Dear Sake Drinker,
Welcome to the January Issue of America's sake-centric Newsletter.
In this issue meet the new boss at True Sake, read some New Year's
sake resolutions, think sake and hockey, find out what floated our
boats in 2009, see the new sakes that just came in, and don't miss
our $1 nama tasting on January 23rd.
In this issue:
Sake Partner - Miwa in Charge
Well, I will try my best to not be too clever or too wordy with this
wonderful next piece of news right off the True Sake Newsletter
press. At our company Christmas party in December amongst the
gallons of unique sakes, amongst the bags filled with goodies,
amongst the "over the top" (my words not theirs!) cash bonuses, Miwa
received an envelope with some seriously flawed chicken scrawl. (You
think it is hard to read my typing - whoooooweeee - you should see
my handwriting.) (Whoops - I'm getting too cutesy with this - I said
that I wouldn't - but hey - great news makes me feel good.)
The card contained the following question: "How would you like to
become a partner of True Sake?" Ownership! My decision to ask Miwa
to become a part owner in my baby was incredibly easy, for she
epitomizes True Sake. She embodies all things that make True Sake
what it is - passion for sake, great natured, incredibly service
oriented, educator, sake sleuth, attention for details, explainer of
note, and a smile that puts customers at ease. Miwa is True Sake as
many people have conveyed to me over time. So yes! Now she is!
I have watched over the years as she embraced the concept of sake
but wanted to learn more - much more. It gave me great pleasure to
inform her that her name -Miwa- was actually one of the ancient
names for sake - very cool and very appropriate. I watched as she
went from a sake student to teaching me the ropes. Her zeal for
understanding not only the flavor of a sake but its construction is
what impresses me the most.
My "style" is pretty dominant at the store but she has carved out
her own understanding and delivery of information format that speaks
to most everybody. I could relate to you the terror in her eyes back
in the day when I asked her to speak at one of our tasting events.
Now she won't be quiet! (And for good reason) I could relate to you
the day she locked the keys in the store or the day she broke a
bottle of mineral water all over the overly protected seagrass
carpet, but these minor hiccups pale in comparison to all of the
value that she has brought to Team True Sake. Oh - there's also the
incredibly funny signs that she has posted in the window over the
years - one apologizing for your incontinence rather than your
inconvenience! But these little giggles don't outweigh all of the
sake successes that we have had on her account.
But, the real reason why I offered Miwa part ownership is that I am
incredibly tired of her calling me "Boss." "There's the boss" "He's
the boss" "No not me - that guy over there is the boss" Now when
folks come in the store and ask "Is this your store?" Miwa can say
"Yes!" And that makes me incredibly proud. Thank you Miwa and here's
to the new energy and direction we will take the True Sake concept
and brand together.
PS - I also asked Miwa to start writing a piece/section for the
Newsletter under her penmanship. This will commence in February and
we shall see what form it will take. Please help her to name her
section: "Miwa's Sake Moment", "True Miwa", "Shut Up and Drink Up!",
"Miwa's Moto", "Miwa Miwa", etc.
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Sake 2010 - Resolutions In The Sake Sense
What the heck is a resolution any way? You resolve to wish something
that more than likely doesn't come true because you have to work for
the wish. Who wants to work at something? Be lazy. Who needs the
extra work? I resolve to stop smoking! Too much work. I resolve to
lose some weight! Too much work. I resolve to quit working so hard.
Too much work! I resolve to stop etc etc. I personally have no
"resolutions" but when pressed I will divulge my Sake Resolutions.
What is a Sake Resolution? Sounds like work! Too much work.
Herewith are my 2010 Sake Resolutions in no particular order.
- I resolve to try different categories!
Yup - I'm in a Junmai rut. That's all I drink on "my sake time."
I guess it's time that I branch out personally and consume some
Daiginjos - sparkling sakes - hell maybe it's even time to get
into some Nigoris.
- I resolve to bring more sake out to gatherings!
