Of course there is the metaphysics involved revolving around the enzymes that your mouth creates on account of emotions. But more importantly it is the subconscious that will remind you later how you enjoyed or didn't enjoy something at the moment. As I have told countless times, I have been in the worst of moods and have been offered "the best sake in Japan" and found it both boring and swill-like! And likewise I have been in the best of moods and have been offered durge and swill-like sake that tasted as if floating virgins had trickled the nectar of the gods into my awaiting mouth. Therefore it is more about you than the sake!

Sake changes and so do you! You can try the exact same sake on different days, and like it one day but not the next. I am extremely guilty of labeling sakes that I don't like. But often when I revisit these banished sakes they have qualities that I did not know that they possessed and feel like a fool for ignoring them. What am I saying? And by all means please give me your best Beatles guitar-strumming intro: "Give Sake a Chance" "and another and another!" And remember True Sake doesn't sell bad sake – you're the problem!

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True Sake used to carry a designated "organic" sake, but the importers decided to stop representing it. Then I recently discovered that one of my favorite sakes in the store uses organic rice in its production (thank you Miwa). So I decided to scour the US-imported sake offerings and consequently have collected two more quality organic sakes to fill out our current inventory. Each of these sakes uses organic rice and pure water, and represents the "greenest" sakes available from Japan. Takara Sake Brewery in Berkeley makes a sake called "Organic," but we do not carry it as it is not imported.

• Daishichi Shizenshu Kimoto "Big 7" from Fukushima.
  Junmai. SMV: +2 Acidity:1.4 $35/720ml
• Tokun Sharaku "Samurai" from Chiba.
  Junmai Ginjo. SMV: +2 Acidity: 1.3 $30/720ml
• Koshino Hoden "Organic" from Niigata.
  Junmai Ginjo. SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.4 $30/720ml

You can review many of our sakes on our web site: www.truesake.com

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There is not much going on in April. True Sake's next tasting event will be larger in focus and will take place in May. We are going to select a Japanese restaurant to do a food pairing sake tasting of note. The restaurant tastings are a lot of fun, so keep a look out for the May Newsletter for more details.

Also, for those of you who know of any special sake events, including all of you restaurateurs who I know read this Newsletter please let me know what flights of sake that you are currently serving and I will gladly share them with my most excellent readers. And in this same vein if any of you - my most excellent readers – know of good places to drink sake or enjoy sake with good cuisine please let me know at info@truesake.com and I will pass this info on.

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Well I received a great email the other day that I thought I should share with you all to help dispel any misconceptions about sake not pairing well with exotic cuisines.

H & S write:

WE WERE WONDERING IF YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO SUGGEST A SAKE THAT WOULD GO WELL WITH OUR WEDDING MEAL. SINCE WE ARE HAVING A VERY UNTRADITIONAL WEDDING, WE ARE INCORPORATING JUST ANYTHING WE LOVE. SAKE IS ONE OF THEM, HOWEVER OUR MEAL IS ARMENIAN/GREEK. FOODS LIKE LAMB, TABBOULEH, FALAFEL, CUCUMBER MINT DRESSING, GREEK SALAD AND OTHER VERY FLAVORFUL DISHES WILL BE SERVED. SO, EVEN THOUGH WE LOVE SAKE, IS IT POSSIBLE TO BRING THESE FLAVORS TOGETHER?

First of all H & S congrats. Secondly stop yelling – lay off of the caps! And thirdly of course sake goes with hugely flavored foods. For one reason please revisit the T.P.O. section of this Newsletter, where we all know that sake tastes better when you are in a happy place. I would think that your wedding would be a very happy place judging by the raised voices in your email! The second reason is that even though sake has 1/3 the acidity of wine it still has a powerful presence in your mouth. But it is wise to meet power with power and as such I would select sakes with high acidity and sakes that are not diluted. In other words look for Genshu (undiluted) sakes or traditionally made sakes such as Yamahai (with airborne yeast) or Kimoto (pole rammed) sakes that both have higher acidity levels. And if all else fails and you have a flair for the sweetish thing – not the Swedish thing – then select your favorite Nigori (unfiltered cloudy) sake. Each of these sakes will go amazingly well with big flavors, but better than that each of these sakes will go well with all the smiles that will be blossoming at your special occasion.

Please send your sake specific questions to askbeau2 @ truesake.com. (This address is not for general questions and I only review the questions once per month. All correspondence should use info @ truesake.com.)

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Hey which one of you shared the secret? I must tell you that the SECRET WORD has become HUGE. But that is understandable because of the fact that a secret is defined as: something that you tell one person at a time. This breeds a good news bad news scenario. The good news is now many of my distributors see the power of the SECRET WORD and have given me slightly better rates on selected sakes. The bad news is that more and more and more customers are saying that precious word and I am having a harder time keeping stock of the items. That said, I developed the SECRET WORD for you, my good readers of this Newsletter who want to learn more about sake. And as such I feel compelled to reward you all. Thus I have selected one of my favorite Junmai Ginjos this month for you to taste. The Demon Slayer! This month's sake is From Wakatake a brilliant brewery in Shizouka Prefecture. It is a great Ginjo to pair with foods – including Pizza – and typically sells for $24. But for you guys it costs a meager $12 for a sake that has taken over 90 days to make using the best brewing rice. A virtual bargain! So without due I give you this month's SECRET WORD. And the word is three words: Time, Place and Occasion.

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Thank you for reading, but more importantly thank you for enjoying sake!

True Sake