A Flowery Song

Background: This lightly sparkling beverage is produced in Sausolito, California by “blending premium imported junmai sake with exotic, all-natural Asian flavors.” Wait, no, I tell a lie. California’s the address on their web site, but the bottle says Cold Spring, Minnesota. When I saw this product on the shelves of my local trendy food store, I was immediately intrigued, then immediately put off by the price (something like $14/4 pack, and the bottles are only 6.3 fluid ounces). Fortunately for me, it appears that they didn’t sell well and the last few packs were broken out into single bottles at $4 apiece.

Nose: Green tea. Hints of lemongrass and melon.

Taste: Gah, that’s sweet. A bit of grassy green bitterness from the tea, more lemongrass. The very slightest sake influence of yeast and pear struggles to get out from under the overwhelming honeyed sweetness.

Overall: Decidedly not worth the price. There are cheaper options if you absolutely must get drunk on something sickly sweet, and the flavour isn’t anything to write home about.

Background: Produced in Oregon, probably by SakéOne. An off-dry sake sold in 375ml bottles.

Appearance: Extremely light yellow with a green tinge.

Nose: Tropical fruit.

Taste: Smooth and crisp, a hint of alcohol and lots of estery fruit.

Overall: Eh, it's okay, I guess. And inexpensive. To be served cold.

Background: From SakéOne, the producers of Momokawa. Their website states “G answers the call for an ultra-premium, super-sexy saké tailored to and bottled for the American palate.” Possibly G is intended to be a new line, but currently it only consists of Joy, an off-dry junmai genshu which is aged for ten months.

Presentation: Striking short, broad-shouldered black bottle with a large yellow “g” on the front. Pours a very light yellow. 18% ABV.

Nose: Sweet and fruity, floral and melon overtones with an overall impression of red liquorice.

Taste: Creamy body, lots of lighter fruit like pear and mango on a lightly earthy background with hints of minerality.

Overall: Nice, lots of complexity. I'd actually prefer this to be a wee bit drier, but on the whole it stands as a decent premium sake. Not what I would drink everyday; this is more something to be pulled out for special occasions.

Background: Trader Joe's “exclusive” bottling, imported by Banzai Beverage Corporation, Torrance, CA. Produced by Ume no Yado, a small brewery in Nara prefecture. Originally called Tsuki Usagi (Moon Rabbit), this is a sparkling junmai sake, with 40% of the rice polished away.

Presentation: 330ml blue bottle, with an intriguing ring-pull top. Pours a cloudy, pale straw. Nucleation sites produce streams of small bubbles. 7% ABV

Nose: Very fruity, mainly pears and citrus.

Taste: Sweet and fruity, with a lightly sour acidic bite. Short, somewhat floral finish.

Overall: I'm not sure what to make of this. It's definitely a cut above Trader Joe's still sake, which is produced by a different brewery. Fairly easy to drink. I'll tentatively recommend it; if you like sake or champagne, give this a try.