Yes, I am very aware of the fact that people call me "that sake
dude" and that I am totally associated with sake. In as much
there is almost an expectation that I attend events with sake
filling my pockets! "Did you bring sake for us sake guy?"
"Where's the sake?" "What did you bring?" This has been occurring
for years and I sort of rebelled against it. "Nope! I didn't
bring sake, but I did bring this incredible "Spicy Eggnog" "Naw-
no sake tonight, but I did find the most unusual bottle of
blueberry wine." Well, I guess the time has come that I start
bringing sake to events - no more dodging who and what I am - no
more pineapple infused apple brandy.
- I resolve to try sakes that I have not had in a long time!
There is so much sake out there that I have lost a lot of sake
friends. With such an assortment of brews on the market I find
that I keep trying the new sakes - at the expense of sakes that I
used to really like. Take Rihaku for example. I have not had the
Wandering Poet in a very long time. I miss the Poet! I tried it
the other day and said to myself "You knucklehead - don't forget
your friends!"
- I resolve to re-try sakes that I remember not liking!
This is huge! El Snob Boy has access to so many sakes that he
scoffs at brews that he once tasted and did not care for. How
shallow is that? It's time to taste some brews that need a second
chance. We all need a second chance some time and so too do
sakes. Perhaps my palate has changed and maybe I will enjoy some
of these brews that I relegated to the Island of Misfit Sakes.
- I resolve to not just drink sake!
As a professional I must dissect every sake that passes my lips.
It is a certainty that I cannot run from. Well - I tried my best
recently to do just that - to run from dissecting sakes. So I
just opened bottles - did not smell - and just drank the brews. I
tried my best to just drink for pleasure's sake. No thinking
drinking. How boring is this? Sure it is mindless - like TV in my
mouth, but boring nevertheless. It's time to get back into the
dissecting business and to really comprehend the brews at hand. I
need to refocus on pulling a part the components - try to find
the water, try to taste the rice varietal, see if I can pull the
yeasts. I need to refocus on the elements!
- I resolve to give more feedback to the brewers, importers, and distributors!
The hardest thing to do in the sake business is to honestly
comment on the brews themselves to their makers. "Your sake
sucks!" "Man the balance is all out of whack." "I wouldn't even
cook with that crap" "Tastes like weasel wiz." "Did your children
make this?" "Did your grandfather bathe in the brewing vat?"
"Your toji has the skills of a hot dog vendor." "Are you sure
this is sake?" "This is great, great for cleaning open wounds"
Yes I have had some not really good sake in my day. In fact my
motto is "I drank a lot of bad sake so you don't have to." But
never in all this time did I utter the above descriptions. Not
once! (Well maybe the one about the grandfather cleaning himself
in the brewing vat.) Because it's just not done! Every sake is
made with so much love and devotion that it's almost an insult to
say something negative. We have mastered the "dance" or the way
to dance around an honest answer. "Yes, I like this sake it has
such a complexity to it - such a how do you say it - opulence and
elegance." Yup! From "weasel wiz" to "complexity" just like that!
But this is a disservice at the end of the day - if as a
professional I can find faults or imbalances then I should
perhaps pass this opinion on without it being read as an insult.
- I resolve to update my notes!
This is a big problem. There are times when I review a brew, but
don't have my special books. Thus I have a lot of reviews on
napkins, pieces of paper and on the back of labels. These need to
be written in the book! But they are piling up. The longer I wait
the longer it will take to catch up. I must get on this before
the point of no return.
- I resolve to do more sake experiments!
Being "too busy" is not a good excuse for not playing around with
sake. My passion and lust to learn is quenched by my unique and
weird sake experiments that I/we conduct to test the limits and
boundaries of sake. I am very proud of our ability to shatter or
confirm pre-conceived industry truisms about sake that are
actually false. There is only one way to explore sake and that is
to explore sake. I need to conduct a new batch of sake
experiments to see what we haven't seen in sake before.
- I resolve to learn more about the new sakes on the market!
