The Five Greatest Sake You Must Drink in Lifetime

Dears,
Since favorite taste and performance are different of everybody, there are also several other factors such as experience, age, drinking habits and so on..., which affect your sense.

However, based on personal perspective in past years in drinking sake until now, I would like to suggest following Five Greatest Sake which you must drink in lifetime.

 

The summary of those five greatest sake are as below, and detail reasons will be given later.

1. Daishichi, Myouka Rangyoku Grand Cuvée

2. Isojiman, Junmai Daiginjo Nakadori 35, and Adagio

3. Juyondai, Ryusen and Ryugetsu

4. Kakunkou, Kakunkou Vintage

5. Tatsuriki, Akitsu Arabashiri Namazake

     Kokuryu, Nizaemon and Ishitaya

     Noguchi, Taiyo

1. Daishichi Myouka Rangyoku Grand Cuvée

Brewery : Daishichi Sake Brewery

Prefecture : Fukushima, Japan

Special : Cheers sake in group of eight in 2008 for the first ladies at Hokkaido

Daishichi is the first and the only one sake brewery to phase in concept like master blended Whisky. The Myouka Rangyoku Grand Cuvée is the blended sake over twenty years of plural Myouka Rangyoku which is supreme grade Junmai Daiginjo of the brewery. In addition, vintage are also important part of this greatest sake since the vintage can polish the sharpness, balance the overall taste, and enhance Umami.

The generation of Myouka Rangyoku Grand Cuvée are going to fourth since the first version was released in 2007 and chosen for cheers of group of eight meeting at Hokkaido in 2008.

The total quantities of each generation are 732, 1011, 13xx, and 1701 with divided into three years for release.

However, it is hard to handle the sake. The most difficult part is decant. The aroma and taste has limited golden interaction within two to three hours if you decant well. On the other hand, it will only be a good sake instead of reaching greatest if decant failure.

Through personal drinking experience more than ten bottles of Myouka Rangyoku Grand Cuvée, there are only twice in excellent condition which aroma, taste, and body balance are under awesome interaction.

The fragrance performances extremely complicated with plants such as lily, grass, mushroom and minerals on the very top parts, followed by fruity aroma like apple, banana, pears, yogurt, and lactic acid in middle level. The very bottom one comes with rice incense, a little bit attractive alcohol and rice koji smell due to vintage.

 

Taste and flavors are sophisticated as well.

Body is strong, vitality, and balance between sweetness, bitterness, sour, dry and astringency.

Served well through cold to room temperature (5 - 25 degree Celsius)

Impeccable food pairing both with Western and Asian food from appetizer to main course excluding dessert owing to its kimoto.

In order to completely demonstrate its fragrance, Riedel Burgundy Grand Cru glass is good selection.

I would like to put it in 1st position in must drink sake in lifetime.

2. Isojiman Nakadori 35 and Adagio

Brewery : Isojiman Brewery

Prefecture : Shizuoka, Japan

Special : Cheers Sake in group of eight in 2008 at Hokkaido

Breweries in Shizuoka produce several good sake historically, and Isojiman is one of the best of them.

The Junmai Daiginjo Nakadori 35 is the topest one sake from the brewery, released first version in 1996, limited around a thousand 720ml bottles and released in December only each year. Adagio is a three years vintage version of the Nakadori 35, and quantities are more rare.

According to sake pressing method, which can be divided into three parts as following :

1. Arabashiri which is the initial liquid naturally flow of the sake contains the most attractive fragrance and rounded taste.

2. Nakadori and Nakagumi which means the middle part of the sake during pressing have the most clear and pure liquor without miscellaneous taste.

3. Seme is the last part of the sake during pressing, and all the strong flavor are concentrated in this final portion; however, the aroma will be less.

Fragrance and flavor of Isojiman Nakadori 35 are the easiest sake close to sake lover. 

Without decant, self-vintage, and any confuse, drinker can easily enjoy the Isojiman Nakadori 35 anytime, since it's already well brewed to your table. In addition, Isojiman brewery also recommends best decant method for their consumer. You just open the bottle cap, lock it back, put into refrigerator, waiting ninety minutes, and you are done! Actually, eventhough without this procedure, the Nakadori 35 are still full of charming originally.

Aroma are full of southeast Asia tropical fruit attractive smell, in addition to classical banana, apple, pears due to Shuzo kotekimai, Yamada Nishiki, more complex fruity fragrance including lemon,

peach, grape, and guava. A little bit sweetness like Wasanbon-Sugar teases your senses and distributes fascination which create a powerful imagination before drinking.

As your desire, flavor and taste undoubtedly reach balance between essential factors of Japanese Sake, including sweetness, acidity, bitterness, and full body. The tail is memorable which smoothly touch the tongue and leave little bit stimulation without strong savor. 

