Saké and the U.S. Open

The U.S. Open is going on and there is some exciting tennis going on. When I am not playing, I am watching. If there is not a TV around I check it out live online and catch the most exciting match from up to five courts. What does this have to do with saké? A lot if you watch a match with wine, beer, or my pick: cool, smooth, saké.

Some of the players are like saké also. While I have been drinking, ahem tasting, I was thinking if a player was a saké, which would they be?

Andy Roddick – Nama Genshu. Strong, wild, and unpredictable.

Roger Federer – Junmai Daiginjo. Smooth, silky and impressive to anyone even if you don’t like sake (or tennis).

James Blake – Honjozo. Character, always has character and a bite that reminds you that  ”This is tennis!”

Andy Murray – Ginjo. Smooth but has some alcohol added to give a spark once in a while.

Serena Williams – Hot sake. She has such a huge personality and just like hot saké, you have to be ready when she comes on the court.

Dinara Safina – Junmai. Plays with heart and the passion is pure water, rice and koji mold. Not as polished but has the power.

Maria Sharapova – Junmai Ginjo. A stable contribution to the game of tennis. Like the saké, it’s just not the same without her.

Saké Lands at SFO Costco

Wondering through the booze corner or Costco, I did a double-take. Do my eyes deceive me? Is this saké in the land of bulk and bumpy? Yep, and not bad stuff either. As you can see, these are fresh boxes and as my eyes were gazing at the massive tequila bottles, below was some freshly dropped merch. I asked how the sake was selling and they did not know, and said to come back and let them know. Then I asked again at the register and he confirmed I was the first. So here is the review and if this moves off the shelf they will get more saké and we will all be lovin’ it. Good job for Tanabata Imports for getting Costco to drink the kool-aid. I am curious if these factors helped or hurt the buying decisions of buyers:

• Shelf position
• Lack of clear alcohol content percentage (on bottle or on 8×11 price label)
• Bottle design
• Product name (words “top choice” and “demon killer” do not work for this market in the US)
• Quantity (is a 720 big enough? I get my tequila in 1.5 liter bottles now)
• Bottle color (does not look refreshing, dry and sweet and under the tequila)

Wakazuru Top Choice – Honjozo Saké
Region: Wakayama, Japan
Brewery: Heiwa Shuzou
SMV: +3.0 (feels like +1)
Milling: 72%
Alcohol: 16%

I got these bottles before going to a backyard BBQ with a few friends.  It went really well with the grilled veggies. We had some mushrooms and peppers and the honjozo made itself at home. I never read the description on the bottle because these are often the case in a lab environment. The nose what quite ripe and musky, the way I like a saké – but the kicker was in the finish. Each sip made the grilled veggies and breads come alive. I have to admit, I had doubts before food because it was a bit sweet at first. The transformation was a pleasant surprise and will buy more of this especially for grillin’ goodies. Don’t let the honjozo name fool you, this is 72% milling rate without any bite. If you told someone this was a ginjo they would believe you. This is smooth and if it was a song, I would say it was Mötley Crüe, Live Wire. It rocked but nothing new, a glam rock classic. Don’t let it term you off – it’s a good choice and for now, the “top choice” at Costco next to SFO.

Demon Killer (not Demon Slayer but naming may be intentional to confuse buyer)
Region: Wakayama, Japan
Brewery: Kinotsukasa Shuzou
SMV: +3.0 (feels like +5/6)
Milling: 72%
Alcohol: 13.5%

This is a sleeping giant for the price. I do like a dry saké with some balls – and this has some cajones. The nose is uneventful and friendly with hints of a Rolo (especially the caramel gushing guts). The first sip then gives you a donkey punch to remind you this drink can be fun and painful. This is not for the wine drinker but more for the scotch and tequila drinker who will appreciate the ride from nose to gut. I like to have a tough saké in the fridge to have friends sample so they can appreciate the diaginjo experience to come. Pairing this was a bit more difficult, it clashed with the subtle foods but went really well with spicier dishes. Worth a try at under $11 and if you like the Murai Family Tokubestu Honjozo, then you will like this one.