Yes, in a word there are a ton of brews out there with more on
the way. I have access to a majority of the sakes, but there are
a lot of new brews that I have no idea about. That's not good. I
need to keep pursuing all sakes - however or wherever that takes
me. It's incredibly important to stay current, and it's very much
a bummer when somebody comes in and says to you have "so-n-so
Daiginjo?" and I reply that it is not exported to the US. To
which they reply "yes it is - I had it last night at so-n-so
sushi" Doh! Not cool when we don't know what's out there.
- I resolve to drink each sake like it is my first!
I have a professional pallet - and I forget that. My basis for
tasting sake is meteoric - and I forget that. I have tasted so
many sakes - and I forget that. I will taste a sake and each sip
is compared too/against every sip of sake that I have ever
tasted. I wish sometimes that I am tasting sake for the first
time - again. Can I re-virgin my pallet? Nope! Can a get pallet
reconstruction surgery? Nope! But I can try to focus on drinking
each sake from a "first timer's" perspective.
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Sake Possibilities - Sake & Hockey
So there I was - at the Shark Tank watching my San Jose Sharks with
my sushi chef buddy (our yearly outing) and I slugged down the last
dregs of a cheap in quality not price beer. Yuk and burp. I thought
to myself, why couldn't we be drinking sake right now? No - not one
of my smuggled in boxes of sake, or hidden can brew, but a real
purchased over the counter sake that is fresh and wonderful? Why?
They have sake at sporting events in Japan. Depending on the season
sakes may be purchased chilled, room temperature or warmed at
certain sporting occasions. In fact one of my favorite micro
breweries (jizake) sponsors a baseball team. I joked in one of my
April Fool's humor issues of the Newsletter that True Sake was
opening up True Sake Stands at PacBell Park. Many people fell for
this prank, and many more wondered out loud - yes we should be able
to drink sake at sporting events.
I'm a sake and hockey fan. (I love saying that - hint hint they
rhyme) And I see no logical reason why we must be forced to drink
brewski at sports events. That said I did see folks with small 4oz
plastic cups with wine in them. If it's good enough for vino then
it's good enough for me-oh! I know the resolutions were written
above, but I will try to crack this no sake at sporting events nut
this year.
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Sake Bests - Team True Sake Picks "Sakes of the Year 2009"
Okay - this is the First Annual "Sakes of the Year" selections that
we at True Sake really enjoyed this year. Now this is all completely
personal, and as you know my other motto "You are the champion of
your pallet" means that you may not agree with our selections. I
have asked each Team True Sake member to name a brew or two that
really spoke to them in 2009. This can be the seasonal namas or the
regular selections that just drank very well last year. And again,
these are not the "Best" sakes, just ones that spoke to us!
Beau's Sakes of the Year 2009:
- Urakasumi Honjozo Genshu
This brew is not for everybody! But it's for me! Massive and vast
and such a food friendly sake - this guy was my go-to restaurant
sake. Deep and rich and 19% alcohol content. $34 (720ml)
- Kiminoi Junmai Ginjo
This Niigata brew (you know me and my avoidance of the ever
popular Niigata sakes) just drank great last year! Such a solid
and well-built sake that is both rich and smooth - plump and
balanced - round and drinkable. $29 (720ml)
- Gokyo Junmai
I was told that my review for Gokyo had a word "mushroom" in it
that did not best describe the 2009 version. I was told that
Gokyo got "fruity"! No way - so I had to taste this very well
balanced sake again and again and again and again - And you get
the picture. I disagree that the brew got fruity, but it did
drink velvety and solid with loads of flavors all in a smooth
push! Great at room temperature - just a superbly drinkable
Junmai. $25 (720ml)
Miwa's Memorable Sakes of 2009:
- Urakasumi Tokubetsu Junmai Nama
I said "Wow" when I took a very first sip. Being imported for the
first time, I had no expectation for this spring nama-zake
(unpasteurized sake). Explosive yet this sake had an extreme
balance for such a young brew. "How do they do that?" was a
question in my mind. The quality reflected the skill of Saura
Brewery. I look forward to 2010 brew.