3. Juyondai Ryusen, Ryugetsu

Brewery : Takagi Shuzo

Prefecture : Yamagata, Japan

Special : Leading the trend of master brewer, Toji, and brewery owner as the same person

Juyondai is the most famous sake brewery in recent twenty years, since the fifteenth generation brewery owner, Mr. Takagi Ken Osamu, took the responsibility as master brewer, Toji, in 1994. 

After that, Juyondai raised as comet, and lighting as Sun until now in global market. Their sake have very stable quality from entry level to premium ones. Ryusen is one of the most expensive sake in the market though its origin price is still fair which already ten to fifteen times higher as market price.

Excluding the price issue, the quality and taste of Ryusen and the second premium sake, Ryugetsu, are excellent enough to be put into the sake you must drink in lifetime. Not only because of its famous, but the start of a new generation of sake.

4. Kakunkou Vintage

Brewery : Sudo Honke

Prefecture : Ibaraki, Japan

Special : The oldest existing sake brewery in Japan with over 800 years history

Current owner is the 55th generation of the family and inherited the name, Sudo Gen Uemon.

Sudo Honke is the one of most earlier pioneer reaching global sake market in Japan. Their top grade sake, Kakunkou, are brewed as namazake which means without filtering and pasteurizing and keeps the most origin type of sake. Besides, their shipment to global market requires low temperature to maintain quality. 

 

Regular Kakunkou are released at least twice each year in March and November. Furthermore, Kakunkou vintage don't have regular released date and years. In the past there have been two to fifteen years vintage, and quantities were extremely limited in several tens bottles only. In addition, the most expensive sake ever shown in the Japan Rakuten online shop which is a million Japanese Yen of 1994 Kakunkou vintage.

All the Kakunkou are in namazake status and vintage by Sudo Honke itself to keep great quality.

On the other hand, they had co-operated with Riedel, a famous wine glass company, to demonstrate pairing between Kakunkou and Riedel Burgundy Grand Cru special edition as a historical brewery.

 

The Kakunkou vintage translate strong aroma as in regular ones into elegant fragrance which includes several light taste fruit such as apple, guava, grape, pear, and little bit lily smell. Taste smoothly flow on the tongue with rice and yogurt acidity. Cereals smell dance with bitter and rice koji, and finalized a little bit astringency which merges those refined flavor. Tails are memorable as well with rice and fruity body.

5. Tatsuriki Akitsu Arabashiri Namazake

    Kokuryu Nizaemon, Ishitaya

    Noguchi Taiyō

 

At fifth position, it's dilemma to determine which sake is more outstanding. Since there are several names come up, and compare them to former four great ones, excluding to the remaining three which have vintage potential based on their current conditions and outlook in the future.

Tatsuriki Akitsu Arabashiri Namazake is Junmai Daiginjo and brewed by Honda Shoten in Himeji, Hyogo prefecture, Japan. The special points of Honda Shoten all utilizes super premium Yamada Nishiki as rice materials since they are local close to farmers.

Akitsu is the top grade of Honda Shoten regular items, and its Arabashiri namazake version is limited in specific stores within limited time as well.

 

The origin sake body of Honda shoten is stronger above average; however, with shizuku (naturally drip collection of sake) method, and not specified years vintage which adorns its taste into balance within hardness and softness.

Kokuryu is famous owing to the dedication to Japanese Imperial family, and the favorite sake of the Imperial prince. Nizaemon and Ishitaya are the two parallel top sake of Kokuryu Shuzo which comes from their founder's name, Ishitaya Nizaemon. 

With shizuku and vintage body, the taste is really another aspect relative elegant of sake. Since it is released once per year in each December, Japanese treats it as precious gift for celebrating new year, and drives up its market price as two to three times to origin.

 

                                              

 

Mr. Noguchi Naohiko has a very respect and widely spread title, the god of Yamahai.

Yamahai and Kimoto are traditional sake yeast method, and the characteristic demonstrate unique acidity, strong body, and long tail sake.

Retired in 2015/3, over sixty five years in sake brew, Noguchi shuzo was the last brewery which he worked for the last year. The top three items are Taiyo (Sun), Getsu (Moon), and Hoshi (Star) which can be remembered as one of his peak work.

With Arabashiri namazake genshu type of Taiyo, its fragrance and taste just like running marathon which has long energy and potential for decant. The drinker can enjoy several stage transformation about body, fragrance, flavor, and tails through temperature and time-variant. 

Actually, I would like to raise Noguchi Taiyo position up, if it becomes yearly regular items. Unfortunately, there was only the sake manufactured and shipped before 2014/12 which were fully handled by Noguchi Toji himself before his retirement, and of course, is only suggested to acquire those ones. After that date, the sake were handled by other people who don't have as much skillful and concept like him.

 

To conclude above great sake ever, there are at least several concepts raised as below.

1. Junmai Daiginjo

2. Shizuku genshu

3. Vintage

Although 90% of sake are really recommended to drink due to fresh, the great sake combine time factor into its ingredient which make them unique and special ever.