Saké Social Launches

SakéSocial is a great idea and the way they present saké to the masses is wonderfully done.  I did not get a press release or a sample pack so I can’t tell you much about it.

Good luck and congratulations to SakéSocial.com

Tainted Rice Scandals – Buy Local or Hype?

I found myself buying two bottles of Ozeki Dry Junmai (from California) at the Korean market.  Plus I am staying away from Japanese saké until they figure out the global impact of the tainted rice.  I will stick with organic and domestic for the time being. The 2008/2009 saké brewing year is going to be one we want to forget.  This is from the Times UK:

“But the country’s [Japan's] faith in its supposedly airtight food industry has been thoroughly rattled. Shipments of pesticide-ridden, rotting rice, intended for use in glue factories, have ended up in the human food chain, principally as ingredients for brewing the national tipple. In the past week more than a million bottles of shochu and saké – drinks made from rice – have been recalled over safety fears.“

The tainted rice is an isolated incident - we hope – but it does raise a lot of awareness about business practices.  This is from BusinessWeek:

“Mikasa then sold it [rice] to hundreds of companies across Japan to boost profits. The rice went into sake, shochu (distilled spirit), and rice crackers. Contaminated rice also went to more than 100 hospitals, homes for the elderly, and at least 46 schools.”

Then in an Associated Press article:

“The illegal resale scandal last year forced Bishonen to recall or stop the sale of the equivalent of 410,000 1.8-liter bottles of sake and other alcoholic drinks.”

When they say tainted rice, this moldy and full of pesticides.  This was started late last year and the World Health Organization is trying to find out who else may have bought tainted rice from the milling companies who supply saké brewers.

It will be good to make sure you buy saké that is trusted. But who really knows the truth?  We have an old-timer in the family who worked at Monsanto his whole life and he said he’s going to the grave with what he knows. And that’s all he told me.

Umami Experience

The Saké4Food event was a hit.  We had over 60 people at the fundraiser and Yoshi’s was very helpful with setting up the event.  Naomi, who manages the events there, had set me up at the end of the bar for the Umami Experience.

There were groups of four people at a time who had a glass of the Mushohai Junmai Ginjo from Nara, Japan. It is one of my favorites and I have bottles of it in my saké fridge – yes a massive Whirlpool fridge piled high with saké.  Each person at the Umami Experience was told to sample some food in the masu cups and then smell the saké, taking in a big whiff.  We started with marshmallows, two small ones was recomended then we went to dried pineapples, olives, salami, croûton w/balsamic, almonds, bittersweet chocolate, and a Sour Patch Kid.  Okay, it sounds crazy but I tried about 50 items with a few sakés and this saké with these items proved the point: saké can enhance foods just like MSG.  Umami can be faked with this amino acid but saké does it naturally.

Back to the “experience,” as the food is going down, I told everyone take a sip and concentrate on the reation inside the mouth as they swill.  Some people either liked or disliked the flavors that explode but we experienced the same thing.  Everyone was blown away that the same saké could taste so different that they were laughing and making sure I did not switch the bottle.  The experiment can be done with cheeses alone but this was extreme to explore the sour, sweet, acid, savory, spicy, bitter, and salty attributes of saké and food. Depending on what types of reaction you like when you are cooking you can gauge which saké works best.  For example if you want to taste the sliced almonds in the saké then the Mushohai would be excellent.  If you wanted the balsamic dressing to be enhanced then another saké would be better.

Like wine, a good sommelier will review the food order and ask how you like your food to taste.  Most wines that are recommended kill the taste of the food but make the wine taste good.  That defeats the point and so I stick with water rather than drown my food with a sauce, I mean wine.  My new mission is to travel with a nice collection of saké and show chefs in San Francisco which will make their food taste like nothing they experienced before.  That is the next stop on the Umami Express.