- Tsukunokatsura Kohaku-Ko "Luster of Amber" Junmai Ginjo Nama
Word "elegance" came to my mind when I had the first taste of
this summer nama-zake. Bright, fruity and gentle, even me the
"nama-shy" loved it. It complimented bright yet soft summer
early evening light. The sake was poetic, romantic and beautiful.
I hope for its return in 2010.
- Tsukunokatsura Jumai - Served hot
It was a cold night. While I was cooking a dinner, I forgot that
I was warming this soft, flavorful Junmai from Kyoto. By the time
I took tokkuri (a serving ware) out and pour the sake into a cup,
it was "hot, hot". I took as sip as if I was drinking tea, then I
went "O.M.G., it is SOOO smooth". There was no harsh tone that
over-heated sake gives. The moment was like finding a treasure
that I never knew existed. Tsukinokatsura Junmai served warm
deserves 2009 Yummy Ward. $25 (720ml)
Lynette's Favs for 2009:
- Masumi Okuden Junmai
Good food friendly sake, slight body, smooth, ricey tones. $26
(720ml)
- Born Junmai Daiginjo
Bright, delicate layer of fruit, definitely a "WOW" sake and
worth the price. $45 (720ml)
- Shirataki Jozen Junmai Ginjo
Smoother than the former version, round, balanced, clean yet
flavorful. $32 (720ml)
Keiko's "Best Impressions" Sakes 2009:
- Yuho Junmai
It was really great with spicy food especially shrimp curry. $32
(720ml)
- Sato no Homare Junmai Ginjo
It was elegant and bright. $48 (720ml)
- Ichinokura "Hyakkoi" Nama
It was very refreshing and clean. $26 (720ml)
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Sake Events - Jan 23rd Nama Day In-Store Tasting, Sake Brewery Tours
Jan 23rd NAMA Day! In-Store Tasting of Three Namas for a Buck!
- Saturday January 23rd from 1-6PM
- Taste three seasonally released unpasteurized sakes
- $1/person
Sake Brewery Tours
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Over the years I have been asked countless times "How can I visit
sake breweries?" and for years I said that if you are lucky then
there is a remote chance that a brewery will open their doors to
"outsiders." But I also said, "don't hold your breath!" Guess
what? You can breathe again because you are in luck! My dear
friend Etsuko Nakamura heard all of your pleas and she decided to
do something about it! Here is a quick email from her:
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Hey Beau, I would appreciate if you could announce to your
readers the start of the Sake World Sake Brewery Tours program.
Now anyone can access the inner workings of the sake world.
Visit Japan, start off with a bit of formal sake education by
John Gauntner, then visit several breweries to meet the artisans
and learn about them in depth. Tours include dinners each
evening designed to match local sake-including the freshest
shinshu-and cultural exploration of the region. There are two
full-service tours:
Tour I: February 23 to 27 in the Kansai (Osaka/Kyoto/Kobe) area
Tour II: March 15 to 19 in the San-in (Shimane and Tottori) area
For more information, pricing, and reservations please go to
saketours.com. Participation is extremely limited!
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Etsuko also left some elegant handouts at the store for those who
would like to see something in hand form! This is truly a
wonderful opportunity and I would jump at this offering if you
ever wanted to get up close and into it in a brewery while they
are brewing! (Unheard of!)
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Sake Challenge - Sake Vs. Americana
I am on a spiritual sake quest that will finally put a nail in the
coffin of "sake can only be consumed at a sushi restaurant" mantra.
Wake up people! Food and sake go together - always have and always
will. If it has a tail, roots, feathers, leaves, or a damn beak sake
will go with it - anytime and any place. And that is my quest - the
place or origin of the cuisine does not matter. It can be Spanish,
Italian, Brazilian or ughhhh British chow and sake will walk the
walk. Japan has chickens! Japan has salad! Japan has beef! Japan has
spicy and savory dishes! Japan has sweet and salty fare, so why not
think about having sake with these "tones" from other countries?
The Sake Challenge is my way for you great consumers to see outside
of the sushi paradigm, and to achieve this "new view on brew" I will
usually select two different sake styles and price-points and bring
them to a non-Japanese restaurant with a celebrity, sake-sleuth or
hell even a friend in tow. Read about past challenges:
When reviewing restaurants and their specific cuisines paired with
sake I use the following criteria:
- Works World Class (WWC)
- Works Well (WW)
- Works (W)
- Does Not Work (DNW)
This criterion is more true to the mission of bringing a beverage to
a restaurant not knowing what you will pair with. The point is to
make the general pairings "work." Rare is the day that you bring a
specific wine or sake to pair with a specific dish - we look for
generalities and the entire eating/drinking experience. Think of
fishing with a net as opposed to a hook and line - a pairing is
supposed to reach out and catch more flavors as opposed to just
hitting one match.
For the December Sake Challenge I let my new partner in True Sake
and ubber foodie Miwa Wang pick the destination and cuisine factor.
She wanted to test sake with good old-fashioned "American fare" or
Americana Cuisine - some would say comfort food and others would say
San Franciscan fare. Miwa picked
Blue Plate on upper Mission Street. She was also
charged with bringing two sakes that best represent a fair and
balanced sake attack from price and sweet and dry standpoints. And
similar to all of these "Challenges" some times the brews you
perceive as being a good match get out performed by the other brew
that you thought would never go with a flavor of a dish. That is the
magic of bringing sake to your table wherever you may be - you will
always be surprised! Her two sakes of choice were Yuho Junmai and
Ichinokura Nama Junmai.
- Ichinokura Nama Junmai From Miyagi Prefecture. SMV: +3 Acidity: 1.5
Read More
- Yuho Junmai From Ishikawa Prefecture. SMV: +5 Acidity: 1.9
Read More
And away we goooooooooooo!
1st Course: Baby Spinach & Frisee - housemade bacon, chopped egg,
crispy chickpeas, red wine vinaigrette.
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Ichinokura - The nama drinks a little sweeter with the salad and
the vinaigrette pulls the acidity out of the sake a bit. The
flavors all balance well with the nama as they work in tandem.
One great flavor was the bacon and the Junmai. Basically the
sake and the salad went very well together as they both enhanced
each other in a mild way. Miwa said the sweetness of the nama
stands over the salad.
BT - WW
MW- W
Yuho - The Yuho went right at the vinaigrette and makes the
salad taste more crisp and edgy. The sake gets more herbaceous -
almost like a chameleon it drinks with more veggie qualities.
The bitterness of the frisee is emboldened by the bitterness in
the sake. Miwa said the Yuho did not stand out and it just
blended in with the salad. It was a good partner.
BT - W
MW - W
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2nd Course: Local Sardine Bruschetta - garlic white bean puree &
nicoise olive tapenade
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Ichinokura - The nama drank with a good wash-like performance
taking the flavors to the back of the palette. One benefit is
that the gentle sweetness of the nama brought out a saltiness in
the sardine that I liked. Definitely a good flavor partner that
produced a long finish. Miwa's toast was a little burned so she
tasted lots of the burned part and it did not go too well with
the sweet nama. It did not enhance the flavor of the dish to
her.
BT - W
MW - DNW
Yuho - Wow - the Yuho just explodes with flavor with this dish.
It gets so wide and the acidity jumps much more. Is it a complex
pairing or a bad one - I could not tell. Such a carnival of
flavors all over the place. One excellent flavor was the white
bean puree with the Yuho - Yummy! - creamy and rich! Miwa said
the Yuho brought out the bitterness of the burnt toast. When
tasted specifically with the sardine it worked better and
provided a good flavor background.
BT - W
MW- W
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3rd Course: Blue Plate Meatloaf - with mashed potatoes and blue lake
green beans
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Ichinokura - I don't eat beef but I took a couple little bites -
I mean come on sake and meatloaf who wants to miss that? I
thought that the nama stayed fruity upfront and the meatloaf
tasted more savory with the gentle sweetness. In a sense it made
the dish taste better - the potatoes also tasted good with the
nama. Miwa said the nama brought out a Bar-B-Q flavor in the
meat and really complimented the dish. She also really liked the
potato and nama play.
BT - W
MW - W
Yuho- In a word this chameleon sake did it again and drank very
savory with the meatloaf. In fact it made the meat taste more
"meaty" but the acidity of the brew was a big problem with this
pairing. Too much acidity which is weird as you would think it
would work with the meat. Miwa was confused by this as well.
Overall she thought the pairing did not work because of the
bitterness and the acidity of the sake smacked into the pairing
instead of blending in. I could see she was bummed about this as
she was certain that the Yuho would go with the meat!
BT - DNW
MW - DNW
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4th Course: Hill Farm Pork Chop - maple baked beans, mustard greens
and buttermilk onion rings.
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Ichinokura - I LOVED this pairing! The nama was now closer to
room temperature in my glass, but man did it drink well with the
Pork Chop! A terrific sweet and savory play - the juices of the
pork melded superbly with the nama creating a salty, sweet and
rich flavor that was great! This is one of those WOW pairings!
Miwa liked the pairing as well, but she was blown away by the
maple beans and the nama together. She called that flavor World
Class.
BT - WWC
MW - WW
Yuho - I liked how the Yuho worked with the Pork Chop as it
pulled flavors that the nama did not. I wrote that the Yuho has
"reach" and pulled pepper flavors from the dish - in a way this
Junmai drank with serious red wine like qualities in this
pairing - bold and pronounced. The Yuho conflicted with the
beans. Miwa said that the Yuho won over the flavor of the dish -
meaning it was too strong. The mustard greens really highlighted
the bitterness of the sake and she felt that it did not work
with the beans as well as the pork.
BT - WW
MW - DNW
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5th Course: Macaroni and Drunken Spanish Goat Cheese
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Ichinokura - Creamy and fruity! It works for the first part of
the sip, but when the flavors go towards the back of the pallet
a bucket of acidity presents itself. The cheese controls the
fruitiness until the end of the sip. Sort of a unique flavor and
feeling. Miwa said the nama blended fine with the overall flavor
of the mac and cheese and she got a lot of minerality out of the
sake when tasted with the crust of the dish.
BT - W
MW - W
Yuho - Basically the Yuho hit the cheese in the teeth! It works
against the cheesiness and brings out a very sharp tanginess.
The brew does not go creamy at all and produces a serious
conflict. Miwa said that the Yuho is too much for the dish and
the large bitterness conflicts on all levels.
BT - DNW
MW - DNW
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Summary:
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Well this Challenge fell in-line with the others in the sense
that the sakes worked on so many different levels. I will say
this however the Yuho had a bad day! It is a great sake and has
a lot of wonderful aspects but the strengths did not present
themselves when we thought that they would. I think the Yuho set
a new DNW record, and I believe so too did Miwa. Would I take
sake to my next "Americana" meal - you bet! The brews created
some great flavors and worked in unison on most occasions. The
pork chop and the nama was out of this world, and Miwa won't
stop talking about the Ichinokura and the maple baked beans. I
expected more successes than what was produced, but I said to
Miwa - what one wine could have worked better in unison.
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True Sake In The News - Dancyu Magazine (January 2010)
Basically this is one of my favorite reads of all magazines and I
was pretty honored when they asked to interview me in Fukushima at
the legendary Daishichi Brewery. They also sent a reporter to cover
our SakeDay event and that was written up as well. I was told that
it would be in the "Sake Issue" but better yet you can find it in
the January Sushi Issue. I'm still trying to translate the article,
and hopefully it's all good! But I will tell you the photos are very
funny! Why? Well the brewery was not yet brewing when I was there so
the koji picture was taken with frozen and thawed koji. The kimoto
picture was not taken with rice at all - those are little plastic
beads used in the steaming machine! I could tell more, but let's
stick with those little tidbits for now!
http://www.president.co.jp/dan/
This link takes you to the table of contents for the January issue
but they do not link to any content to encourage newsstand
purchases.
http://www.president.co.jp/dan/backnumber/2010/20100100/
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New Store Arrivals - Kikusui, Shichihonyari, and Yuki No Bosha
Kikusui Jukusei Funaguchi Ichibansbibori
From Niigata Prefecture.
Ginjo Nama Genshu
$6 (200ml)
Kikusui Ajiwai Sampler Set
From Niigata Prefecture.
Honjozo, Junmai
$15 (200ml x 3)
Shichihonyari Shijuku
From Shiga Prefecture.
Junmai Daiginjo
$80 (500ml)
Yuki no Bosha Nigori
From Akita Prefecture.
Junmai Ginjo Nigori / SMV: +1 / Acidity: 1.9
$35 (720ml), $17 (300ml)
You can review many of our sakes on our web site.
Our inventory list is here.
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True Sake Selects - Team True Sake Select Monthly Brews of Note
Miwa's Pick:
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Otokoyama Kimoto Junmai
From Hokkaido Prefecture / Otokoyama Brewery
Tokubetsu Junmai / SMV: +4 / $30 (900ml)
Clean and semi-dry with full-body texture and surprising bubble
gum aroma. This sake drinks good and different at various
temperatures.
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Lynette's Pick:
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Sasame Yuki
From Fukushima Prefecture.
Nigori / $26 (720ml)
A creamy nigori with just a hint of sweetness. almost like rice
milk, with nutty tones- walnuts and pecans. Great for those who
like a drier nigori.
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"Ask Beau" - "What sake is your favorite?"
I have heard it for years Nancy B from Santa Fe, New Mexico. And it
is a question that I loathe answering. But what is ironic I used to
ask the same question to my sake heroes and teachers. I would frame
it differently - "If you were on a plane and it crashed on an island
and one case of sake floated up to the island - what would that sake
be?" "You committed a horrible crime and you get to select your last
meal - what sake would be your pre-electrocution brew?" "Your
daughter is getting married - what sake would you select for the
toast?"
My answer?
Not giving it!
But I have been on record saying that I would like to be embalmed in
Kikuhime BY Daiginjo.
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 other correspondence should use
info @ truesake.com.)
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The SECRET WORD
Ah, at last we have reached the end of this Newsletter and that of
course means that we have come to the now-famous SECRET WORD. To
those who are new the SECRET WORD is a chance for you to try a sake
of note for half of that sake's original price. Just for reading
this Newsletter. It is our way of saying thank you for trying to
understand the wonders of sake.
Please remember the rules: only one bottle per reader, and don't
tell your buddy at the moment if he/she isn't a Newsletter
subscriber, always use a hushed or secret agent voice when saying
the SECRET WORD, and lastly for those who have their sakes shipped
we can only include the SECRET WORD sake in a four-pack purchase -
meaning you must buy three other sakes.
This month's sake is an incredibly soft Tokubetsu Junmai that
perfectly demonstrates how the soft waters of Kyoto can produce an
equally soft and velvety sake. The Shutendouji "Kyo-Onna" is one
smooth sucker, it's exclusive to True Sake and we usually sell this
brew for $25, but for you sake jockeys we will part with this 720ml
for $13. And the SECRET WORD is...check your email inbox -
We only give out the
SECRET WORD in the mailed Newsletter! So
sign up for the Newsletter!
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Thank you for reading!
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Consider this...
Yamagata Prefecture is being destroyed by snow. Our friends at
Takenotsuyu informed us that part of their brewery roof collapsed
under the weight of the extreme snow.
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STORE HOURS
mon-sat:
12pm-7pm
sun:
11am-6pm
560 Hayes St., San Francisco, CA 94102
CONTACT US
415-355-9555
info @ truesake.com
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Sake - A Modern Guide
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